Why are assisted conversions not showing in my reports?

Where assisted conversions should appear (and what counts as an “assist”)

In Google Ads, assisted conversions are shown inside the attribution reporting area (not the standard Campaigns table by default). The Assisted conversions report is designed to show you how often a campaign, ad group, keyword, or other dimension appeared earlier in the path and helped drive a conversion, even when it didn’t get the final interaction.

Practically, you’ll see two key concepts: assists versus last-click conversions. If an interaction helped but wasn’t the interaction immediately preceding the conversion, it’s counted as an assist. If it happened directly before the conversion, it’s counted as a last-click conversion. One conversion can have multiple assists, so it’s normal for total assists to be higher than total conversions.

If you’re looking for “assisted conversions” in a legacy Analytics-style report, note that newer Analytics properties emphasize attribution path reporting (and in some cases key-event based reporting) rather than the old assisted conversions report format. So the first step is confirming you’re checking the right reporting surface for the product you’re using (Google Ads attribution vs. Analytics advertising/attribution reports).

Why assisted conversions are blank (the most common causes)

1) You haven’t selected the right conversion actions (or they’re not “primary”)

By default, Google Ads attribution reports typically start by including conversion actions that are marked as primary. If your conversions were imported from Analytics, they’re often created as secondary by default, which can make your attribution reports look empty unless you explicitly select those conversion actions in the report controls (or change their optimization setting to primary inside Google Ads where appropriate).

This is one of the most frequent “everything is tracking, but my assisted conversions are zero” scenarios I see in audits: the account is recording conversions, but the attribution report is filtered to a different set of conversion actions than the ones you care about.

2) Your date range is fine, but your lookback window is too short for your buying cycle

Attribution reporting uses a lookback window to decide how far back it should consider ad interactions before a conversion. If your sales cycle is longer than your selected lookback window, many early touchpoints won’t be eligible to receive assist credit in the report.

If you’re in B2B lead gen, higher-ticket e-commerce, or anything with repeat research behavior, it’s common to “discover” assists simply by widening the lookback window and then re-reading the paths with that longer horizon in mind.

3) Conversions are happening, but they’re too recent (data freshness and processing delays)

Google Ads performance data isn’t instantaneous. Clicks and conversions are often delayed by a few hours, and conversions using attribution models beyond last click can take noticeably longer to finalize. If you imported conversions (for example, from Analytics), it can take up to a day before that conversion data is fully available for reporting in Google Ads.

This matters for assisted conversions because assist credit relies on path processing. If you’re checking “today” or “yesterday” and expecting stable assist numbers, you can easily catch the system mid-processing and see zeros (or undercounted assists) temporarily.

4) Your conversion window is too short, so the system can’t connect earlier interactions to the conversion

The conversion window is the maximum time after an ad interaction during which a conversion can be recorded and attributed in Google Ads. If your conversion window is set aggressively short (for example, 7 days) but your typical time-to-convert is 2–6 weeks, you’ll naturally see fewer recorded conversions and thinner conversion paths—meaning fewer assists to show in the first place.

This is especially common when an account has recently tightened conversion windows to “clean up” reporting. The cleanup sometimes goes too far and starts deleting legitimate late conversions from the measurement story.

5) Your conversions or campaign types aren’t supported in the specific attribution view you’re using

Not every conversion source and campaign type is represented the same way across all Google Ads reporting surfaces. Some conversion types show readily in standard campaign reporting but may not populate certain attribution reports the way you expect. If the only conversions you’re optimizing toward are outside what that attribution report supports, it can look like “assists disappeared” when really you’re just looking in a report that isn’t designed to include that conversion set.

6) You’re using cross-account conversion tracking, but you’re viewing attribution in the wrong account

If you manage multiple accounts under a manager setup and use cross-account conversion tracking, attribution reporting should be reviewed in the manager context that owns those shared conversions. When you look in an individual child account, you can end up with partial paths or missing attribution views—especially if the conversions are managed centrally.

