Short answer: Make a conversion primary only if you would pay for that action as a lead. Everything else is secondary: reported, never used for bidding. On 5 Nov 2026 we read the public tags of 1,727 sites, 1,201 of them B2B SaaS. Of the 684 B2B SaaS sites with Google Ads conversions, the median has 4, 23.8% have more than 8 and 65 have 16 or more. We can't see which of yours are primary; Ads shows it under Goals, Conversions, Summary.
How many conversions do B2B SaaS sites carry?
684 of the 1,201 B2B SaaS sites had at least one Google Ads conversion on 5 Nov 2026 (method and limits). Conversions per site:
| Ads conversions on the site | Sites | Share of 684 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 122 | 17.8% |
| 2 to 3 | 169 | 24.7% |
| 4 to 8 | 230 | 33.6% |
| 9 to 15 | 98 | 14.3% |
| 16 or more | 65 | 9.5% |
Median 4, mean 6.8. 79 sites (11.5%) carry 14 or more. A SaaS funnel has about four real steps: lead, qualified lead, trial or demo, paid. Of the 684, 28.5% had a conversion on All Pages or a plain page view, 33.5% one on a click and 9.8% one on a login.
We can't see how many are primary, so read the counts as a ceiling. 16 conversions with 2 primary is fine. 5 conversions, all primary, one of them a page view, is not.
What do primary and secondary actions do?
A primary action counts in Conversions and Smart Bidding optimizes toward it. A secondary one shows only in All conversions (Google Ads Help).
Which actions should be primary?
Ask of each action: would we pay for this as a lead?
| Action | Primary? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Demo request submitted | Yes | A person asked to talk to sales. |
| Trial or signup completed | Yes | An account exists, not just a click. |
| Qualified lead (offline import) | Yes, with enough volume | Closest to revenue. Offline import. |
| Pricing page view | No | Interest, fine as secondary. |
| Click on "Book a demo" or "Start free" | No | The form after it can fail or be abandoned. |
| Login | No | An existing user, not a lead. |
| Thank-you page load | Only if nothing else counts it | Reloads fire it again. Every-page conversions. |
Most B2B SaaS accounts end up with one to three primary actions. Under about 30 of the deepest action a month? Bid on the step above and keep the deeper one secondary (our rule of thumb, not Google's).
How do I check my own account?
About 5 minutes, in Google Ads, Goals, Conversions, Summary:
Note the last 30 days of Conversions. After the cleanup it drops and cost per conversion rises: the old number counted non-leads.
Count the rows marked Primary. Set each one that fails the question above to secondary. Remove rows with no recent conversions.
In GTM, filter Tags on "Google Ads Conversion Tracking" and read each trigger. Two primary actions on one trigger is a double count: duplicate conversions in GTM.
Change the list once, then leave the campaigns alone for a couple of weeks while Smart Bidding relearns. Secondary actions stay in All conversions.
What can't Fireshift see from outside?
Primary or secondary, an account setting. Same for count setting, value rules and conversion windows.
GA4 key events imported into Ads, which add actions (key events vs Ads conversions).
Server-side tags, and tags added by consent tools or non-Google loaders.
The sample: hand-picked well-known vendors, skewed to larger companies.
Updated 7 Nov 2026: shorter, same numbers. Login share 9.8% of 684 since 5 Nov (was 11.5% in the retracted 4 Nov study). Data: our study data (ads_conversions, findings), scanned 5 Nov 2026. Method.
FAQ
How many primary conversion actions should a B2B SaaS account have?
Usually one to three: demo request, trial or signup, and a qualified lead if you import it. We can't see how many are primary.
Should the thank-you page or the form submit be primary?
One per form, never both. A form success event is safer, because a thank-you page can be reloaded or shared.
Originally published on fireshift.ai. We built Fireshift, a free scan that reads what a site sends to Google Ads and GA4 from the outside.
