Why it happens
A GA4 change broke the imported action
A GA4 change broke the imported action
A renamed key event, an unmarked key event, a new GA4 property or a broken link stops the import cold. The action keeps its name and records nothing.
The primary action was swapped
Someone imported GA4 conversions and set them primary while demoting the tag action, or the reverse. Conversions now count from an action that is not recording.
A site release removed the tag
Clicks steady, conversions zero from one day. Check deploys on that date.
Consent or redirect changes
A new cookie banner, or a redirect that drops the gclid, cuts recorded conversions sharply without touching clicks.
How to fix it, step by step
Find the exact day
In Campaigns, add the Conversion action segment and a daily view. Note which action went to zero and when.
Read the change history
Go to Tools, then Change history, filter to that day and look for conversion action, goal or bidding changes.
Check GA4 if you import
In GA4 confirm the event still fires, is still a key event under Admin, then Data display, then Events, and that the Google Ads link is intact.
Restore the right primary
Under Goals, then Conversions, then Summary, make the action that is recording primary, and set the dead one to secondary.
Test the conversion
Complete a conversion with Tag Assistant connected and confirm it records.
Steps checked against Google Ads Help: About change history; Google Ads Help: Create conversions from Google Analytics events in Google Ads; Google Ads Help: About primary and secondary conversion actions.
Sprites diagnoses this
Sprites diagnoses it
Sprites finds the day conversions stopped and the change that lines up with it, across Google Ads and GA4.
What Sprites does
- Locates the largest day-over-day change in conversions and splits it by conversion action.
- Lines it up with the account changes made just before it.
- Reads GA4 key events and the Google Ads link, and compares GA4 key events with Google Ads conversions over the same days.
- Restores the recording action as primary and demotes the dead one, once you approve.
What it doesn't do
- It does not edit GA4, your tag or your site.
- Change history only goes back 30 days.
Questions
Why did my Google Ads conversions suddenly drop to zero?
A tracking change on that day: a site release, a GA4 change breaking an imported action, or a primary action swapped. A real demand drop never goes to exactly zero overnight.
I switched to GA4 imported conversions and they show zero. Why?
The key event may not be imported, the link or auto-tagging may be missing, or it is still inside the 24 hour delay. Check each, and keep the tag action primary until GA4 records.
Will Smart Bidding be affected?
Yes. With zero conversions it bids as if nothing works. Restore a recording primary action quickly, and consider a data exclusion for the broken days.
What is a data exclusion?
A Google Ads setting under Tools, then Bid strategies, then Advanced controls that tells Smart Bidding to ignore conversion data from dates when tracking was broken.
See where it breaks
Connect your accounts. Sprites reads them side by side and shows you exactly where the numbers split.