How-to · Updated October 11, 2026
Stop Google Ads counting map directions as lead conversions
Updated October 11, 2026
15 minutes
Segment Campaigns by Conversion action to see whether map directions from your Business Profile count under Conversions or only under All conv. If a lead campaign counts them, open its Settings, switch Conversion goals to campaign-specific goals and leave out the Local actions - Directions goal. Directions keep reporting under All conv., and bidding stops chasing them.
Before you start
- A login to the Google Ads account that can edit campaigns.
- A decision on what each campaign is for: visits to your door, or calls and form fills.
- Your count of leads from ads for 30 days.
Find where directions are counted
Local actions steer bidding only where a campaign counts them under Conversions, not All conv.
- Open Campaigns and set the last 30 days. Click Segment above the table, and under Conversions choose Conversion action.
- If All conv. is missing, add it from the Columns icon, Modify columns, Conversions.
- Find the rows Google created by itself from the location assets linked to your Business Profile, such as Directions and Clicks to call. None means no active location assets or no local actions yet, so there is nothing to change.
- A number under All conv. with nothing under Conversions means that campaign is not bidding on them; a number under Conversions means its goals include them.
Website visits, orders, menu views and other engagements only report. Directions can be bid on in Search, Performance Max and Shopping, clicks to call only in Performance Max.
Take local actions out of a lead campaign's goals
Give each lead campaign goals without directions: Google says some actions cannot be switched between primary and secondary without naming them, so campaign goals are the switch that works for every action.
- Open Campaigns, select the Settings tab and choose the campaign.
- Expand Conversion goals. If the campaign optimizes toward account-default goals, change it to campaign-specific goals.
- Keep the goals that hold your leads, such as calls and lead form submissions, and remove the Local actions - Directions goal. Clicks to call counts taps on the Call button of your listing; keep it on a Performance Max lead campaign only if you count those calls as leads.
- Click Save.
- To change several campaigns at once, tick them in the Campaigns table, click Edit, then Update conversion goals.
Leave at least one goal with actions in it. Google says a campaign whose campaign-specific goal is left with no conversion actions goes back to the account-default goals. Later account-default changes no longer reach it, so add new lead goals by hand.
Or remove it from the account defaults
If no campaign should bid on directions and the goal is an account default, take it out of the account defaults. Campaigns on their own goals keep whatever they have, so use the steps above for those.
- Click the Goals icon, open Conversions, then Summary, and click the Goals tab.
- Scroll to All your goals. Hover over the campaign count beside the Local actions - Directions goal to see which campaigns use it.
- Click Edit goal, expand Account default and turn Make this an account-default goal off. Click Save. If the panel does not offer this for the goal, use the campaign steps above.
Make all changes in one sitting: Google says goal changes during Smart Bidding's 7 to 14 day learning phase reset it. Move any target cost per action gradually, as Google advises, since the reported cost per conversion rises.
Check it worked
After a few days, run the segment from the first part again for the days since the change. On each lead campaign, the local action rows should show nothing under Conversions and still show numbers under All conv.
Then compare Conversions with your own lead count, leaving out the last few days: Google files a conversion under the date of the ad click.
Why a lead campaign can drift toward directions
A judgment, not Google's: a Directions tap is a smaller step than a call or form fill, so a campaign bidding on both can find more of them for less, and its cost per conversion stops being a cost per lead.
Google counts a Directions tap up to 30 days after an ad interaction by default, even from a later unpaid search.
When directions are worth bidding on
For a store, a restaurant or a dental office that wants visitors, directions can be a fair goal. Google recommends Target ROAS or Maximize conversion value in Performance Max for them, with values set on the local actions.
A campaign that starts counting them again
A new campaign starts with the account-default goals, and Google recommends finishing a new Performance Max campaign first, then changing its goals to campaign-specific. Check a new campaign's goals by adding the Conversion goals column from Columns, Modify columns, Attributes.