Skip to content

Red flags in a marketing agency report: what "conversions" count, and the sold-job column that isn't there

Most lines of a typical monthly ad report are defined on a Google help page, and unless your CRM sends sold jobs back, none of them tells you whether a call booked or a job sold.

By Lonta AIPublished Updated 12 min readHow we write

TL;DR

  • The biggest red flag in a marketing agency report is a "leads" or "conversions" number with nothing from your own CRM next to it. In Google Ads, "Conversions" counts whatever actions were set as primary in your account: calls, form fills, even taps on your phone number. None of them tells you whether a call booked or a job sold, unless sold jobs from your CRM are imported as conversions.
  • "All conv." is the same number or bigger. Google adds secondary actions that bidding normally ignores, and view-through conversions from people who saw an ad and never clicked it. If the report's "leads" come from that column, ask what is in it.
  • One customer can be counted twice. Website actions and taps on your number on the mobile site count "Every" conversion by default, and Google says conversion rate can go over 100%.
  • Impressions and CTR measure how often the ad was shown and clicked. Google counts an impression even when Maps shows only your business name and location.
  • Ask for five things every month: booked calls, sold jobs, missed calls, the share of leads that were junk, and Google's own statement for the spend.

Marketing agency red flags, line by line

Most monthly reports are built from a handful of Google Ads columns, and Google's help pages define each one.

Line in the reportWhat Google countsWhat it can't tell you
ImpressionsEach time the ad is shown, including partial showings on MapsWhether anyone called
Clicks and CTRClicks, and clicks ÷ impressionsWhether the click came from your service area, or from a customer you already have
ConversionsYour primary conversion actions, which may include modeled ones, dated to the day of the clickWhich actions they are, and whether any of them booked
Cost / conv.Total cost ÷ ConversionsWhat a sold job cost
Conv. rateConversions ÷ eligible interactionsHow many people converted. It can pass 100%
All conv.Conversions plus secondary actions, view-through conversions and a few other sourcesAnything about jobs that Conversions doesn't
Phone callsCalls to a Google forwarding number, of any lengthWhether a CSR answered, and whether it booked
Key events (reports built on Google Analytics)Any event someone marked as important, a page scroll includedWhether it was a lead at all
CostWhat the campaigns spent on clicks or impressionsWhat you were billed after credits, or what the agency charged you for "media"

Most of these reports stop where the ad platform stops, and that alone doesn't mean the agency is lying.

What does "Conversions" in my agency's report count?

Google defines the column as "the number of conversions that you've received across your primary conversion actions", and says it "may include modeled conversions". Primary actions are the ones "reported in the 'Conversions' column in your reports", and bidding uses them when the goal they belong to is set for bidding. Which actions are primary is a setting, and somebody can change it. In the contractor accounts we see, they are usually:

  • Calls from ads. Once call reporting is on, this action is "automatically included in your 'Conversions' column". With call recording on, which is now Google's default, "Only qualified calls will count as conversions": Google analyzes the recording and filters out robocalls, spam calls and misdials. A call that can't be recorded counts if it lasts longer than a minimum length someone set.
  • Form submissions on your website.
  • Clicks on a number on your mobile website. Google is plain about this one: "we can only track these clicks, not the phone calls themselves."

A qualified call still isn't a booked job. Whether it booked is in your phone system and CRM, and Google sees that only if it is sent back: its call tracking page lets you import call conversions from another system, such as a CRM, and "choose to track calls as conversions only when they include sales".

Google also says the columns "are calculated based on the time of the click, not the time of the conversion", so last month's total can still change after the report is sent.

Why is "All conv." bigger than "Conversions"?

It "includes any conversion actions that you've chosen not to include in your main 'Conversions' column", in Google's words. Secondary actions are "for observation only": reported, not used for bidding. Google also lists "store visits, certain phone calls, and more".

Look hardest at view-through conversions: customers who "view, but don't interact with your ad, and then later complete a conversion on your site". Outside a few campaign types Google names (Performance Max for store goals, App and Demand Gen), they are reporting only and stay out of "Conversions". A longer view-through window "will usually increase the number of view-through conversions Google Ads records."

Google describes how a view-through is credited, not whether the ad caused the conversion. Our reading: when customers search because the AC quit, a banner someone scrolled past days before the form fill is weak evidence that the banner sold anything.

Can one customer be counted twice?

Yes, in two documented ways.

