Invalid conversion times
Google Ads says Invalid conversion times when a conversion is timestamped before the ad click it should match. A time zone set wrong in the export, or a day and month swapped in a spreadsheet, is the cause to check first. Check the times against the click for the same lead first. Adding a day or two can clear the message, but it hides the error.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The offline data diagnostics page in Google Ads, and the Uploads page for file imports.
- What stops
- The row is not credited to its click. The ad keeps serving.
- How serious
- No policy risk. The cost is conversions that are refused without an obvious reason.
What it means
Google requires the conversion to come after the click. A row dated earlier cannot be attached to that click, so it is refused. The error is about the timestamp on the row, not about the lead.
What actually triggers it
Time zone set wrong in the export
Google's page says to check that the time zone is set correctly. A CRM in one zone and an upload in another moves every time by hours, and a late-day lead can land before its click.
A day and month swapped in a spreadsheet
Not on Google's help page
A date edited in a spreadsheet with a different day-month order can land on a day earlier than the click. The row looks right on screen and is wrong in the file.
A conversion time taken from the wrong column
Not on Google's help page
A column holding the date a record was last edited or imported can sit before the click, even though the lead itself came after it.
Fix it in this order
- Find the refused rows in the conversion action's error list. For three or four of them, pull the click time and the conversion time for the same lead.
- Check the time zone set in the CRM and in the upload file. Correct the zone if the two disagree.
- If a spreadsheet edited the dates, check the day and month order in the file and correct the column.
- Only if the times are right and the conversion still sits before the click, move the conversion time forward by one or two days, as Google's page suggests, and note in your records that you did it.
A shifted time that clears the error still carries the wrong date in your own records. Keep the corrected source, so the next export does not repeat the fault.
Often confused with
Click too recent
The click is less than six hours old. The timestamps are fine, and the answer is to wait.
Identifiers or iOS URL parameters are too old
The click is more than 90 days old. The time is valid, and the click has expired.