Google's Original Conversion Value Metric: What to Know

Google Ads has quietly launched a new metric that should prove useful to performance marketers: Original Conversion Value. It might sound like a small tweak, but for anyone who's struggled to untangle inflated ROAS or cross-campaign comparisons, this update is a game-changer.

What Is "Original Conversion Value"?

Previously, when Google Ads reported your conversion value, it would include all adjustments: value rules, audience modifiers, location weighting, lifecycle goal priorities, and more. So if a $100 purchase had a +20% rule applied for a high-value audience, you'd only see the adjusted $120. The original $100 was hidden in the back end.

Now, with this new metric, you'll see both:

• Original Conversion Value: the raw, unaltered number before adjustments.
• Adjusted Conversion Value: the number after all your rules, boosts, and business logic.

It’s the difference between looking at your real revenue vs. Google’s bidding-optimized view.

Why It Matters: Transparency and Truth in Performance

This is a big win for clarity. Many marketers have long suspected that automated bidding results, especially ROAS, were being skewed by adjusted values. This often made campaign performance seem stronger than it was. Here's how this update helps:

• Isolate True Performance: You can now see what your campaigns are truly generating before any rules intervene.
• Cross-Campaign Comparison: No more guessing if one campaign's value was inflated due to different rules.
• Audit Automation: You can finally validate whether ROAS lifts are real or algorithm-driven.

An Example in Action

Let’s say:

• A conversion (a sign-up) is worth $50.
• You have a 2x multiplier for a high-LTV audience.

Previously, you'd only see $100 in your reports. Now, you'll see:

• Original Conversion Value: $50
• Adjusted Conversion Value: $100

This small shift opens the door for better forecasting, cleaner analytics, and more informed bidding.

Who Benefits the Most?

Accounts that rely heavily on value rules or lifecycle goals will feel this impact most. Expect benefits if you use:

• Multiple conversion actions with unique values
• ROAS-based automated bidding
• Complex audience- or geo-based value adjustments

These setups often led to inconsistent or misleading performance metrics, and now, you can separate signal from strategy.

Challenges It Helps Solve

This new metric helps reduce:

• Overinflated ROAS: No more chasing artificially high returns.
• Testing Confusion: Easily compare raw results across campaigns.
• Misleading Strategy Calls: Decisions can now be based on real performance, not Google-boosted numbers.

When Not to Use It as Your North Star

That said, Original Conversion Value is not a replacement for your primary KPIs. It’s an auditing tool, not a bidding input. There are cases in which you should still use adjusted values:

• You’re using value rules for strategic weighting (LTV, qualification tiers, etc.)
• Your exec team only cares about values modeled through your business logic
• Google’s bidding decisions are still tied to adjusted values, so that’s what it optimizes toward

Use both metrics in tandem to get a full picture: one shows raw performance, the other shows strategic optimization.

"Original Conversion Value" lets marketers distinguish between real revenue and algorithmic enhancements. This change brings clarity, confidence, and control back into campaign reporting and strategy.

We’re always happy to chop it up if you’d like to chat about smarter PPC reporting. Just drop us a line.