This article will help you with frequently asked questions about shop visits.
Shop visits eligibility
- Why can’t I find shop visits conversion action in my account?
- How long does it take for my account to start reporting shop visits after I add location assets or affiliate location assets?
- How many clicks do I need to be eligible for shop visits reporting?
- Why can’t I select 'Shop visits' goals in my Performance Max for shop goals campaign?
Shop visits reporting at the manager account level
- Should I track shop visits at the Google Ads manager account or client account level?
- Why do some accounts not show any shop visits report and show the conversion action as 'pending', even though conversion tracking is set up at the manager account level?
Reporting shop visits conversions
- Why do I find shop visits reported for days when my shop was closed?
- Why does my conversion lag report show a majority of conversions happening within less than three days, but I don’t find any shop visits in the last five days?
- Why do I find different shop visits numbers for the same time frame when I check at different times?
- Why do I find shop visits performance fluctuations?
Shop visits in the ‘Shops’ report
- Why does my ‘Shops’ reporting show the same number of visits for varying local reach impressions numbers?
- Why do I find shop visits reported for disapproved location assets?
- Why am I no longer able to view past data in the ‘shops’ report?
Shop visits eligibility
1. Why can’t I find shop visits conversion action in my account?
When an account meets the requirements, the shop visits conversion action will be automatically created in the account.
2. How long does it take for my account to start reporting shop visits after I add location assets or affiliate location assets?
We’re unable to provide guidance that will guarantee that an account will become eligible for shop visit reporting.
When an account meets the requirements, the shop visits conversion action will be automatically created in the account.
3. How many clicks do I need to be eligible for shop visits reporting?
We’re unable to provide guidance that will guarantee that an account will become eligible for shop visit reporting. However, below are some steps that you can take to increase your chances for eligibility:
- Increase overall click volume within the account by raising bids and/or increasing budgets, or create a Performance Max campaign for shop goals that optimises toward local actions.
- Ensure that all of your locations are included in the linked Business Profile account.
- Ensure that location assets are enabled for all campaigns. Campaigns that opt out of location assets aren’t eligible for shop visits.
- Optimise your campaigns for shop visits by:
- increasing mobile bids
- including local keywords like ‘near me’
- Add shopping categories users are more likely to research online and purchase offline.
4. Why can’t I select 'Shop visits' goals in my Performance Max for shop goals campaign?
- To optimise your campaign toward shop visits conversion goal, your account must first meet all the shop visits requirements, after which the conversion action will be automatically created.
- If your account is not yet eligible for shop visits reporting, consider optimising toward local actions in your Performance Max for shop goals campaigns. Learn more About Performance Max for shop goals.
Shop visits reporting at the manager account level
1. Should I track shop visits at the Google Ads manager account or client account level?
- The same logic applies here as for online conversions. Where any given user can be exposed to ads from several client accounts, it’s common best practice to use cross-account conversion tracking to avoid double-tracking conversions. Bear in mind that mixed-level conversion tracking isn’t supported.
- If you have a Google Ads manager account, shop visits can always be viewed at the manager or client account level. If conversion tracking is set up at the manager account level, shop visits will be deduplicated across client accounts.
- If conversion tracking is set up at the manager account level, the count of shop visits at the manager account level should always be equal to the sum of shop visits for all the client accounts that are tracking shop visits conversions under the manager account.
2. Why do some accounts not show any shop visits report and show the conversion action as 'pending', even though conversion tracking is set up at the manager account level?
- Although shop visits can be reported at the manager account level, eligibility requirements must be met at the sub-account level, not the manager account level. Each sub-account must meet the eligibility requirements on its own to report shop visits.
- While shop visits are reported at the manager account level, not every sub-account is eligible to report shop visits. Even two accounts which seem similar may not meet the eligibility requirements at the same time.
Reporting shop visits conversions
1. Why do I find shop visits reported for days when my shop was closed?
Visits are attributed to ad interactions, like clicks or impressions. This means that visits are reported on the date of the interaction, not the date of the actual visit.
2. Why does my conversion lag report show a majority of conversions happening within less than three days, but I don’t find any shop visits in the last five days?
There is a standard reporting delay for shop visits, which means that you may find zero conversions for the past five days. Shop visits are reported based on the day of the interaction, but it may take some time for the actual visits to occur and for the model to report your visits. Learn more about Troubleshooting shop visits reporting.
3. Why do I find different shop visits numbers for the same time frame when I check at different times?
Our model runs often, constantly updating to provide accurate reporting for your shop visits. This means that you’ll find shop visits' value of recent days change as the model collects updated information. We recommend waiting for the conversion window to be over before checking your shop visits reporting. Learn more about Shop visits conversions reporting.
4. Why do I find shop visits performance fluctuations?
If the shop visits in your account change drastically or stop reporting completely for an extended period of time, there are two possible causes.
- Changes in customer behaviour: Customer behaviour can change throughout the year. Changes like seasonality or current events may affect traffic to your shop.
- Changes in account setup: Changes in your Business Profile, location assets, affiliate location assets, conversion settings (for example, conversion window or conversion status), location targeting and more can directly affect your shop visit conversions. If you’re concerned that shop visits have fluctuated, make sure the account setup for shop visits is correct and hasn’t changed.
You can use the shop visit reporting troubleshooter if you still have questions on shop visits performance fluctuations.
Shop visits in the ‘Shops’ report
1. Why does my ‘Shops’ reporting show the same number of visits for varying local reach impressions numbers?
The Local reach column shows the number of times a shop's location-based ad was shown. These impressions aren’t necessarily what drive the conversion of the same row. When some shops are too close together, it’s very likely that an end user views an impression of 'shop A' and ends up converting with 'shop B', which may explain varying local reach results with similar shop visits conversions. Learn how to View the shop report.
2. Why do I find shop visits reported for disapproved location assets?
Because shop visits measure the offline user action, location asset disapprovals and serving wouldn’t impact our ability to attribute visits to the associated shop.
3. Why am I no longer able to view past data in the ‘shops’ report?
Location assets were upgraded throughout 2023 to enable new features and reduce the complexity of asset creation and management. Historical data about shops are available in the report editor tab instead. Learn more About assets upgrade.
