Google Ads Conversion Value Rules: Conditions, Add vs Multiply

Google Ads conversion value rules let you change the value Google Ads records for a conversion, depending on where the person is, what device they use, or which audience list they belong to. The adjusted value shows up in your conversion value column and is used at auction time by Smart Bidding strategies that optimize for value, namely Target ROAS and Maximize conversion value. You do not touch the tag or the conversion action to do it.

What conversion value rules are

A conversion value rule is an account-level instruction that says: when a conversion meets this condition, change its value in this way. Google's help documentation describes the purpose as expressing the value of conversions "as they relate to your business", for example because margins differ between types of users or because lifetime value matters. Without a rule, Google Ads records whatever value your tag or import sends. With a rule, Google Ads takes that original value and applies the adjustment on top.

Two things happen when a rule applies. First, the adjusted figure is what appears in the conversion value column in your reports. Second, the same adjusted figure is available to Smart Bidding in real time, so the bid for a similar future auction reflects the new value. That second point is the reason rules exist at all. If a conversion from one city is worth more to you than the tag says, you want the bidding system to know before it places the next bid, not after you read a spreadsheet.

Google's setup page says the rules can be applied to Search, Shopping, Display, Hotel and Performance Max campaigns, and the overview page notes that the feature is not compatible with Travel campaigns. Check the current list in the Help Center for your account type before you plan around a specific campaign type, because Google updates these pages.

Which bid strategies use them

Google's documentation names two strategies: Target ROAS and Maximize conversion value. Both are value-based strategies, meaning they aim at revenue or value rather than at a count of conversions. If a campaign runs on Maximize conversions or Target CPA, the page does not list those among the strategies that use value rules in real time, so do not build a plan that depends on rules steering them.

The rules still change the reported numbers for any campaign they apply to. The help page for the rules report says the reporting covers all conversions, not only the ones in the Conversions column. This matters for comparison: after you switch a rule on, the conversion value and ROAS in your reports are no longer the raw figures your tag sends. A before-and-after comparison of ROAS across the switch date compares two different definitions of value.

The conditions you can use

Each rule starts from a primary condition. According to Google's setup page, the primary condition can be one of these:

• Audience, which includes first-party and Google audience lists
• Location
• Device
• No condition, which is limited to store visit or store sales conversion goals

A rule can also carry a secondary condition, so a single rule holds at most two conditions. The secondary condition has to be a different type from the primary one. Location plus device is allowed. Location plus a second location rule is not. In practice this lets you write something like "conversions from this region on mobile" as one rule instead of two. One constraint to plan around: Google's setup page says all value rules in an account must use the same type of primary and secondary condition, so if your first rule is Location plus Device, every later rule must also use Location as the primary condition (and Device as the secondary, if it has one). Changing the condition types later means deleting all existing rules and recreating them.

Google also notes that some conditions may be unavailable to advertisers whose ads relate to housing, employment or credit, because of its policies. If you advertise in those categories, open the rule screen first and see which conditions are offered before you design a value strategy around them.

Add vs multiply (and set)

The adjustment is the second half of each rule. Google's setup page describes three actions:

• Add puts a positive value, greater than 0, on top of whatever conversion value is being passed.
• Multiply multiplies the conversion value by a factor between 0.5 and 10.
• Set assigns a fixed value, and the page labels it as currently in beta.

The practical difference is how each action behaves as order size changes. The numbers below are illustrative only, to show the arithmetic.

Multiply suits a situation where the original value is proportionate to what you care about, such as revenue, and you believe one segment is worth a fixed percentage more or less. Add suits a flat extra amount per conversion, such as a known follow-on value that does not scale with the first order. Because the multiplier range stops at 0.5 on the low end, a multiplier cannot reduce a value to nearly zero, so a rule cannot be used to effectively switch a segment off. If you want a segment to stop receiving budget, use targeting or bid settings instead.

What happens when several rules match

A conversion can satisfy more than one rule, for instance a user in a city you boosted who is also in an audience you boosted. The help page says only one rule applies in that case, and it explains how the winner is picked:

• For location rules, the most specific geographic rule applies.
• For audience rules, Google's audience attribution hierarchy decides.
• Device rules cannot conflict with each other, because device categories are mutually exclusive.
• For store conversion rules, a store-specific rule takes precedence over a blanket rule.
• If two rules tie, a Multiply rule is selected over an Add rule, and among Multiply rules the one with the highest multiplier wins.

The consequence is that rules do not stack. Two rules that each give a 20 percent uplift will not combine into 44 percent. A conversion that matches both gets one adjustment. Anyone who plans value in a spreadsheet by compounding segment uplifts will get numbers that Google Ads will not reproduce. Build the plan around the one rule that wins for each type of conversion.

