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ADS·Google Ads·warning

Fixed Value on Variable-Revenue Conversion

A Google Ads purchase or sale conversion action is configured with a fixed value (e.g. $50 per conversion) even though the underlying transaction value varies meaningfully across customers. Smart Bidding cannot distinguish high-value from low-value customers and optimises for volume of conversions rather than revenue.

CL
By Christopher LandaverdeCreator of AdLint · ad-tech tracking specialistUpdated

Why It Matters

Fixed-value conversion configuration is appropriate for events where every conversion is genuinely worth the same amount. Subscription signups for a single-price product, fixed-fee bookings. For variable-revenue businesses (e-commerce with a wide AOV range, B2B with deal-size variance), a fixed value collapses every conversion to the same weight and discards the most important optimisation signal Google Ads can use. Symptoms: tROAS appears to work but does not actually drive revenue; campaigns optimise toward volume of cheap conversions; high-revenue traffic is not prioritised. The fix is dynamic-value conversion configuration where the actual transaction value flows from GTM or the import.

How To Fix It

  1. In Tools & Settings → Measurement → Conversions, edit the flagged action.
  2. Under Value, change from "Use the same value for each conversion" to "Use different values for each conversion."
  3. Verify the conversion tag in GTM passes a Data Layer Variable with the actual transaction value (`{{DLV - ecommerce.value}}`).
  4. Set a default value as a fallback for the rare case where the value cannot be resolved.
  5. Verify after 7 days that Google Ads → Conversions reports show variable conversion values.

Example

Configuration
Problem: Purchase conversion uses fixed value of $50
Reality: actual order values range from $15 to $1,200 (AOV $89)
Fix: configure dynamic value sourced from {{DLV - ecommerce.value}}
For Your Client Report

Google Ads purchase or sale conversion actions configured with fixed values despite variable underlying transaction values. Google's value-based bidding documentation, dynamic per-conversion values are required for Smart Bidding to optimise toward revenue rather than volume. Fix: switch to "Use different values for each conversion" and verify the value parameter flows from GTM. Source: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13064107.

Drop this paragraph into your client deliverable. Sources back to the canonical platform documentation linked below.

References

  1. [1]Google Ads. Set up conversion values

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