Why does my google analytics show a massive discrepancy from facebook's reported website clicks?
-
We're running a Facebook news feed ad that is pointing at our homepage. Facebook says that for yesterday there were 47 website clicks. Google analytics shows 15 total visitors from facebook with 3 of them landing on the homepage. I understand that there is likely going to be some discrepancy with users accidentally clicking and clicking back before the page loads, but this seems a little insane. I tested the ad using a page that pulls the Analytics cookie data using php and it is working properly so I don't understand what's happening. The url isn't tagged with utm parameters, which is going to be fixed. Anyone experience this or have any insight as to what could be this issue? Is this click fraud?
Edit: For more clarification I was checking on my completely unfiltered google analytics profile/view.
-
I have the same thing but at a larger scale.
122k clicks according to facebook, 1450 visits according to Omniture... and no sales. That's the less optimized 2.5k€ I've spent on a campaign
-
My Facebook ad manager shows 3668 website clicks whereas in GA it only shows 1310.
-
We have exactly the same problem. According to Facebook 274 website clicks, but Google Analytics shows only 50. And this hasn't happened for the first time. Actually, this is the usual discrepancy in our Facebook campaigns. Probably most of the traffic is caused by bots, so a lot of Facebook budget is wasted for nothing....
-
Thanks for the response. That was all I could really find on the topic as well. I'm using the newest version of the asynchronous tracking code besides universal analytics. I understand the possibilities for discrepancies, even 50% might be understandable but my visitors in analytics is at 6% percent of recorded clicks at 3 out of 47 which just seems insane.
I guess I'll just have to suggest that we stop running those types of Facebook ads, at least for now.
-
I did some digging around and found some information:
https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=10153294676310223
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/analytics/pHOQxwrYh_s
http://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/inaccurate-google-analytics-traffic-sources/
Don't shoot the messenger -- I cannot know whether these reasons are true for you. Just to summarize some possible issues from those links:
Ad clicks is not the same think as website visitors
Old Google Analytics code
People blocking cookies or having other setups that interfere with GA trackingI hope these resources might help!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Gap in Google PPC Ads & Organic search results - New test by Google?
Hi All, Just noticed an unusual gap in PPC ads and organic search results in google NZ. while searched the same term in Google AU, it wasn't the same. Did anyone here see something similar? Is this a new test by Google to get more clicks on PPC ads and pushing down organic results? Looking forward to hear from the community. Cheers, Rattan wcB6DL1.jpg
Paid Search Marketing | | FRL0 -
Adwords and Analytics Conversion Tracking within Adwords
I am trying to decide whether to setup conversion tracking in Adwords using the website/page as a source, or Analytics. I do understand the (basic) difference, however in tossing up the pro's and con's of each I would be grateful for some input. The advertiser is in the (offline) retail and service industry and so conversions being tracked include completing a form, making a booking etc - so it is no problem to implement the tracking snippet. My gut instinct is that Analytics is not as accurate as a reflection as the webpage (due to the way it records only the last conversion). Would it be a mistake to use both? (my concern is that double clicks will be recorded)
Paid Search Marketing | | E2E0 -
Session and conversion data missing from AdWords campaigns in Analytics
Hi all, For a client of ours, we're not seeing session & conversion data for AdWords campaigns in Analytics. We are seeing click & cost data. Adwords and Analytics are linked and autotagging is enabled. The site where we're experiencing this problem is www.maxifleur-plantes-artificielles.fr. It's a Magento-based store with the Web Cooking Universal Analytics extension installed. The bulk of AdWords traffic is landing on the page www.maxifleur-plantes-artificielles.fr/plantes-artificielles, which has no active redirects that could remove the ?gclid parameter for as far as I can tell. Yet, click IDs that I manually tested won't show up in the reports either. Mid April, all traffic aside from direct traffic just disappeared from the reports. Google's Tag Assistant gives a lot of errors, but in the source code the snippet looks just fine and we don't have problems with other web shops that use the aforementioned extension. Suggestions as to what could be the problem are most welcome. Thanks! Bas
Paid Search Marketing | | Evoworks0 -
Why are some restricted items showing up on Google Shopping?
Hi there, We sell tactical gear but only "Google Friendly" items in our Google Shopping Product Listing Ads. We don't include anything that goes on a rifle, including rifle scopes. However, we see that companies like ebay and OpticsPlanet can still sell riflescopes: https://www.google.com/#q=Bushnell+3-12x44+Mil+Dot+Tactical+Riflescope&tbm=shop. There's even an article by SearchEngineLand that points this out, too: http://searchengineland.com/google-weapon-listings-shopping-search-126487. So why is it that they can sell them and we can't? What advantage do they have or what have they done?
Paid Search Marketing | | PatriotOutfitters810 -
Have you used an ad network other than Google Adwords?
We received a cold call from a company called Division-D. They make a lot of promises which sound good (but that's what marketers do 🙂 ). Advertising on a non-Google network probably would have fewer restrictions than an Adwords campaign and they say that they are fully transparent. Would it be worth it to listen to their whole pitch?
Paid Search Marketing | | Linda-Vassily0 -
Adding nyc to a keyword in Google Adwords
Hello. If I have a keyword in Google Adwords that is using phrase match ("keyword"), could it be useful to add the keyword phrase "keyword nyc"? Even if I did not add the second keyword phrase, my ad would be triggered if someone searched for "keyword nyc." So would it be redundant to add the second keyword phrase? Thank you!
Paid Search Marketing | | nyc-seo0 -
Adwords how to's and tools
Hi mozzers. I have questions. 1. Can you Share tools for google and msn adwords,example templates,etc.. 2. Any project Management Software or Template for ppc 3. The Best Book from A to Z about ppc advertisement 4. Share your MOS Importanz Stepps to Build really competitive campaign and to Be Number 1 on pair Search results. Thanks
Paid Search Marketing | | leadsprofi0 -
Running Adwords Campaigns to show Improvement in Organic Traffic
Hi mozers, I have a new client who contacted because his organic traffic dropped all of a sudden from 5000 visits per month to 300 visits per month. I have been reviewing his website profile and there are several reasons that take me to beleave the agency that managed his account until 3 months ago, was doing PPC to show improvement in the orgranic (SEO Service) traffic. 1. The Website was showing traffic for several highly competitive keywords 2. Most of the traffic 95% was driven to the home page with several groups of keywords 3. The website has just a few external links with anchor text not related to keywords sending traffic. Is anyone familiar with this type of practice? Thanks in advanced.
Paid Search Marketing | | SEOPractices0