A systematic troubleshooting workflow (fastest path to the real issue)

Step 1: Confirm you’re in the correct report and dimension

Inside Google Ads, go to the Attribution section and open the Assisted conversions report. Then confirm the “Dimension” selector (campaigns vs. keywords vs. ad groups) matches what you’re expecting. It’s surprisingly easy to be on a dimension that has no meaningful assist behavior (for example, a very granular slice) and assume the whole account is blank.

Step 2: Use this high-signal checklist to find the blocker

• Date range: Expand the range to include at least the last 30–60 days (longer if your sales cycle is longer).
• Conversion action selector: Switch from “default selections” to explicitly choose the conversion actions you actually use for success measurement (especially any imported conversions).
• Lookback window: Test 30, then 60, then 90 days and watch whether assists “wake up” as you widen the window.
• Data freshness: If you’re evaluating the last 24–48 hours, pause and re-check after processing completes; don’t diagnose attribution issues off same-day data.
• Conversion windows: Review each key conversion action’s conversion window; make sure it matches the real-world time-to-convert for your business.
• Primary vs. secondary: If your important conversions are secondary, either select them directly in the report or (if appropriate) reclassify them for how you want to optimize and report.
• Account structure: If conversions are shared via a manager setup, verify you’re viewing attribution reporting in the right level of the account hierarchy.

Step 3: Reconcile “Attribution” versus “Campaigns” reporting so you don’t chase ghosts

A common trap is comparing attribution reports to the Campaigns table without aligning timing. Attribution views are often conversion-time oriented, while the Campaigns table commonly emphasizes interaction-time logic in many default column configurations. If you’re validating whether data is “missing,” align your reporting time basis first; otherwise, you can misinterpret normal timing differences as a tracking problem.

Step 4: If it’s still zero, validate that conversions are actually being recorded (not just tags firing)

I’ve seen plenty of situations where tags fire correctly in testing, but conversions don’t record due to configuration issues (for example, the wrong conversion action is being used, imported conversions haven’t populated yet, or offline upload times/time zones don’t line up cleanly). Assisted conversions can’t exist without recorded conversions, so make sure the account is truly recording conversions in Google Ads before you focus on attribution-path depth.

How to use assisted conversions once they show up (so you optimize instead of overreacting)

Use assists to protect upper-funnel coverage (and stop pausing the wrong keywords)

When you only look at last-click conversions, you tend to over-invest in brand and late-stage queries while underfunding the discovery layer that creates demand. Assisted conversions give you the evidence to keep (or even expand) the campaigns and keywords that start or shape the journey, even if they rarely “close” it.

Pair assists with conversion goals and action settings for cleaner decision-making

Once you can see assists, the next step is making sure your conversion setup reflects business intent. Keep your bidding-focused actions clean (usually primary), keep your diagnostic and micro-conversion actions available for analysis (often secondary), and make sure your attribution reports are filtered to the exact set of outcomes you’re using to judge marketing success. This prevents a common failure mode where the account optimizes to one definition of success but the team evaluates performance using a different one.

Set expectations internally: assisted conversions are directional, not a replacement for incrementality

Assists are incredibly useful for understanding paths and contribution, but they are still attribution. Use them to guide budget allocation, creative sequencing, and query expansion—not as a definitive proof that a specific keyword “caused” revenue. When you treat assists as a decision-support metric (instead of a billing ledger), they become one of the most practical tools in the platform.

Assisted conversions usually “disappear” for reporting reasons rather than because tracking is broken: in Google Ads they live in the Attribution section (not the standard Campaigns tables), they’re often filtered to primary conversion actions only (so secondary or imported goals won’t show unless selected), and they can be suppressed by settings like a too-short lookback window or conversion window, normal processing delays (especially for very recent dates), unsupported campaign/conversion types in a given attribution view, or simply looking in the wrong account when using cross-account conversion tracking at the manager (MCC) level. If you’re trying to make this kind of diagnosis repeatable, Blobr connects to your Google Ads account and runs specialized AI agents that continuously review performance and configuration to surface concrete fixes and next steps—whether that’s spotting reporting/goal mismatches, tightening wasted spend, or improving ads and landing page alignment—so you can spend less time hunting for “missing” data and more time acting on it.