Why your Google Ads leads look higher than your real enquiries
If Google Ads reports more leads than you actually receive, the tracking is almost always counting something twice, or counting something that is not a lead. The usual causes are a counting setting of “Every”, two tags recording the same action, and small actions such as page views set as primary conversions. Each one can be checked in under ten minutes.
Inflated numbers are not harmless. Google’s automated bidding learns from conversions. If it is rewarded for the wrong thing, it will happily find you more of the wrong thing.
Is your conversion counting set to “Every”?
Every conversion action has a Count setting. “Every” counts each action, which suits purchases. “One” counts one conversion per ad click, which suits leads. If a person submits your form twice or taps WhatsApp three times, “Every” records three leads. For lead generation, set it to One.
Where to check: Goals, then Conversions, then Summary. Open each conversion action and look at the Count setting.
Is the same action tracked twice?
This is the most common cause I find. Typical versions:
- A Google Ads tag and an imported GA4 key event both record the same form, and both are set as primary.
- The conversion tag was installed directly on the site and again through Google Tag Manager.
- A website plugin adds its own tracking on top of the one you set up.
Where to check: in the Conversions summary, segment your data by conversion action. If two actions rise and fall together almost exactly, they are probably the same event. Keep one as primary and set the other to secondary.
Are small actions counted as leads?
Page views, scrolls, time on site and clicks on any button are useful to watch, but they are not enquiries. When they are set as primary conversions, they appear in the Conversions column and bidding optimises for them.
A simple test: for each primary conversion action, ask “would I pay money for one more of these?” If the answer is no, make it secondary.
Does your thank-you page fire again on reload?
If the conversion fires on a thank-you page, anyone who reloads it, bookmarks it or returns with the back button can trigger it again. Use the “One” counting setting, and if possible fire the conversion on a confirmed form submission rather than on the page load alone.
Are spam submissions being counted?
Bots fill in forms. Campaigns that reach the Display Network or use broad automated placements can attract more of them. Signs include fake names, invalid phone numbers and submissions at odd hours in bursts.
Fixes: add a hidden honeypot field, basic rate limiting or a CAPTCHA service, and review where the bad leads came from. If one campaign or network sends most of them, that is your answer.
Are very short calls counted?
Calls from ads count as conversions once they pass a minimum call length you set in the conversion action. If that length is too short for your business, wrong numbers and hang-ups count as leads. Pick a length that matches a real conversation in your industry.
Why do the numbers change after the month ends?
Two reasons, and neither is a fault:
- Google Ads reports a conversion on the date of the ad click, not the date of the enquiry. A click on the 30th that enquires on the 2nd is counted in the earlier month.
- Some conversions are modelled, where Google estimates conversions it cannot observe directly, for example because of cookie consent.
So compare months after a few days have passed, and expect small differences against your own records.
How do I check my real numbers?
Once a month, put these side by side for the same date range:
| Source | What to count |
|---|---|
| Google Ads | Conversions, by conversion action |
| WhatsApp Business | New chats from new numbers |
| Phone | Calls from new numbers |
| Website forms | Real submissions, spam removed |
A small gap is normal. A large gap means one of the problems above. In the businesses I review, fixing counting and duplicate tags is usually the cheapest improvement available, because it changes what the bidding learns from without spending an extra ringgit.
Not sure where your gap comes from? Get a free audit and I will check your conversion setup as part of it.
Sources: Google Ads Help Center articles “About conversion counting options”, “About primary and secondary conversion actions”, “About modelled conversions” and “Set up call conversions”.