Stop counting pageviews as conversions

Link Google Analytics to Google Ads and a pile of events arrives with it, already switched on. Most accounts end up with at least one of them counting a pageview as a conversion — and because Google’s default for a new action is primary, that pageview lands in the same Conversions column as your leads.

That column is what Smart Bidding optimizes toward. So the bidding isn’t buying leads any more; it’s buying whoever loads a page. On a small account it is easy for pageviews to become the large majority of the conversion count, at which point every “cost per conversion” number anyone quotes is measuring something you never wanted to pay for.

The fix is one line in a .bid file.

Find the culprit

bidsmith query "SELECT conversion_action.name,
                       conversion_action.category,
                       conversion_action.primary_for_goal
                FROM conversion_action
                WHERE conversion_action.status = 'ENABLED'"

conversion_action.name        conversion_action.category  conversion_action.primary_for_goal
Lead form submit              SUBMIT_LEAD_FORM            true
page_view (GA4)               PAGE_VIEW                   true
Calls from ads                PHONE_CALL_LEAD             true

Anything with a PAGE_VIEW, ENGAGEMENT or OUTBOUND_CLICK category sitting at primary_for_goal = true is worth a second look. If you want the count alongside it, ask the reporting side which actions the conversions are actually coming from:

bidsmith query "SELECT segments.conversion_action_name, metrics.all_conversions
                FROM campaign WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_30_DAYS"

Demote it

Declare the action. bidsmith matches a conversion action to the live one by name, so a block that repeats the account’s name for it adopts what’s there instead of creating a second one. Copy the name exactly:
```
resource "google_ads_conversion_action" "ga4_page_view" {
  name             = "page_view (GA4)"
  type             = "GOOGLE_ANALYTICS_4_CUSTOM"
  category         = "PAGE_VIEW"
  status           = "ENABLED"
  primary_for_goal = false
}
```
Or let bidsmith refresh -d ads/ write every account-level resource into ads/account.bid for you, and edit the block it produced.
Check the plan. Only the one field should move:
Terminal window
```
bidsmith plan .
```
Expected: one ~ update row on the conversion action, spelling out the change as primary_for_goal: true -> false, and nothing created or destroyed. If you instead see a + create, the name doesn’t match the live action character for character.
Apply after review. bidsmith apply . — the action keeps recording, keeps showing up under “all conversions”, and stops feeding the column bidding chases.

While you’re there: short calls

The call action Google creates for you comes with a 60-second threshold, so a 45-second call that booked a job is not counted as anything. It is the same shape of surprise, one attribute along:

resource "google_ads_conversion_action" "calls_from_ads" {
  name                        = "Calls from ads"
  type                        = "AD_CALL"
  category                    = "PHONE_CALL_LEAD"
  primary_for_goal            = true
  phone_call_duration_seconds = 15
}

Keeping it that way

bidsmith validate warns about a PAGE_VIEW action that is primary, or that says nothing about primary_for_goal — which is the same thing, because Google’s default is primary.
Omitting the attribute leaves it unmanaged. A file that doesn’t mention primary_for_goal is not declaring it false; the account keeps whatever it has, and so does the next person who opens the UI. Write it down.
bidsmith plan catches the flip back. Once the file says false, anyone promoting the action in the UI shows up as a one-line diff on the next plan.