Glossary
What does Conversions (by conv. time) mean in Google Ads?
Melvin Salas1 min readVerified 1 October 2026
Short answer
Conversions (by conv. time) is the Google Ads column that reports conversions by the time that they occurred rather than the time of the ad click. Google's primary conversion columns are calculated based on the time of the click, not the time of the conversion, which Google says lets you accurately measure cost per conversion or return on ad spend, because ad spend is also calculated based on the time of the click.
Google's example: if your ad was clicked on last week and that traffic converted this week, both the click and the conversion are reported back to last week in the primary conversions columns. The time of conversion columns are Conversions (by conv. time), Conv. value (by conv. time), Value/conv. (by conv. time), All conv. (by conv. time), All conv. value (by conv. time) and Value/all conv. (by conv. time).
Google says reporting by the time of the conversion is helpful when comparing your Google Ads data with third-party analytics like Google Analytics or Shopify. It says discrepancies, often up to 20%, are expected due to different attribution models, and that even when using these columns, differences may still exist due to varying attribution models, look-back windows and how each platform processes data. Data for these columns is available from March 2019, and shop visit conversions and shop sales conversions aren't included in them.
The consequence is ours to state. The two dates answer different questions: the click-dated columns say what a week's spend bought, and can keep rising after you read them as late conversions land, while the conversion-dated columns say what happened in the business that week. Dividing a week's spend by its conversion-dated conversions mixes the two, so we do not report a cost per conversion built that way.
We check this on every account we run
Riibon ties Meta and Google Ads back to outcomes measured outside the platforms, payments and bookings, so the number a decision rests on is one the business would recognise. When the platform and the business disagree, we show both and say which one we trusted.
Ask the Riibon app what your own account is counting as a conversion. It is free, with no time limit and no card. Or book a call and we run it for you.