Login and trial signups as Google Ads conversions (SaaS)

Short answer: Count the account created or trial started. A login is a user you already have. On 5 Nov 2026 we read the GTM containers of 206 B2B SaaS sites with Google Ads conversions: 15 (7.3%) count a login or a page load inside the app, 69 (33.5%) a finished signup, none a trial ending.

What do 206 SaaS sites count as a signup conversion?

On 5 Nov 2026 we read 4 pages on each of 306 B2B SaaS sites: 229 had a public container (sister domains dropped), 206 a Google Ads conversion tag. A script sorted their 2,695 tag and trigger pairs by step; we checked the key rows by hand.

A site can sit in several rows. 26 sites (12.6%) count signup only by the click or the page view: everyone who opens the form is a signup. 35 sites (17.0%) send a step after signup; for the rest, bidding can't tell a trial that pays from one that never returns. The 1,727-site study (5 Nov) found trial-end conversions on 0 of 886 Ads sites.

How do sites count a login?

Of the 15 sites: 9 count a click on "Log in" or "Sign in", 3 a login success event (login, signinSuccess), 3 a load of the login page or the app, 1 a sign-in form submit.

One site does two of these. 9 of the 15 have no finished-signup conversion: the login stands in for one. Other counts: 11.5% of 235 Ads sites (4 Nov, looser match); 67 of 684 B2B SaaS Ads sites (9.8%) in the 1,727-site study, which adds GA4 login key events.

Why is a login conversion worse than it looks?

Google Ads counts Every conversion by default (counting options), so a customer who clicks your brand ad to log in converts. If the action is primary, bidding learns from it (primary and secondary) and brand campaigns get credit for people who already pay you. On the 3 sites that fire on a login or app page load, every visit to that page is a conversion.

A first login tagged once per account (firstSignIn, two sites) is fine and not counted here.

What should a SaaS count instead?

• Click on "Start free trial": secondary at most, or GA4 only (button clicks).

• Account created or trial started: primary, count One, sent once the account exists (GA4 sign_up), user ID as transaction ID.

• Activated (predicts paying): yes, as an app event or offline import.

• Paid: yes, with value, from the checkout success event or a billing import.

Never count a signup page view, a login or a trial ending: every trial ends, paid or not. From GA4 import sign_up, not login (recommended events). If signup runs on an app domain, send it from the app or CRM (offline import).

How do I check my own site?

In DevTools, Network, filter conversion and log in with a test account. A request with label= means logins count. Full check: check 2 of the audit checklist.

How do I fix it?

• Note 30 days of conversions and cost per conversion.

• Set the login action to secondary or remove its tag.

• Tag the account created (count One, user ID as transaction ID) and make signup clicks and page views secondary, or one person counts twice (duplicates).

• Add activated or paid with a value, then pick what stays primary.

What can't we see from outside?

• Primary or secondary, One or Every. Both live in your Ads account, so we can't tell if the 7.3% steer bidding.

• App, server-side and offline tags we miss, so the signup, activation and paid rows are floors. We read the container, not a live session; the sample leans to large SaaS vendors.

Updated 7 Nov 2026: shorter, same data. Data: 206 SaaS sites scanned 5 Nov 2026. Method.

FAQ

Should a login be a Google Ads conversion?

No. Logins that start from a brand ad count for that campaign. Count the account created instead.

Should a free trial signup be a Google Ads conversion?

Yes, once the account exists, counted once per account. Not the click or the signup page view.

Originally published on fireshift.ai. We built Fireshift, a free scan that reads what a site sends to Google Ads and GA4 from the outside.