ReferenceTracking error
Misconfigured
Google Ads has detected that a conversion action stopped recording entirely, because of a setup error or a broken tag. Ads keep running, but bidding loses that action's results. Hover over the status for Google's restore steps, check the tag is still on every page that leads to the conversion, then send a real test conversion through Tag Assistant.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column of the conversion actions table on Summary, under Goals. Click the status, then View details or View all issues.
- What stops
- No ad stops. Campaigns that bid on this action see no results from it while it stands.
- How serious
- No policy risk. Recording has stopped entirely, not slowed, so every day it stands is a day of missing results.
- How long
- Google says actions verified in a Tag Assistant session update in the account after about 30 minutes.
What it means
Google defines the status as conversions that have stopped recording entirely due to a setup error or a broken tag. It sits above Needs attention, shown in yellow, where something needs fixing but conversions still record, and Active, shown in green, which Google describes as everything working as intended.
Unlike Awaiting conversions, which only says nothing arrived in 7 days, this status means Google has seen the setup fail. Treat it as a break to find, not a quiet week to wait out.
A campaign can show a similar phrase in its own status: Eligible (Misconfigured): Your website is missing a Google tag. That one is about the campaign, and Google says it often means the campaign has recorded no biddable conversions in the last 28 days.
What actually triggers it
The tag went missing in a website change
A rebuild, a new theme, a move to a new domain or a new thank-you page can leave pages without the Google tag. Google's own troubleshooting step is to check the tag is on every page, including new domains and thank-you pages.
A Tag Manager tag or trigger stopped matching
Where the tags live in Tag Manager, Google asks for the conversion tag and the conversion linker to be configured there and firing on the correct triggers. A renamed button, a changed form or a new page address can leave the trigger waiting for something that no longer happens. Tag Diagnostics also reports Missing conversion linker when the container has none.
A Tag Manager change that never went live, or was undone
Not on Google's help page
A fix saved in a workspace does nothing until a version is published. A later publish from an older workspace can also remove a working tag without any warning.
Fix it in this order
- In Google Ads, open Goals, then Summary. Hover over Misconfigured and read the steps Google lists for that action, then click the status and View all issues for the detail.
- List what changed on the website around the time recording stopped: a rebuild, a new domain, a new thank-you page or a new form tool. That change is usually where the tag went missing.
- If the tags are in Tag Manager, confirm the conversion tag and the conversion linker are in the published version and fire on the right triggers. Publish the corrected version.
- Hover over the status again, click Troubleshoot, then Continue. Enter a landing page or the home page, as Google recommends, rather than the conversion page itself, and click Connect.
- Complete a real conversion on the live site in the tab that opens, then click Finish. Closing the browser without Finish times the session out.
- Come back after about 30 minutes and read the status again.
Active means Google sees the action working. Needs attention after the fix means conversions record again but Google still has an item for you, so hover over it once more.
Often confused with
No conversions in the last 7 days. It can be true (a new action, paused campaigns, little traffic) or a silent break Google has not detected.
Conversions still record, but Google has found something to fix.
Eligible (Misconfigured): Your website is missing a Google tag
A campaign status, not a conversion action status. Google says it often means no biddable conversions in the last 28 days.
Can conversions be broken while the status says Active?
Yes. The status describes whether an action records, not whether it records the right thing. In real accounts, two failures showed no warning at all.
A counted call action recorded nothing for weeks while a near-identical action that was not counted recorded the real calls. The Conversions column showed zero calls, and every status looked healthy.
Lead uploads that Google answered as accepted showed up in the action's totals only in part, often a small fraction of what was sent. The causes seen were leads that came in before the action existed, and uploads sent by email or phone with no click id.
The check that catches both is the same: compare each counted action's total against your own lead records for the same period.