# Ads optimizing for the wrong goal

> Sales campaigns sometimes bid on page views, add-to-cart or sign-ups instead of purchases, because of a primary conversion setting or an ad set event. Connect Google Ads and Meta Ads to Claude, ask it to list each campaign's bidding goal and the spend behind it, then switch sales campaigns to bid on purchases.

Type: Leak (something broke or wastes money)
Run it: Monthly
Source: https://gooseworks.ai/playbooks/ads-optimizing-for-wrong-conversion

## 1. Connect

Give your AI assistant read-only access to Google Ads and Meta Ads.

## 2. Ask

```text
In Google Ads, list every conversion action marked as primary, and which campaigns use it to bid. In Meta, list the optimization event for every active ad set. Flag any campaign meant to drive sales that is bidding on page views, add-to-cart, sign-ups or anything that is not a purchase. Show the spend going to each.
```

## 3. Act

Switch those campaigns to bid on purchases. This is usually a one-setting fix.

## Steps

1. Connect Google Ads and Meta Ads read-only, through a Claude connector or MCP server if you use one, or upload conversion settings and campaign exports.
2. Run the prompt to list primary conversion actions in Google and optimization events in Meta.
3. Check whether a small account bids on add-to-cart on purpose because it lacks purchase volume.
4. Switch any sales campaign bidding on a non-purchase event to bid on purchases.
5. Re-run the check monthly and after any account change.

## What it tends to find

40% of Meta spend went to ad sets optimizing for add-to-cart. Google counted page views as sales. (Illustrative example, not a result from a named store.)

## Watch out

Very small accounts sometimes bid on add-to-cart on purpose because there aren't enough purchases. Check that was a choice.

## FAQ

### Why is my Google Ads campaign counting page views as sales?

A page view conversion action is probably marked as primary. Google bids toward every primary conversion, so it treats a page view like a sale.

### Should my Meta ad sets optimize for add-to-cart?

Usually not for sales campaigns. Purchase is the better goal. Very small accounts sometimes choose add-to-cart because they have too few purchases, so check it was a choice.

### Will this prompt work in other assistants?

It will. Any assistant that can read your Google and Meta campaign settings, connected directly or from exported files, can follow the same steps. That includes ChatGPT, Grok and Muse.

### How hard is the fix?

Usually one setting per campaign or ad set. Changing the goal can reset learning, so make the change at a quiet time. Watch results for a week after the switch.