Google Ads Conversion Window Default: 30 Days

If you searched for this, you probably noticed Google Ads and Shopify reporting different sales numbers and wondered whether the conversion window is to blame. It usually is — at least partly. This guide explains exactly what the default does, why it makes your reports disagree, and how to change it without breaking your data.

What the Google Ads default conversion window actually is

A conversion window is the period after an ad interaction during which Google Ads will still credit a resulting sale to that ad. According to Google Ads Help, if a conversion happens inside the window, it's counted; if it happens after the window closes, it isn't.

The default for a new conversion action is a 30-day click-through window, confirmed by Google Ads Help. So a shopper who clicks your ad today and checks out any time in the next 30 days still shows up as a Google Ads conversion.

That thirty-day reach is generous. It's why Google Ads can report conversions on a given day from clicks that happened weeks earlier — a mismatch you feel most when you compare a single day against Shopify.

Click-through vs. view-through: two different defaults

Google Ads tracks two kinds of conversions, and they don't share a default.

A click-through conversion is a sale after someone clicks your ad. Its default window is 30 days. A view-through conversion is a sale after someone only sees a Display or video ad without clicking. Per Google Ads Help, its default window is just 1 day.

Both are adjustable from 1 to 90 days depending on the conversion source (Google Ads Help). The takeaway: a long click window is the setting most likely to inflate your reported conversions relative to what actually landed in your store that day.

Why 30 days makes Google Ads and Shopify disagree

Here's the core problem. Google Ads and Shopify count different things, so the thirty-day window guarantees they'll never line up perfectly.

Shopify records every completed order the day it happens, server-side, and attributes it to the shopper's last non-direct click — that's Shopify's default model, as covered in our guide to reconciling your ecommerce data. Google Ads instead credits the click, and reports that conversion on the date of the click, not the date of the purchase (Bloom Analytics).

So a click on the 1st that converts on the 20th shows in Google Ads on the 1st and in Shopify on the 20th. Same sale, two different calendar days.

On top of the timing gap, Google Ads' default attribution model is data-driven, which splits a single conversion into fractional credit across multiple touchpoints (Grow My Ads). That's why one order can show up as a decimal — like 0.6 of a conversion — against any single campaign.

Add modeled conversions (statistical estimates for sales Google can't observe directly because of consent declines or ad blockers) and you have several structural reasons the numbers diverge. None of them mean your tracking is broken. If you also run paid social, the same forces produce a normal 20–35% gap between Meta-reported purchases and Shopify orders (Vaizle) — the mechanics are nearly identical.

How to change your conversion window (and when you shouldn't)

You can shorten or lengthen the window, but read the warning first.

Any change applies only to conversions recorded going forward, per Google Ads Help. It is not retroactive. So if you drop from 30 days to 7 days, past data keeps its old window and only new conversions use the tighter one — which creates a seam in your reporting you'll need to remember.

Where to find the setting

In Google Ads, click the Goals icon, open the Conversions menu, and choose Summary. Find the conversion action, click Edit settings, expand Click-through conversion window, and pick a length from the dropdown.

When should you shorten it? A 7-day click window sits much closer to Shopify's last-click reality and cuts the timing gap, at the cost of undercounting slower buyers. A 30-day window optimizes bidding toward the full purchase path but drifts further from your daily Shopify totals. There's no universally correct answer — pick the window that matches how long your customers actually take to buy, then keep it fixed so trends stay comparable.

A worked example: one week, two numbers

Say you sell a print-on-demand hoodie and run Google Ads for one week. The math below is illustrative, but the relationships are exact.

Ground truth: 40 real orders that week, each $50 subtotal + $6 shipping + $4 tax = $60 total. Of those 40 buyers, 25 clicked a Google ad within the last 30 days before buying, 5 only saw a Display ad the day before, and 10 arrived via organic search or direct.

Google Ads, on the 30-day click window, credits the 25 click-through buyers. It reports some of them on their original click dates, so a few land in the prior week's column. With a couple of modeled conversions added, Google Ads shows roughly 26 conversions at $50 each (the subtotal its tag passed) = about $1,300.

Shopify shows all 40 orders at $60 total = $2,400 in total sales, attributed by last click: maybe 25 to Google, 10 to search or direct, and the 5 view-through buyers filed under whatever they last clicked — not Google. Two honest systems, two different pictures of the same week.

The reconciliation rule: treat Shopify's order count and total sales as the source of truth for what happened, and Google Ads as the source of truth for which sales its clicks plausibly influenced. Before you can compare them at all, both tools have to be capturing checkout events correctly — walk our GA4 conversion tracking setup checklist for Shopify to close the tracking gaps first.

The number the conversion window can't give you: profit

Here's the angle most articles skip. Even a perfectly tuned conversion window only tells you how many conversions an ad earned — never how much money you kept.

Continue the hoodie example. That $50 subtotal isn't yours to keep: subtract roughly $18 for Printify's blank and printing, about $1.75 in Shopify Payments processing (2.9% + 30¢ on the $60 charge, per Webgility), and your ad cost per order. If Google Ads spent $600 that week to drive those 25 click-through orders, that's $24 of ad cost each. Your per-order margin is $50 − $18 − $1.75 − $24 = about $6.25 — before refunds.

A conversion window can't compute that. Neither can a return-on-ad-spend figure built on mismatched counts. You need to join your Google Ads spend to Shopify's real orders and your Printify costs on a single order — which is precisely what tools built for linking and syncing store data exist to do, and why so many merchants end up importing their listings and sales into one place.

PodVector connects Shopify, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Printify, and Printful, then computes your true per-order profit across all of them. Victor, its AI operator, reads your Google Ads data and proposes moves — but he does not touch your ad account; the actions he executes are Shopify-side and only with your approval. Start free and see your real per-order profit.

FAQs

What is the default conversion window in Google Ads?

Thirty days for click-through conversions and one day for view-through conversions, applied automatically to any new conversion action unless you change it (Google Ads Help). A sale counts if it falls inside that window after the ad interaction.

Can I change the 30-day conversion window?

Yes. You can set it anywhere from 1 to 90 days in the conversion action's settings, per Google Ads Help. Open Goals → Conversions → Summary, edit the action, and pick a new click-through window from the dropdown.

Does changing the window fix my old data?

No. The change applies only to conversions recorded from that point forward and is never retroactive (Google Ads Help). Expect a visible seam in your reports at the date you switched, so avoid changing it mid-analysis.

Why does Google Ads show fewer or more conversions than Shopify?

Because they measure different things. Google Ads reports conversions on the click date within its window and can split credit fractionally under data-driven attribution, while Shopify records every completed order on the purchase date by last click (Bloom Analytics). Duplicate tags or bot traffic can also push Google's count above Shopify's.

Should I use a 7-day or 30-day window?

Match it to how long your buyers actually take to purchase. A 7-day window tracks closer to Shopify's daily totals and reacts faster; a 30-day window captures slower buyers and gives bidding more signal. Pick one and keep it stable so your trend lines stay comparable — and if you need channel reports to reconcile, standardize UTM tags too, as covered in our guide to syncing store data across tools.