Conversion value: what it actually means (and how to set it)
Conversion value is the number the ad account uses for "this conversion was worth X." It is not revenue. It is not LTV. It is the figure you chose — or failed to choose — when you told Meta or Google what a conversion is worth.
Get it wrong and the algorithm optimises toward the wrong customers. Get it empty and it optimises toward volume. Either way you are steering spend with a number that is not the money.
Conversion value, in one sentence
The monetary amount attached to a conversion event so the ad platform can compare two conversions and bid more for the one that is worth more.
A $2,000 car sold and a $40 lead-magnet download are both "conversions" if you only send the event. Conversion value is how you tell the platform they are not the same thing.
Three ways teams set it
None. The event fires with no value. The platform maximises conversion count. Cheap, frequent events win. High-value, rare ones lose.
Fixed. Every conversion of that type is worth the same — $50 a lead, $200 a trial. Better than nothing. Wrong the moment the real money varies (a usage invoice, a car, a seat count).
Transaction. The value is the revenue row that belongs to that conversion: the Stripe charge, the order total, the amount in your database. This is the only version that stays honest when the number changes per customer.
FunnelKeeper's conversion definitions support all three. value_mode: transaction is the dynamic path — value equals the transactions row that shares the event's product, source and source_ref. That is how a Motor Merchants "car sold" is not treated like a newsletter signup.
Why GA4, Meta and your bank disagree
Each system has its own idea of conversion value:
Meta uses the value on the pixel / CAPI event, inside its attribution window, in the ad account currency.
GA4 uses the value on the marked conversion event, inside its attribution, often in a different currency, often missing because the tag never received
valueandcurrency.Your database has the actual charge.
If those three numbers do not match, do not average them. The database is the fact. The ad platforms are bids. FunnelKeeper keeps them as separate facts and joins them by identity rather than pretending they are one number. See why your GA4 numbers don't match your ad spend.
How to pick a value_mode
Your conversion | Use |
|---|---|
Newsletter, waitlist, a click |
|
Demo request, qualified lead |
|
Checkout, invoice, usage bill, anything with an amount |
|
A fixed value on a variable-revenue event is how teams convince themselves a channel is efficient. The algorithm is maximising the fake number you gave it.
What to do this week
List the events you have marked as conversions in each ad account.
For each one, write down: none, fixed (and the figure), or transaction.
If the real money lives in a database, send that amount — do not type a guess into the tag.
Keep unattributed revenue on its own line. Do not smear it across channels to make conversion value look complete.
FunnelKeeper stores money as integer cents plus an explicit currency. It will not invent a value you did not send. Start free and point a conversion definition at the transaction; the payback curve uses the same number.
FAQ
Is conversion value the same as ROAS revenue? No. ROAS revenue is whatever the platform attributed, in its window. Conversion value is the input you gave it. They only match if you sent the real amount and you accept the platform's attribution.
Should I send LTV as conversion value? Not on day one. LTV is a forecast. Conversion value should be money that has already landed, or a fixed amount you would defend in a finance meeting.
What currency? Native. AUD stays AUD. FunnelKeeper does not silently convert to USD on the write path — only in views, and only when you ask.