While the Search Ads 360 reporting data will come close to the client account data, there may not be an exact match for various reasons given below.
On this page
- Search Ads 360 isn't synchronized with the client account
- Search engines can make changes to their data for up to 7 days
- Ad networks with bots can cause data discrepancies
- Missing tracking templates or invalid clickserver URLs
- Client accounts may not report multiple clicks on ads
- Microsoft Advertising cost data
- Baidu: Average position for keywords may not match Search Ads 360
- Differences in geographic metrics
- Differences in hourly reporting
Search Ads 360 isn't synchronized with the client account
If you add or remove keywords or other items in the client account but don't sync the change, reports that summarize metrics in Search Ads 360 won't match the client account. For example, if you remove keywords from the client account without syncing, Search Ads 360 will still show metrics for the removed keywords, and ad group, campaign, and account-level reports in Search Ads 360 will include metrics from the removed keywords.
Learn how to Troubleshoot common sync errors in Search Ads 360.
Search engines can make changes to their data for up to 7 days
Most commonly, search engines may remove spam clicks or spam impressions, and it will take time for Search Ads 360 to reflect the new data, as described in Reporting data freshness and history FAQs. The data on the search engines and Search Ads 360 should be more stable after 10 days.
In social and engine track accounts, you import performance metrics directly from the platform or a Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD). Search Ads 360 doesn't automatically request performance metrics. The metrics that you import should match the metrics in the client account.
Ad networks with bots can cause data discrepancies
Ad networks that run bots periodically crawl landing pages to determine landing page quality and detect any broken landing pages. If you have Floodlight tags on these landing pages, they will fire and be recorded as conversions (transactions or, more likely, actions).
Search Ads 360 attempts to filter these conversions, and we’re continually working to improve this filter.
Because there are a small number of these types of visits, the impact of these conversions on the performance of campaigns and bid strategies is usually minor. However, if you believe there are enough of these types of conversions to affect performance, you can click “Help” , in the main toolbar of your account, and then click “Get help”.
Missing tracking templates or invalid clickserver URLs
Any items in client accounts that aren't covered by a tracking template, or that have invalid clickserver URL within the tracking template, cannot be reported on by Search Ads 360. To correct this problem, make sure you create and edit tracking templates in Search Ads 360, perform a manual sync, and fix all trafficking errors.
Client accounts may not report multiple clicks on ads
When a visitor clicks the same landing page URL multiple times within a second or two (for example, a visitor double clicks an ad), Search Ads 360 counts this as multiple visits. Some client accounts may report these multiple clicks as a single click.
Microsoft Advertising cost data
In a Microsoft Advertising account, the cost data that Search Ads 360 displays is retrieved directly from the Bing Ads API. This includes the cost reported for individual keywords, ad groups, and campaigns, as well as the total cost that appears in the summary rows for all keywords, ad groups, and campaigns in the current scope.
In some cases, the cost data may be inconsistent by a few cents. That is, the total cost displayed on the “Keywords” tab may not match the cost displayed for the ad group. In other cases, the cost data that appears in the Microsoft Advertising UI and the data that is retrieved from the Bing Ads API is off by a few cents. This may be caused by Microsoft Advertising when rounding dollar amounts or converting currencies. However, Search Ads 360 accurately displays the data retrieved from Microsoft Advertising.
Baidu: Average position for keywords may not match Search Ads 360
Baidu and Search Ads 360 use different logic to calculate average position. In some cases, the average position reported in Baidu may not match the average position reported in Search Ads 360.
Differences in geographic metrics
Differences between reports that are segmented or grouped by geographic area and reports without these segments or groups are expected for a number of reasons. For example, some metrics may not be attributed to any geographic area, visits may not be included in small geographic areas, and spam filtering isn't available for reports segmented by geographic areas. Learn more About geographic reporting in Search Ads 360.
Differences in hourly reporting
When you're viewing data as detailed as hourly reporting, you may find inconsistencies between the hourly breakdown and daily, weekly, or longer time periods. This is expected due to differences in client accounts, time zones, general accuracy of hourly data, and other reasons.
Learn more About hourly charts and reports.