Action Optimization

🎯 Primary vs Secondary Actions in Google Ads

In Google Ads, each conversion action can be set as either Primary or Secondary.

This setting tells Google which actions to optimize for and which to track for insights only.

Primary Actions

• These are the main goals you want Google Ads to optimize your campaigns around — for example: purchases, form submissions, or sign-ups.
• They appear in the “Conversions” column and are used by Smart Bidding to adjust bids.
• Choose actions that represent real business value as your primary goals.

Secondary Actions

• These are supporting actions used for tracking and analysis, not optimization.
• They appear only in “All Conversions”, and are not used in Smart Bidding.
• Great for understanding user behavior, such as add-to-cart, newsletter signup, or page views.

Summary

Note: Conversion actions included in a custom goal are used for reporting and bidding regardless of whether they’re set as “primary” or “secondary” actions

🧠 Example

🔹 Primary Actions

“Purchase” → Primary

Google Ads optimizes bids to find more likely buyers.

🔹 Secondary Actions

“Add to Cart” → Secondary

Helps measure engagement but doesn’t influence bid optimization.

💡 About Custom Goals

Conversion actions included in a custom goal are used for reporting and bidding regardless of whether they’re set as “primary” or “secondary” actions

🔍 How to Check in Google Ads

1. Go to your Google Ads account.
2. In the left menu, select Goal → Summary.
3. You’ll see a list of all conversion actions.
4. The “Conversion action optimization” column shows whether each action is Primary or Secondary.

🧩 Google docs:

https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11461796?hl=en

Updated on: 17/10/2025