Third-Party Reporting Not Matching Ads Manager

Sometimes the metrics you see on your Ads Manager won't match your third-party reporting exactly. Most of the time, though, it doesn't mean that anything is wrong. We'll tell you why this can happen and how to compare your metrics so you can make sense of your campaign data.

Key terms

• Click: When a user clicks your ad to go to your destination URL.
• Visit: When a user lands on your web page and waits for your page to fully load.

Comparing Reddit clicks with third-party reporting

The click count on your Ads Manager won't always match your third-party reporting.

Why? Our platform reports clicks on your ad whereas third-party analytics tools typically report visits to your site, which triggers the third-party platform's analytics tracking code.

There will always be some variance from clicks to site visits. Also, your third-party reporting might leave out or misattribute some visits from Reddit to your site.

Reason #1: User clicks, but the page doesn't fully load

Since not all users who click an ad will wait for the landing page to fully load, not all clicks will result in a site visit.

There are a couple of reasons why users may not make it to a fully loaded web page:

• They clicked by accident: The user might have accidentally clicked your ad or not realized that clicking your post will lead them away from Reddit.
• The page took too long to load: People get impatient when they're watching a page that's struggling to load, and not everyone will stick around for it.
  Since page load time is a problem you can solve for, we recommend using a tool like Google's PageSpeed Insights to optimize your site's speed.

Reason #2: Nuances in third-party metrics

Each third-party platform will define and measure specific metrics differently. Take another look at your third-party platform's documentation to learn how they define their metrics.

Reason #3: Limitations of the user's browser or device

Your third-party tracking code might be blocked by the redditor's privacy settings on the browser or device (an ad blocker they installed, for example). This means that a redditor could click on your ad and fully load your site, but your analytics platform will be blocked from recording the user's site visit.

Reason #4: Using referral source for tracking

We don't recommend using referral source as a tracking method since referral traffic can easily be misattributed by your third-party tool. For example:

• The Reddit iOS and Android apps will not pass back referral information and your third-party partner will misattribute all traffic from the Reddit mobile app.
• Your site uses HTTP instead of HTTPS (secure site protocol), referral information will not be passed.

We recommend generating and adding UTM parameters to your ad's destination URL to ensure you accurately classify campaign traffic in your third-party analytics platform. You can use a tool like Google's URL builder to create custom UTM parameters.

Reason #5: URL redirect

If your destination URL automatically redirects to a different URL when the page loads, this may strip your UTM parameters and interfere with tracking. You can quickly test this by generating a test URL and clicking on your ad. The landing page URL should be the same as the ad's destination URL and the UTM parameters should be present.

Reason #6: Date or time zone differences

When comparing reporting from your third-party analytics platform to Reddit Ads, make sure you're looking at the same date range. Your Reddit Ads Manager is set to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Your analytics tool may be set to a different time zone.

Reason #7: Deployment issue with your third-party analytics tool

If your third-party analytics tracking isn't set up correctly on your site, your third-party reporting may be incomplete or wrong. Contact your vendor or front-end developer to confirm analytics tracking is correctly configured on your site.

Also, you might see incomplete or inaccurate data if your third-party analytics tool has a limitation (e.g., you're using a free trial version that uses sample data).

Comparing Reddit conversions with third-party reporting

The conversion count on your Reddit Ads Manager won't always match your third-party reporting. Here are some reasons why:

Reason #1: Different definitions of conversion

Reddit and your third-party analytics partner define and may measure a conversion differently. For example, Reddit attributes conversions to the day the ad was viewed or clicked. A third-party platform might attribute conversions to the day the conversion event was completed.

Other differences between how Reddit and your third-party partner handle other factors like attribution and deduplication will complicate the discrepancy even more.

Reason #2: Differences in set-up

Here's something you can control: Check that you've set the conversion event up the same way between your Reddit data source and your third-party tracking.

Reason #3: Installation issue with third-party analytics tool or Reddit data source

Ensure your data source and third-party tracking platform are correctly set up to capture the designated conversion event. Learn how to set up the Reddit Pixel or Conversions API and contact your third-party partner directly for help with their setup.

Reason #4: Differences in attribution windows

Check that your attribution window is the same between Reddit and your third-party partner. Learn how to check your attribution window.

Reason #5: Click-through and view-through conversions

Reddit can report on both click-through and view-through conversions, but your third-party analytics might not do both. You can contact your third-party vendor or review their help center to see if they support view-through conversions.

If you want, you can adjust your Reddit attribution window to exclude view-through conversions.

Reason #6: Date the report was pulled

Reddit attributes conversions to the day your ad was viewed or clicked. That means that the number of conversions attributed to an ad may increase if you're still within that attribution window.

Reason #7: Date range and time zone of report

Reddit Ads Manager is set to UTC. Ensure you're looking at the same date range and time zone in Reddit Ads and your third-party tracking.

Reason #8: Limitations of the user's browser or device

The redditor's privacy settings on the browser or device might be blocking your third-party tracking code, impacting potential conversions.

Best practices

Don't worry if your Reddit metrics don't match your third-party reporting. But double-check to ensure you're doing what you can to understand your ad performance. Here are some sanity check questions you can ask yourself.

Click count questions

• Am I using UTM parameters in my ad's destination URL?
• Does my ad's destination URL redirect to a new URL on page load?
• Is my site's speed optimized?
• Am I looking at the same date range and time zone between Reddit and my tracking partner?
• Is my third-party analytics tracking set up correctly?
• Am I interpreting my third-party analytics report correctly?
• Am I using a free or a limited version of my analytics tracking tool? If so, what limitations exist?

Conversion count questions

• Am I defining the conversion action the same way in Reddit and my third-party analytics platform?
• Are my Reddit data sources and my third-party analytics tracking set up correctly?
• Is my attribution window the same in Reddit and my third-party platform?
• Does my third-party platform report on view-through conversions? If not, have I excluded view-through conversions in my Reddit reporting?
• Did I pull both reports at the same date and time with consideration of the time zone?