Problem with conversion tracking demand gen campaigns
I have a problem with my PMax and Demand gen campaigns. In some cases in the reports I have 1 conversion with a conversion value of 1. This is impossible both because in my ecommerce there are no products with a price of 1, and because we have done several tests and on our side we always pass the correct conversion value.
We also checked with the tag manager technical team and they did not find any problems in the way we pass the data and with the data we pass (for example, they had assumed that there was a duplicate conversion tag on some pages but then they verified that this is not the case).
Has anyone else had a similar problem? How did you solve it?
The short answer is:
This issue of seeing a conversion value of $1 is a known behavior, often indicating a problem with how the conversion value is being passed for a specific type of standard event, most commonly the add_to_cart event, or other micro-conversions.
Google sometimes defaults to a value of 1 if it receives the conversion without the associated value parameter.
The solution involves meticulously checking the conversion event setup to ensure the dynamic value is always passed correctly, particularly for micro-conversions, or potentially using the Google Ads API in conjunction with a server-side solution to get more control over the data being sent.
The long answer is:
That $1 conversion value you’re seeing is likely not an error in your tracking setup but rather how Google Ads interprets an event where the conversion value parameter is missing or empty, especially in Demand Gen or Performance Max (PMax) campaigns which rely heavily on automated bidding and sophisticated conversion tracking.
It’s a common occurrence, and while your technical team confirmed the main purchase tracking is correct, the issue usually lies with a micro-conversion that you are also tracking as a standard event.
For example, if you track add_to_cart or view_item as a conversion action, and the conversion value is not dynamically passed for those events, Google Ads will sometimes report it as a conversion with a default value of 1.
Since these campaigns prioritize finding users likely to convert, they may be attributing low-value engagements.
To solve this, you need to first identify which conversion action is reporting the $1 value in your Google Ads account reports.
Once you know the specific action (like add_to_cart), review the Tag Manager setup for that tag.
Ensure the event value parameter for that specific standard event is either a valid number greater than 1 or is explicitly set to 0 if it’s a non-revenue-generating micro-conversion.
Leaving the parameter blank or undefined can sometimes lead to this $1 default.
A more robust and long-term solution to gain ultimate control over your conversion data is by implementing server-side tagging.
Combining Google Ads API + Google Tag Manager + a server-side tagging environment like Stape or Google Cloud Platform is an excellent and cost-effective approach.
Here’s why: Server-side tagging allows your website to send data to your server first (the Stape or GCP container), which then processes and forwards it to Google Ads via the Google Ads API or the server-side Google Ads tag.
This gives you complete control to clean, modify, or validate the data before it ever reaches Google.
Instead of relying on the browser (client-side) to send the correct value, your server can apply a rule, for instance: “If the conversion event is add_to_cart and the value parameter is missing or empty, set the value to 0 before sending it to Google Ads.”
This process ensures the $1 default value is never reported.
Using the Google Ads API for server-side conversion uploads or adjustments also bypasses many browser-related tracking limitations and ad-blocker issues, leading to more accurate, reliable, and de-duplicated data, which is crucial for the sophisticated algorithms in PMax and Demand Gen campaigns.
Tools like Stape are very cheap for most traffic volumes, and the increase in data quality often results in a higher return on ad spend, easily offsetting the minor cost.
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