Google Ads conversion tracking, checked against what the site sends
Tracking Whisper reads a Google Ads account's conversion actions and their results through the Google Ads API, read only. It checks which conversions are primary, whether each one is still recorded, and whether the tags that should feed it exist in the container and fire on the site.
What it reads
Conversion actions with their type, category, status and counting type, whether they count towards bidding, and how many conversions each one recorded in the last 30 days. For other questions the agent writes read-only queries of up to 200 rows, such as campaigns with their clicks, cost and conversions.
What it checks
The checks connect three places that usually disagree: the ad account, the container and the analytics property. The agent can set a conversion action beside the tag that feeds it and the GA4 event that should match it.
- Primary conversions that recorded nothing lately
- Conversion actions with no tag in the container that feeds them
- Clicks and conversions in Google Ads beside sessions and key events in GA4
Google Ads conversion tracking in the container
The GTM audit has checks of its own for Google Ads tags, and the site check sees the hits each page sends. Together they find the problems that make conversion numbers too high or too low.
- The same conversion sent by more than one tag
- Conversion values without a transaction ID or a currency
- Google Ads tags without a Conversion Linker
- A conversion that fires when a page simply loads
Enhanced conversions and consent
Tracking Whisper does not set up enhanced conversions. The site check does flag what stops them from working in the EEA and the UK: a consent default without ad_user_data, and ad_user_data that stays denied after a visitor accepts. It also notes personal data in the dataLayer, which is fine for enhanced conversions only if no other tag sends it as it is.
Conversions under watch
Where a watched site has the account linked, monitoring reads its conversions every morning with the GA4 numbers. It watches the total and the five busiest conversion actions by name, by the day the conversion happened. A drop that fewer ad clicks explain, such as a paused campaign, is not raised as a tracking problem.
In the performance report
The performance report reads cost, clicks, impressions, conversions and conversion value for the period, campaign by campaign, and compares them with the period before. Clicks and conversions are set beside the sessions and key events GA4 recorded from Google Ads, so a gap in Google Ads conversion tracking shows up as a number.
Questions
Can it change my campaigns or budgets?
No. Google Ads is read only. The agent reads conversion actions and results; it does not touch campaigns, bids or budgets.
Why do Google Ads and GA4 show different numbers?
They count differently: attribution, conversion windows and the day a conversion is credited all differ. The agent shows both and where they part.
Can it build a Google Ads conversion tag?
Yes, in Tag Manager on the Read & write level, for a conversion action that already exists in the account. It cannot create the conversion action in Google Ads, because it only reads there.
Does it set up enhanced conversions?
No. It checks the consent signals that enhanced conversions depend on and whether personal data shows up where it should not. Setting up enhanced conversions stays with you or your developer.
Which Google permission does it ask for?
The Google Ads permission, only when you allow Google Ads for the account. Google has no narrower permission for reading, so the restriction is in the app: Tracking Whisper changes nothing in Google Ads.
Does monitoring watch Google Ads conversions?
Yes, where the account is linked to a watched site. The conversions are read every morning with the GA4 numbers and judged by the same rules, so a conversion tag that broke shows up even while GA4 still counts.
Which plans include Google Ads?
Tag Manager and platforms on the Tracking side, and GA4 and ad platforms or All data on the Analytics side.