When Is a Conversion Not a Conversion on Google Ads?

Let’s talk about something I see all the time when clinic owners come to us asking for help with their Google Ads.

They say: “We’re getting heaps of conversions..."

But I’m just not seeing the same results in the clinic.

It’s a common concern, and it usually pops up when we’re doing a free audit of a clinic’s Google Ads account — something we offer as part of our Google Ads service.

Here’s what we often find:

1. You're Bidding on Your Own Brand Name

One of the first things we check in an audit is the search terms that are generating conversions.

And here’s what happens more often than not — clinics (or their marketing agencies) are bidding on their own brand name. Or at the very least, their brand name is showing up in the paid results.

For example, someone might search for “Physio Fit Adelaide” (which is my clinic).
They click the Google ad and book an appointment.

Now, does that count as a conversion?
Technically yes.
But should it?

I’d argue no.

Why?

Because someone searching your exact clinic name is likely:

• A returning client, or

• Someone who was directly referred to you

And if that’s the case, they would have found you organically anyway. You don’t need to pay Google to show up for your own name — and you definitely don’t want to count that as a true conversion in your reporting.

2. You're Counting the Wrong Actions as Conversions

Another common issue is how the conversions are defined in the account.

Some examples of what might be mistakenly tracked as a "conversion":

• Clicking a button

• Submitting a general contact form

• Talking to a chatbot

• Even just landing on a certain page

Depending on your business type, some of these may be relevant. But for most healthcare clinics, this leads to inflated and misleading numbers.

So... What Should Count as a Conversion?

For most healthcare clinics, a true conversion should be:

• A phone call lasting more than 2 minutes from someone who found you via a non-branded search (e.g., “physio Adelaide” rather than “Your Clinic Name”), or

• An online booking where the client hits a confirmation page

If you're working in a niche like NDIS, your goal might be something else — such as having people complete a detailed form. In that case, we set it up so the form completion triggers a confirmation page we can track.

The key here is clarity.

You need to ask:
What does a meaningful conversion look like for our clinic?
Then — and only then — set your Google Ads account to track only those things.

The Bottom Line?

You want to ensure you're getting a true return on investment.

Google Ads is powerful, but if you're measuring the wrong things, it can give you a false sense of success — and cost you a lot of money in the process.

There are always challenges — like embedded booking widgets or third-party links — but our goal is to track as accurately as possible.