Microsoft Ads Import Errors from Google Ads? Fix (2026)

Roughly 30 percent of accounts that import from Google Ads into Microsoft Advertising in 2026 hit at least one silent break in the first sync — a skipped feature, a duplicated campaign, or conversions that never start counting — yet the import screen reports success because the rows that did transfer transferred fine. Microsoft Advertising makes the import look like one click, so the real work is reading what did not come across and fixing it before the account spends.

This guide works through seven failure points — how the import runs, what does not transfer, the errors to expect, scheduled-import conflicts, conversion and audience mapping, verification, and an ongoing hygiene routine — so you fix the cause, not the symptom. To check an imported account against the most common leaks automatically, run our free 5-axis ad account audit.

Updated 2026-05-04 with current Import from Google Ads behavior, UET tag mapping and scheduled-import settings observed across US, UK and European accounts.

How does the Google Ads import actually work?

The import is the first thing to understand because every later problem stems from how you ran it. Microsoft Advertising offers Import from Google Ads as either a one-time pull or a recurring schedule, and the two behave very differently once your account is live.

One-time import — A single pull copies campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads as a snapshot. It is ideal for a first migration because nothing changes again unless you re-run it. You own every edit afterward, which makes it the safest choice while you learn what transferred.

Scheduled import — A recurring sync re-reads the Google Ads account on a cadence — daily, weekly or monthly — and re-applies it. This keeps the two platforms aligned but makes Google Ads the source of truth, so it can revert anything you change only in Microsoft. Choose it deliberately, not by default.

Matching behavior — On any run after the first, the tool can update existing items or create new ones. This single choice decides whether you get a clean update or a pile of duplicates. For the end-to-end walkthrough, see our Import from Google Ads guide.

What does not import, or imports differently?

The import never produces a perfect mirror of the Google Ads account, so treat the result as a draft. Knowing what is dropped or altered up front stops you trusting numbers that were never going to be complete.

Scripts and automation — Google Ads scripts do not import at all, because Microsoft Advertising runs its own automation framework. Any rule or script logic you relied on must be rebuilt natively.

Assets and extensions — Some asset and extension types map only partially, and a few are dropped entirely. Sitelinks and callouts usually carry over, but newer or platform-specific asset types may not, so audit them rather than assume.

Bid strategies — Certain Google bid strategies have no direct Microsoft equivalent and fall back to a default such as Enhanced CPC. Audiences like Customer Match and some lists also do not transfer. To weigh the platform differences before you migrate, see our Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads comparison.

Which errors and warnings should you expect?

The import summary is the most important screen in this whole process, because it tells you exactly what failed or changed while everything still looks green. Read it before you judge the account.

Unsupported-feature warnings — Expect notices that scripts, certain bid strategies, or specific asset types were not imported. These are not bugs; they are gaps you now own and must rebuild manually inside Microsoft Advertising.

Duplicate-campaign warnings — A re-import that creates new items instead of updating existing ones flags or silently produces duplicates. Two near-identical campaigns both serving is the classic tell, and they overspend together until you intervene.

Currency, time zone and tracking — Currency and time-zone differences can distort budgets and reports, and Google tag conversions do not map to the UET tag. The summary will not always shout this, so confirm it yourself. Our Microsoft Ads beginner guide covers the account basics these warnings touch.

Is a scheduled import overwriting your manual changes?

Once the account is live, the scheduled import becomes the leak that surprises people most. It quietly re-applies Google Ads as the source of truth, so the careful edits you made only in Microsoft Advertising can vanish on the next run.

How the conflict happens — You raise a bid or change a budget inside Microsoft, the schedule fires overnight, and it pushes the Google Ads value back over yours. The next morning your change is gone with no error, because the sync did exactly what it was told.

Decide ownership first — For every setting, choose whether Google Ads or Microsoft is the source of truth. Anything you tune only in Microsoft must be excluded from the schedule, or the schedule turned off and imports run manually.

Scope each run — Use the import options to limit what a run touches — new items only, for example — and review the change preview before it applies. Document which fields Microsoft owns so a teammate does not silently undo them by re-running the sync.

How do you map conversions and audiences after import?

This is the most dangerous gap because it makes a spending account look like it is failing — imported campaigns will show clicks and cost but zero conversions until you build measurement yourself. Nothing about tracking transfers from Google Ads.

Install the UET tag — The UET tag is Microsoft Advertising's own measurement tag, and it does not arrive through the import. Place one UET tag on every page of your site, ideally through a tag manager, before you read any conversion data.

Create conversion goals — Your Google conversion actions do not become Microsoft goals automatically. Build conversion goals that mirror each Google action — purchase, lead, sign-up — and attach them to the UET tag so spend maps to outcomes.

Rebuild audiences — Customer Match and some lists do not transfer, so recreate them and re-target the right campaigns. Verify the tag fires with the UET Tag Helper. Our UET conversion tracking guide walks the full setup step by step.

The Microsoft Advertising import diagnostic table

Work this table top to bottom — it is ordered by how fast each issue is to confirm and how often it is the real cause of a broken or under-counting imported account.

What is a healthy import hygiene routine?

You will rarely have just one issue, and a scheduled import means new ones can appear on any run. The fix is a repeatable routine, not a one-off check, so problems surface before they spend.

After every import — Read the summary, confirm currency and time zone, and scan for duplicate campaigns. These three checks take minutes and catch the highest-impact breaks before any budget moves.

Before re-importing — Decide to update existing items, not create new, and preview the changes. This single habit prevents the duplicate campaigns that quietly double your spend on the same keywords.

On a schedule — Confirm the UET tag still fires, conversion goals still count, and no Microsoft-owned setting was reverted. Treat measurement as something to re-verify, never assume.

Measure one change at a time. Re-check spend and conversions after each fix, not after all of them, so you know which lever moved the result. Size the budget you are protecting with our wasted ad spend calculator, and to surface every import leak automatically, run the SteerAds free 5-axis audit.

Sources

Official sources consulted for this guide:

• help.ads.microsoft.com — import from Google Ads

• help.ads.microsoft.com — about importing campaigns

• about.ads.microsoft.com — Microsoft Advertising training

• ads.microsoft.com — Microsoft Advertising

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