How-to · Updated October 11, 2026
Import GA4 key events into Google Ads without double counting
Updated October 11, 2026
15 minutes, then up to 24 hours for data
Import a GA4 key event into Google Ads only for a lead no other action counts. Open Goals, Conversions, Summary, click + Create conversion action and pick the GA4 event. Keep it Secondary if the Google Ads tag counts the same lead, and skip GA4 call events when calls already reach Google Ads.
Before you start
- Admin access to Google Ads and Editor or higher in GA4. Importing needs Marketer, but marking an existing event as a key event needs Editor.
- GA4 linked to the Google Ads account, with auto-tagging on. The linking how-to listed below covers both.
- A list of what already counts each lead in Google Ads: the Google Ads tag on your forms, Google's call actions and any call tracking import.
Decide which key events to import
Import a GA4 event as a counted conversion only when no other Google Ads action counts the same lead; anything else is for comparison and stays Secondary.
- In Google Ads, click the Goals icon, open the Conversions drop-down and click Summary. Write down each Primary action and what it counts: form fills, calls from ads, calls from your website.
- In GA4, open Admin, then Events under Data display. Next to each event that means a lead, such as a form submission, click the star icon or the Mark as key event toggle to mark it as a key event. Google requires this before an import.
- Match each GA4 event against the Google Ads list. If the Google Ads tag already counts the same form, a counted import records each fill twice. Import it only to compare, as Secondary.
- Leave out any call event a call tracking tool sends into GA4 when calls already reach Google Ads, through Google's call actions or a call tracking import. Google's rule for calls is one action per call in the Conversions column: including both counts 2 conversions for every call and, if you bid for conversions, bids for 2.
Google says the two can be used in any combination at the same time, so deciding which one counts each lead is up to you.
Create the conversion from the key event
Create it from Google Ads, which picks the GA4 property and event in one pass.
- In Google Ads, go to Summary within the Goals menu and click + Create conversion action.
- Select the GA4 property, then the event you chose, and click Select events.
- Click Save and continue.
- Or, in GA4, open Advertising, then Conversion management under Tools, click New conversion and follow the steps. Google sets actions created in GA4 as Secondary.
Google says data can take up to 24 hours to appear in Google Ads, and conversions from before the import are not included.
Set Primary or Secondary on purpose
Make the import Primary only when it is the one action counting that lead.
- Go to Summary in the Conversions drop-down of the Goals menu, find the goal that holds the new action and click Edit goal.
- Under Conversion action optimization, choose Primary if nothing else counts that lead, or Secondary (observe only) if the Google Ads tag or a call import already does. Click Save.
- Before making an import Primary, check that no existing action already counts the same lead. Google sets GA4-based actions to Secondary when the account already has goals from an Analytics property, to prevent counting the same event twice for bidding, and always for actions created in GA4.
- If the account uses custom goals, keep a Secondary import out of them. Google uses every action in a custom goal for bidding, whether it is Primary or Secondary.
If both copies already count, the how-to on one form fill counted twice, listed below, fixes it.
Check it worked
After 24 hours, open Campaigns, click Segment above the table, and under Conversions choose Conversion action. The import should be listed by name. A Secondary import counts under All conv., not Conversions.
Over a full week, the Primary actions together should come close to your own lead count, not twice it. Some gap is normal: Google Ads dates a conversion by the ad click, GA4 by when it happened.
Which should count for bidding, the GA4 import or the Google Ads tag?
Google does not pick one, but notes differences. Imported conversions do not show view-through conversions, which need native Google Ads measurement, and GA4 data reaches Google Ads up to 24 hours later.
Whichever you choose for a lead, the other copy stays Secondary, so the comparison is still there under All conv.
Where are an imported conversion's settings edited?
Google says the conversion window and counting method may not be editable in Google Ads for an action created from GA4. In GA4 they are editable only while the action is Secondary.