February 13, 2025
Google Ads is rolling out a crucial update for advertisers using Offline Conversion Import (OCI) to track in-app conversions. By April 30, 2025, advertisers must include the ‘conversion_environment’ parameter when uploading conversion data. This update is essential for maintaining accurate attribution, smarter bidding, and improved campaign performance.
If you fail to update your conversion imports, your app conversion signals will be disabled for web campaigns, potentially leading to fewer app conversions and reduced overall performance. Let’s explore what this means for advertisers and how you can adapt to this change.
What Is the ‘conversion_environment’ Parameter?
The ‘conversion_environment’ parameter allows advertisers to specify where a conversion took place—whether on a website or within an app. This distinction ensures that conversions are properly attributed, preventing errors in tracking and enhancing campaign optimization.
Google Ads uses this data to better allocate ad spend, helping Smart Bidding algorithms determine the most valuable touchpoints across web and app environments. Without this parameter, advertisers risk misattributed conversions and suboptimal bid adjustments.
Why Is This Change Important?
Not including the ‘conversion_environment’ parameter can negatively impact your Google Ads performance and data insights. Here’s why this update matters:
- Improved Attribution Accuracy – It ensures that conversions are assigned to the correct environment (app or web), leading to more precise campaign reporting.
- Better Smart Bidding Performance – Google Ads relies on app signals for Smart Bidding. Without this data, bid strategies may become less effective, reducing conversion rates.
- Enhanced Troubleshooting & Support – Google’s support team will use this parameter for faster and more accurate troubleshooting of conversion tracking issues.
Advertisers who fail to make this update may experience a drop in ad performance, inefficient budget allocation, and fewer overall conversions.
How to Add the ‘conversion_environment’ Parameter
To comply with Google’s new requirement, ensure your conversion uploads include the ‘conversion_environment’ parameter. Here’s how:
- Identify Your Conversions – Determine whether your conversions occur in apps, on the web, or both.
- Modify Your Uploads – Add the ‘conversion_environment’ field when importing your conversions via Google Ads API, Google Ads UI, or Google Tag Manager.
- Use Correct Values – Set the value to either:
"WEB"– If the conversion happened on a website."APP"– If the conversion happened in an app.
- Test & Verify – Upload test data to ensure Google Ads correctly attributes your conversions.
- Monitor Performance – Use Google Ads reports to analyze how this change improves attribution and campaign performance.
What Happens If You Don't Make This Update?
If you fail to include the ‘conversion_environment’ parameter by April 30, 2025, your Smart Bidding strategies will lose app conversion signals, leading to:
❌ Lower conversion rates – App conversions may not be properly counted.
❌ Inefficient bidding – Google Ads will lack key data for optimizing ad spend.
❌ Weaker campaign insights – You won’t be able to see which platform (web vs. app) performs better for your ads.
To avoid these issues, start implementing this update as soon as possible.
Key Benefits of This Update
Advertisers who implement the ‘conversion_environment’ parameter correctly will experience several benefits:
✅ More accurate conversion tracking – Ensures web and app conversions are correctly attributed.
✅ Smarter bidding decisions – Helps Google’s AI allocate budgets more efficiently.
✅ Better campaign insights – Provides deeper analytics on which platform drives more conversions.
✅ Seamless Google support – Makes troubleshooting conversion issues easier and faster.
Conclusion
This update is an essential step toward improving Google Ads attribution and optimizing campaign performance. By ensuring that your Offline Conversion Import (OCI) for Apps includes the ‘conversion_environment’ parameter, you’ll maintain accurate tracking, enhance Smart Bidding, and unlock deeper campaign insights.
Don’t wait until the deadline—start implementing this change today to ensure your Offline Conversion Import (OCI) for Apps strategy continues to thrive.
