Google Ads Now Shows Video Impressions in Conversion Paths, but Not for GA4-Imported Sales: What Ecommerce Directors Should Check

11 Oct

Many ecommerce teams open Google Ads, look at the Overview page and take its story at face value: which campaigns showed up before a sale, and which ones closed it. Google has just changed what that story includes, and whether you see the new part depends on a setting most directors have never looked at.

Google Ads now shows YouTube video impressions in the Conversion paths card on the Overview page, and has added a new Performance by stage card that runs from first impression to final sale. But there is a catch in Google's own help page: if your main purchase conversion is imported from Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the new video impressions don't appear for it. In this blog, we'll explain what has changed, why it matters for the P&L, and what to check before your next budget review.

What has changed

The update was spotted by Hana Kobzová of PPC News Feed and reported by Search Engine Land on 8 October 2026. The source is Google's help page About the Overview page, which now has two new sections.

Google's help page says:

"The 'Conversion paths' overview card now includes video impressions in the conversion path analysis. This helps you to understand the impact of earlier brand interactions."

"Note: For video events in conversion paths, video impressions are shown for web conversions but imported Google Analytics 4 conversions aren't included."

In plain English:

A conversion path is the list of ad moments a customer had before they bought, for example a YouTube ad, then a Search ad click, then a sale.
Before, YouTube only appeared in those paths when someone counted as having watched the ad (a "view"). Now, simply being shown the ad (an "impression") can appear too, marked with an eye icon.
The catch: Google says this applies to "web conversions", meaning sales Google Ads records on your website, such as through its own conversion tag. If the sale is imported into Google Ads from GA4, those video impressions are left out.
The new Performance by stage card groups results into three stages: Awareness (impressions, reach, frequency), Consideration (views, branded searches, view-through conversions) and Action (conversions, cost per action and Conversion Lift).

Google's separate attribution reports help page points the same way. It says conversions credited to ad impressions "are currently not supported in Google Analytics".

Why it matters for the P&L

This looks like a small reporting tweak. It isn't, if you spend real money on YouTube or Demand Gen.

Video can look weaker than it is. If your main purchase conversion comes from GA4, the Overview page won't show the YouTube ads people saw before buying. Video then looks like it does little, and it is often the first budget cut when targets get tight.
Two set-ups, two different stories. The same customer journey can look different depending on where the sale is recorded. That difference comes from the measurement set-up, not from how the ads performed, so it is easy to draw the wrong conclusion.
Seeing an ad is not the same as being persuaded by it. Search Engine Land makes the point clearly: an impression appearing in a path doesn't mean it caused the sale. Paths show what happened, in order. They don't show what would have happened without the ad.
The new card only counts some conversions. Google says only "biddable" conversions are included in the card's Conversions and Conversion Lift figures. In practice, that means the conversion actions you have told Google Ads to count and bid on. If the action you care about isn't one of them, it won't be there.

A worked example

Imagine a UK homeware retailer spending £40,000 a month on Google Ads, with £8,000 of that on YouTube. (An illustrative scenario, not a real client.) Two years ago, their agency set up purchases by importing them from GA4 into Google Ads, and made that the main conversion.

At the quarterly review, the YouTube campaigns show very few conversions on the Overview page, and someone proposes moving the £8,000 into Performance Max. Before agreeing, the Head of Digital asks one question: where is our purchase conversion recorded? The answer explains part of the gap. The team adds the Google Ads conversion tag with Enhanced Conversions as a second purchase action, set to observe only, compares the two for a month, and plans a Conversion Lift study before deciding the YouTube budget in the new year.

Director checklist before your next budget review

Find out where your sales are recorded. Ask your team or agency: "Is our main purchase conversion in Google Ads recorded by the Google Ads tag on our website, or imported from GA4?" In Google Ads, this is under Goals, then Conversions.
Check for two purchase actions. Many accounts have both a Google Ads tag purchase and a GA4 import. Only one should be the main ("primary") action used for bidding. If both are counted, sales are counted twice and ROAS looks better than it is.
Decide which source you want Google Ads to learn from. If you invest in YouTube or Demand Gen, there is now one more reason to consider the Google Ads tag, ideally with Enhanced Conversions, as your main purchase action. Keep the GA4 import as a secondary action to compare against.
Don't switch during peak. Changing your main conversion action changes what automated bidding learns from. Add the new action as secondary first, compare for a few weeks, and plan any switch for a quieter trading period.
Treat video impressions as context, not credit. More YouTube in your paths is useful for planning creative and frequency. It isn't proof that video drove extra sales.
Use a lift test for the money question. If the decision is "keep or cut video", run a Conversion Lift study, which compares people who saw the ads with people who didn't. We covered how in our guide to Conversion Lift for Search and Performance Max.
Judge on backend orders. Whatever Google Ads shows, check it against sales in your own system before moving budget.

Caveats

Google gives no date or rollout detail. The help page doesn't say when the change went live, whether it is reaching all accounts gradually, or which campaign types show the new card. Check your own account.
Google doesn't say why GA4 imports are excluded, or whether that will change. We will update this guidance if it does.
The GA4 import isn't "wrong". It still reports conversions in Google Ads. The limit applies to this video-impression view of the paths, not to whether imported sales count.
Lift metrics need a study. The Performance by stage card can only show Brand Lift, Search Lift or Conversion Lift results when a lift study has been set up.

Final thoughts

#11/100 — Where you record a sale decides how much of the story you get to see.

Google is giving advertisers a fuller view of how video fits into the journey to purchase, but only if the sale is recorded in the way Google Ads expects. Before anyone moves budget away from YouTube, make sure you know where your conversions come from, and use a proper test, not a path report, to decide what video is really worth.

Not sure how your Google Ads conversions are set up? Run the free GA4 and GTM tracking scan at https://audit.taggurus.co.uk/, email info@taggurus.co.uk, or book a meeting today to discuss.

FAQ

Q: What does the eye icon in Google Ads conversion paths mean?
A: It marks a video impression: someone was shown your video ad. Google uses the icon to tell impressions apart from video views.

Q: Why can't we see video impressions in our conversion paths?
A: One reason Google documents is that your conversions are imported from GA4. Google's help page says video impressions are shown for web conversions, but imported GA4 conversions aren't included.

Q: Should we stop importing conversions from GA4?
A: Not necessarily. GA4 imports still work and are useful for comparison. The question is which action Google Ads uses as your main purchase conversion. Test any change as a secondary action first, and avoid counting the same sale twice.

Q: Does a video impression in the path prove YouTube worked?
A: No. It shows the person was shown the ad before buying. To know whether video created extra sales, use a Conversion Lift study.

Digital Team