I received this question about tracking discrepancies, and decided to share my recommendation on the blog. If you want a summary of my speech at Adobe Summit in London, you can find it here.
Hi Therese, I remember your speech about the ”Single Source of Truth” from the Adobe Summit in March. But I can’t recall the solution! We have an extrem tracking difference (200%+) between ”Display Click” <> ”SiteCatalyst Clickthrough”. I recall you mentioned that you just belive your numbers – but what if you have a CPC model with the Display Network? /Stephan
Hi Stephan! Ad servers measure ad displays and clicks. They do not tell you how many people visited your website. There is always a discrepancy between Ad servers and Web analytics tools. <– This article explains several reasons why.
My recommendation
Web Analytics Ninja
- Your Web Analytics tool should be the Single Source of Truth. If not, you will never be able to compare traffic sources, campaigns, email marketing or other activities with eachother.
- Understand the discrepancies that occur for an Ad Network (ask for benchmark numbers!) and consider: how much are you willing to pay per click, given that 50% never reach your website? Enter a ”loss” percentage into future business cases, and let that fact impact your CPC negotiations.
- Decide at what point the difference becomes unacceptable. You should not accept a 200% difference, but 10%-20% is not uncommon. Add a paragraph to the contract so if there is >20% discrepancy between clicks you have the right to waive the deal or to renegotiate.
Good luck !