The count setting. Each action counts "Every" conversion after an ad interaction, or "One". Google's advice is to use "Every" for sales and "One" for leads "to prevent duplicate counts from page refreshes". Its defaults don't follow that advice everywhere: "Every" is the default for website actions and for "clicks on your number on your mobile website", and "One" for calls from ads. A homeowner who taps your number three times is three conversions.

More than one action. Someone who clicks the ad, fills in the form and then taps your number is two conversions from one click. Google's definition of conversion rate says that in either case it "might be over 100% because more than one conversion can be counted for each interaction."

Each action's "repeat rate", in the Conversion actions table, sizes the problem: Google describes it as the count under "every" divided by the count under "one". A change to the setting applies only to future conversions.

A worked example. The numbers are invented for illustration, not taken from any client. A report says 180 conversions this month. Segmented by conversion action:

Conversion actionCount settingConversionsWhat that is
Calls from adsOne (default)6464 ad clicks that led to at least one call Google judged qualified. Your phone log will show more calls than that
Clicks on your number, mobile siteEvery (default)7070 taps. Google never saw the calls, if any followed
Contact formEvery (default)46Repeat rate 1.3: about 35 ad clicks that ended in a form (46 ÷ 1.3)
Report total180

So "180 leads" is 64 ad clicks that led to a qualified call, about 35 that ended in a form, and 70 taps, and some of those forms and taps can come from the same click. Your CRM shows how many of them booked.

Are the "calls" in the report the calls your CSRs answered?

"Phone calls" counts calls to your Google forwarding number, and Google says "A phone call has no duration requirements". Call conversions are the subset that qualify, dated to the ad click, while calls are dated to the day they happen. Moving from call-only ads to call assets without losing calls has its own article.

Neither column lists which calls were missed. The Call details report does: for each call to a Google forwarding number it lists the start time, duration, caller area code, "Status (missed or received)" and campaign, plus the caller's number for "most calls longer than 15 seconds". It sits under Campaigns, Insights and reports, Report editor, then Call details under "Ads and assets". Without missed calls by hour, a report can't show whether you pay for ads at hours nobody answers; measuring answer rate from your call log shows how to split calls by hour.

What do impressions and CTR prove?

An impression "is counted each time your ad is shown on a search result page or other site on the Google Network", even when Maps shows only "your business name and location". CTR is "clicks ÷ impressions", and Google says "a good CTR is relative to what you're advertising and on which networks." Our reading is that impressions usually rise when targeting widens, which is why matching the ad area to your drive time can cut impressions in the months sold work goes up.

What if the report comes from Google Analytics?

In Google Analytics, important actions are now called key events, and Google says "Any event you collect can become a key event", with a visitor who "scrolls to 90% of a lead-generation page" as its own example. A dashboard line called "key events" can be scrolls and button clicks, depending on what was marked.

Is the spend in the report what Google charged you?

Google separates served cost, "the cost of all the clicks or impressions that the campaign received", from billed cost, "the actual amount you're responsible for paying, after adjustments". Credits for invalid activity and overdelivery show under Billing, then Summary.

If the agency pays Google and bills you for "media", put its line next to Google's statement for your account, under Billing, then Documents. A gap can have ordinary causes: where local tax applies, that page also holds the tax documents, and invalid clicks Google finds after billing are credited "on your next invoice where appropriate and possible". Our read: a gap left after the fee in your contract, tax and late credits is worth asking about, and it may be a markup. How HVAC marketing agencies charge covers the fee side. If nobody at your company can open those billing pages, check who owns the account first.

Not every odd number is a red flag

Some things look wrong and are documented Google behavior:

  • Decimals. Attribution models "attribute fractional credit for each conversion across multiple clicks", which shows up as decimals such as 0.33 or 0.50.
  • Google Analytics and Google Ads disagree. Google says "Discrepancies, often up to 20%, are expected", from different attribution models.
  • A few more conversions than clicks. Google says that "in rare cases" a click later filtered as invalid keeps its conversion. If conversions are well above clicks, check the count setting and the number of primary actions first, as described above.

These don't change how many jobs were sold. The primary actions and count settings above do, because bidding is told to buy more of whatever they count.

The columns that should be in the report

  1. Booked calls, from call tracking or your CSRs' log.
  2. Sold jobs and cost per sold job, from your CRM. Why cost per lead is the wrong number shows how to pull them from ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro or Jobber. For Housecall Pro, matching jobs to campaigns by phone number has its own article.
  3. Missed calls by hour, from Call details or your phone system.
  4. Junk share: spam (why forms fill with it), wrong trade, out of area, and customers you already had.
  5. Google's statement next to the spend line.

