Default conversion value
A default conversion value is the fixed amount Google Ads records for a conversion when the order amount is missing or the action is set to always use it.
How it works
Every conversion action has a default value. Google Ads records it in two cases: when the action is set to always use it, and when a conversion arrives with a missing, invalid or disallowed value. Where it applies, every order carries the same amount, so the reported conversion value is the number of orders times one number.
ROAS built on that amount says nothing about money. Target ROAS and the other value-based bidding strategies learn from it too, so a large order and a small one weigh the same. To spot it in an account, read how static conversion values fake your ROAS.
Formula
Reported conversion value = conversions × default value
Where you see it
In Google Ads, in the value settings of a conversion action. In the Google Ads API, the fields default_value and always_use_default_value.
Example
Example store, not client data.
The tableware shop gets 300 orders worth 180,000 from 40,000 of spend. Its purchase action always uses a default of 600, the average order value. Campaign A sells dinner sets: 100 orders worth 120,000 on 20,000, ROAS 6. Campaign B sells mugs: 200 orders worth 60,000 on 20,000, ROAS 3.
Google Ads reports A at 100 × 600 = 60,000, ROAS 3, and B at 200 × 600 = 120,000, ROAS 6. The account total is still 180,000.
How GetProfit reads it
The portal’s conversion check reads the always-use-default setting. Where the value is a default or mixed, the portal hides ROAS, greys out revenue and counts by the number of orders and the cost of one order.
The portal also checks the amounts that arrive. It flags a product campaign with 10 or more conversions when its average order value is below 0.30× the account’s median order value.
Not to be confused with
- Conversion value — the amount sent with each conversion, normally the order total. The default value replaces it.
- Conversion value rules — adjust a recorded value by audience, device or location. They cannot turn a default back into the order amount.
Right and wrong readings
- Wrong: “The default equals our average order value, so ROAS is accurate.” Right: the account total matches, but campaigns A and B swap their ROAS of 6 and 3, so a target ROAS strategy would favour the mugs.
Sources
- ValueSettings — Google Ads API reference: when the default value replaces the value sent with a conversion. Checked 2 October 2026.