Google Ads will change how automatically created customer conversion goals are set as account-default starting Nov. 17, aiming to reduce wasted spend from campaigns optimizing toward irrelevant goals.
How it works now.
- New conversion actions created via the API automatically generate customer conversion goals.
- Those goals are set as account-default by default, making them biddable across campaigns.
- The result: campaigns may target unnecessary goals, diluting performance.
What’s changing. Under the new rules, a newly created goal will only default to account-level bidding if every other goal in that category is already account-default. Example: If an account has a non-default “Purchase” goal from website conversions, any new “Purchase” goals won’t default to account-default.
- Advertisers who still want a goal prioritized will need to set CustomerConversionGoal.biddable = true manually.
Why we care. When a new conversion action is created through the API, it automatically becomes an account-default goal, making it biddable across campaigns. While convenient, this often causes campaigns to chase irrelevant goals and hurt performance. The update ensures the account-default goal set stays lean, relevant, and performance-driven – reducing the risk of bidding against the wrong signals.
Bottom line. Advertisers and API users should review workflows ahead of the November rollout to avoid surprises in how new conversion goals are applied.
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Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more. In 2008, Anu’s career started with delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side. Outside editing Search Engine Land article she is the founder of PPC networking event – PPC Live and host of weekly podcast PPC Live The Podcast.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US, UK, Munich, Berlin), Friends of Search (Amsterdam, NL), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna, IT) and more.