The sold-job column matters because leads and jobs can move in opposite directions. The case below uses its own label, "Calls from ads", for calls counted in call tracking.

The Comfort Authority · Tampa, FLRead the case
−22%
Calls from ads
Window
90 days against the 90 before
Source
Call tracking

The Comfort Authority, Tampa Bay. Air conditioning and plumbing from one shop, with a service area page that listed forty-seven cities. Calls were first wired through to the CRM, so a call could be followed to a sold job rather than counted at pickup. Then the radius was rebuilt on drive time and search terms that never become jobs were cut. Calls from ads: −22%. Window: 90 days against the 90 before. Source: Call tracking.

Limit: The two windows are not weather-matched. Two Tampa quarters are never identical, and some of this movement belongs to the season rather than to us.

The Comfort Authority · Tampa, FLRead the case
1.6×
Jobs sold from paid search
Window
90 days against the 90 before
Source
Client CRM

Same account, same window. Jobs sold from paid search: 1.6×. Window: 90 days against the 90 before. Source: Client CRM.

Limit: Jobs sold come from the client's CRM, which means they depend on technicians closing tickets correctly. We did not audit that, we read it.

A report that stopped at calls would have shown that quarter as a 22% drop. The second limit applies to every sold-job column, ours included.

What this doesn't cover

  • Local Services Ads reports. As they move into Google Ads, Google says "Conversions" there displays "the total number of leads for which you're charged". What the move changes is covered separately.
  • Meta and SEO reports. Rankings, traffic and Facebook leads have their own definitions.
  • Whether anyone worked on the account. A report can be accurate and the account untouched for months. The settings behind the numbers are in the 30-minute Google Ads audit.

Do this with your next report

  1. Ask for Conversions segmented by conversion action, and the list of primary actions. Mark any that count taps instead of calls.
  2. Check the count setting and repeat rate of each primary action under Goals, Conversions, Summary. Because "Every" is Google's default for website actions, a contact form left on "Every" is common in the accounts we see.
  3. Ask which column the "leads" come from. If it is All conv., ask how much is view-through.
  4. Pull the Call details report. Count missed calls by hour and compare with your phone system.
  5. Match 30 days of reported leads to your CRM by phone number: booked, sold, and junk.
  6. Send the agency the five columns above in writing, and ask for them in every report from next month on.

FAQ

What are the red flags in a marketing agency report? The main one is leads or conversions with no booked-call or sold-job column beside them. Others: "leads" taken from All conv., forms counted as "Every", taps on your number counted as calls, and no missed calls.

How do I know if my marketing agency is ripping me off? A report alone can't tell you. Check three things: the invoice against Google's statement (see the spend section), who controls the ad account, and whether reported leads match your CRM. If one fails, ask why before you renew.

What is the difference between Conversions and All conversions in Google Ads? "Conversions" counts primary actions, the ones bidding can use. "All conv." adds secondary actions, view-through conversions and a few other sources, so it is always equal to or larger than Conversions.

Why is my conversion rate over 100%? Because more than one conversion can be counted per click. Google says this happens when you track more than one action or count "Every" conversion.

Why don't my agency's leads match my CRM? Google Ads dates conversions to the ad click, may include modeled ones, and can count one person several times. Your CRM counts customers on the day they called.

Sources

All read in full on September 24, 2026. Every quotation from Google above is from these pages.

Read next

Agencies

How HVAC marketing agencies charge, and what each fee model pays them to recommend

On $15,000 a month of ad spend, a 10%–20% fee comes to $1,500–$3,000 a month. Each fee model also pays the agency to recommend something different.

Jan 20, 2026 · 10 min read
Google Ads

Call-only ads stop showing in February 2027. The ad that replaces them counts calls differently.

The replacement also shows on desktops and sends some callers to your website before they dial.

Mar 10, 2026 · 12 min read
Agencies

Leaving your marketing agency? Your Google Ads history stays. Secure the rest before you give notice.

Leaving an agency keeps your Google Ads history. Unlinking its manager account can also stop your ads at once and stop conversion tracking for new clicks, and a CallRail number it switches off can be gone for good within four weeks.

Jan 14, 2025 · 15 min read

Request your free strategy

One page, five details, no card and no call.

Would rather talk it through? Ask for a callback on the form and pick a window. The person who would run your account calls you, not a salesperson.

This sets the testing pace. There is no minimum.

A good callback window or the first problem you want us to look at

No card and no call. Read-only access only.