How to see what the rules did

In the account, open the Goals menu, then the Conversions drop-down, then Value rules. The page lists the rules you created. For reporting, go to Campaigns, select the segment icon, choose Conversions, then Value rule adjustment. Google's reporting guide describes columns that separate original from adjusted value: "Original conv. value (rule applied)" for conversions where a rule fired, "Original conv. value (no rule applied)" for the rest, and net adjustments segmented by audience, location, device or no condition. The total conversion value is the sum of the two original values and the adjustments. You can also add the "All value adjustment" and "Value adjustment" columns to a statistics table.

This is the audit trail. If a ROAS figure moves after a rule goes live, these columns tell you how much of the move comes from the adjustment and how much from genuine change in sales. Check them before you act on a ROAS shift, and before you lower or raise a target.

When not to use conversion value rules

Google's own page carries a caveat that is easy to skip: Smart Bidding already uses signals such as geography, device and first-party audience lists. A rule that tells the system a mobile conversion is worth 10 percent more is only useful if that statement adds information the bidding model does not already have. If the difference between mobile and desktop value is already visible in the values your tag sends, a rule double counts it. The honest tests before creating a rule are these:

1. Is there a real business reason the value differs, such as a margin difference, a lead quality difference measured in your CRM, or a known repeat-purchase pattern?
2. Can you point to data outside Google Ads that supports the size of the adjustment?
3. Does the campaign use Target ROAS or Maximize conversion value, so the rule can influence bidding?
4. Is the underlying conversion value accurate to begin with?

The last point is the most common failure. Rules adjust a number. If the number is a placeholder, such as every lead set to the same arbitrary value, a rule multiplies a placeholder. Fix the base value first, using conversion values that reflect revenue or qualified lead value, then add rules where a segment truly differs.

Avoid rules in these situations: when the campaign has too few conversions to show whether the adjustment helped, when you cannot say why a segment is worth more, and when you plan to change several rules and the bid strategy in the same week, since you will not be able to tell which change moved results.

A worked scenario (illustrative)

Imagine a furniture retailer that sends the order value as the conversion value. The finance team knows, from its own records, that orders delivered to one region have a higher margin because shipping is cheaper. The retailer creates a location rule for that region with a Multiply action of 1.15. In the rules report, the "rule applied" column starts to show that region's conversions with a net adjustment, and Target ROAS campaigns see a 15 percent higher value for those conversions in real time. A month later the team checks that the margin difference still holds. If it has narrowed, the multiplier is changed. The rule is a model of a business fact, and it needs the same maintenance as any model.

Now a lead generation case. An advertiser imports offline conversion values from its CRM, so each qualified lead carries a value. A device rule for desktop might be justified only if the CRM data shows desktop leads closing at a higher rate. Without that evidence, the rule is a guess.

What this means for Thai businesses

Value rules make sense when you hold data Google Ads cannot see, such as delivery zones with different costs, Bangkok versus provincial order values, LINE-driven repeat purchases tracked in a CRM, or offline closing rates for leads. In those cases, location rules for margin differences and audience rules built on first-party lists such as past buyers are natural candidates. This is a planning suggestion, not a statement from Google about Thailand. Whether a given condition is available to your account depends on your campaign types and policies, so confirm in the interface.

Before adding any rule, make sure conversion tracking sends meaningful values and that the conversion actions are set to count what you intend. If tracking is incomplete, fix that first. Relevant Audience offers Google Ads management and GA4 and measurement setup, as well as a search advertising service. For stores with a product feed, see how value-based bidding fits with ecommerce marketing.

Google Ads conversion value rules FAQ

Do conversion value rules change my reported conversion value?

Yes, adjusted values are reported in the conversion value column, and the rules report separates original value from adjustments. Compare ROAS across the switch date with care, because the definition of value changed.

Can two rules stack on one conversion?

No, only one rule applies when several match. Google picks the winner by specificity for locations, by an audience hierarchy for audiences, and by letting Multiply beat Add when types tie, with the higher multiplier winning among Multiply rules.

What is the allowed range for a multiplier?

The multiplier must be between 0.5 and 10, according to Google's setup page. Add rules must use a value greater than 0, and Set rules are shown as beta.

Do rules work with Target CPA or Maximize conversions?

Google's documentation names Target ROAS and Maximize conversion value as the strategies that use the rules in real time. It does not list Target CPA or Maximize conversions, so do not expect the rules to steer them.

Where do I find my rules?

Open the Goals menu, then the Conversions drop-down, then Value rules. The page lists the rules you have created. The original and adjusted value columns appear when you segment a campaign report by Conversions, then Value rule adjustment.

Next step

If you are unsure whether your conversion values are accurate enough to build rules on, an account review is the quickest check. Relevant Audience can walk through your conversion actions, values and bid strategies and tell you where a value rule would help and where it would only add noise.