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Troubleshooting Missing Conversion Values in Google Ads with GTM4WP

35 threads Sep 10, 2025 Plugin → Gtm4wp – a google tag manager (gtm) plugin for wordpress

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Many users of the 'GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress' encounter a common but critical issue: Google Ads records the conversion count but shows a conversion value of zero or an incorrect amount. This problem can severely impact campaign optimization and ROI reporting. Based on community reports and solutions, this guide outlines the most common causes and their fixes.

Why This Happens

The issue typically stems from a misconfiguration between the data layer and the Google Ads tag in Google Tag Manager (GTM). The plugin successfully pushes the transaction data (like ecommerce.purchase.actionField.revenue) into the data layer, but the GTM tag fails to read the correct variable for the value. This can be caused by using the wrong trigger, an incorrect variable path, or a conflict introduced in a specific plugin version.

Common Solutions

1. Use the Correct Event Trigger

A frequent mistake is triggering the Google Ads Conversion tag on a standard Page View of the order confirmation page. The recommended method is to use a Custom Event trigger.

  • Incorrect Trigger: Page View – Order Received Page
  • Correct Trigger: Custom Event with the event name set to purchase

This ensures the tag fires precisely when the purchase data is available in the data layer.

2. Verify the Data Layer Variable Path

Ensure your Google Ads tag is pulling the value from the correct data layer variable. The most common and reliable path for the total order value is:

{{ecommerce.purchase.actionField.revenue}}

Double-check this variable in GTM's preview/debug mode to confirm it holds the expected value during a test transaction. Do not use older variable paths like ecomm_totalvalue.

3. Address Known Plugin Version Conflicts

Community reports indicate that specific updates (e.g., versions 1.12.2, 1.13, and 1.20) have, at times, introduced bugs that broke conversion value tracking. If your problem started immediately after an update, this could be the cause.

  • Temporary Workaround: Several users reported that reverting to version 1.19.1 resolved the issue immediately. You can download previous versions from the advanced page of the plugin's WordPress directory listing.
  • Permanent Solution: Monitor the plugin's official changelog for bug fixes in subsequent updates and test new versions on a staging site before deploying them to your live environment.

4. Check for Caching or Order Page Reloads

If the value is inconsistent (tracking for some orders but not others), caching or customers reloading the order confirmation page might be interfering. The 'GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress' team suggests enabling the “Do not flag orders as being tracked” option in the plugin's settings (Integration → WooCommerce). This can help prevent the data layer from being pushed multiple times on subsequent page loads.

Debugging Steps

  1. Use GTM Preview Mode: This is the most crucial step. Place a test order and use GTM's preview mode to see exactly which tags fire on the order confirmation page and what data is contained in your variables.
  2. Check for JavaScript Errors: Use your browser's console (F12) to check for any errors that might prevent GTM tags from executing correctly.
  3. Validate in Google Ads: After implementing a fix, use the Google Ads Conversion Diagnostics tool to see if the values are now being received correctly.

By methodically checking these areas—your trigger, variable path, and plugin version—you can usually identify and resolve the cause of missing conversion values.

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