There are a number of reasons why Google Ads and Analytics may report different numbers of clicks and sessions. There could be a technical problem with Clicks and Session, like a tracking code being incorrectly configured or being missing from a landing page. Other times, when customers view data from Google Ads and Analytics together, the Clicks and Sessions don’t match in their reports. Having more sessions than clicks is actually an indication of positive engagement. While these topics are centered around Google Analytics, the same concepts can apply to all Google Ads campaign types.
You can also troubleshoot data issues with diagnostics in Google Analytics .
This article will cover some of the main causes for Clicks and Sessions discrepancy for Google Ads campaigns:
- Clicks and Sessions are different metrics
- Google Ads filters invalid clicks from your report. Analytics shows all data
- You turned off auto-tagging for your URLs in your Google Ads account
- Turn on manual tagging
- Make sure your Google Ads Import and Export Settings are correct (Google Analytics Data Flow and Conversions)
- Verify the date the accounts were linked
- Your site has a server side URL rewrite
- Your landing page might redirect to a different page
- Make sure the landing page for your ads is being tracked
- Users might have set their browser preferences in ways that prevent Analytics used on websites from collecting data
- Make sure your landing page is able to load the code properly
- Users return during the lifetime of a campaign
- Users return to your site via bookmarks
- The server delays
Clicks and Sessions are different metrics
Google Ads tracks Clicks , while Analytics tracks Sessions and Users . It's important to understand that these are different metrics, and some level of discrepancy is expected.
- Clicks (Google Ads): A click is recorded when someone interacts with your ad (for example clicks on a headline or call-to-action).
- Sessions (Google Analytics): A session is a group of user interactions with your website that take place within a given time frame. For example, if a user clicks on your ad, browses several pages on your site, and then leaves, that entire visit is typically counted as one session. If a user clicks your ad twice within 30 minutes without closing their browser, Analytics may register this as one session, even if they left and returned. Google Ads, however, would count two clicks.
- Users (Google Analytics): Users are individuals who have initiated at least one session during a selected date range.
Common reasons for differences include: A user might click your ad multiple times in a short period.
- Google Ads filters out invalid clicks, while Google Analytics initially reports all sessions before potential filtering.
- A user might click an ad but close their browser or navigate away before the Google Analytics tracking code on your landing page fully loads, resulting in a click but no session.
- Technical issues like GCLID stripping, incorrect tag implementation, or session ID changes on the website can also contribute to discrepancies. If technical issues are suspected, consulting with a web developer is advisable.
For Demand Gen campaigns, especially on platforms like YouTube, differences between clicks and sessions can be more pronounced due to the nature of ad interactions.
Google Ads filters invalid clicks from your report. Analytics shows all data
Google Ads automatically filters certain clicks from your reports, while Analytics reports on all the resulting sessions. The clicks filtered from your Google Ads reports are the instances of someone clicking repeatedly on your ad in order to increase your costs or to increase your clickthrough rate or other traffic that doesn't match normal user behavior. Google Ads considers these clicks to be invalid and automatically filters them from your Google Ads reports. You aren't charged for these potentially invalid clicks.
To check data on invalid clicks and interactions in your Google Ads account:
- Navigate to your Campaigns page.
- Select the columns icon above the statistics table.
- Select "Modify columns" and then search for "Invalid clicks" and "Invalid interactions".
- Add these columns to your report.
Learn more about Invalid clicks .
You turned off auto-tagging for your URLs in your Google Ads account
If auto-tagging is turned off, and you didn't manually tag the final URLs with campaign tracking variables, the traffic isn't marked as Google CPC (clicks that came through from Google Ads ads), but instead may be attributed to Google Organic (clicks from organic search results on Google.com). This can lead to Google Analytics not recording or misattributing paid traffic from Google Ads (for example, showing as organic, direct, or (not set)). Ensure that your Google Ads account has auto-tagging turned on to allow the GCLID parameter to be automatically appended to your URLs. The GCLID is crucial for linking Google Ads data with Google Analytics.
If auto-tagging is turned on, there may be cases that your sessions exceed your clicks. This is an indication of positive engagement with your website. Google assigns a unique gclid
to that user, and if a user returns to your website directly, these additional sessions have their campaign source reported as the last-known campaign source. In this case, the last-known campaign is the Google Ads campaign.
Learn how to enable auto-tagging .
Turn on manual tagging
There may be instances where the attributed dimensions , specifically from Google Ads (such as Google Ads Campaign, Ad Group, Ads, source/medium, and session source platform), may display as "(not set)" if using WBRAID or GBRAID . This can occur when Google Analytics has not received any information for that dimension. "(data not available)" might also appear if data is still processing (allow 24-48 hours) or Google Analytics cannot associate a session with a specific traffic source. For "(not set)" in Session campaigns related to Demand Gen, check if the MCC account running campaigns is linked to the Google Analytics property.
We understand the importance of data accuracy and are actively working towards additional solutions that continue to balance user privacy and reporting. In the meantime, if you notice that there are fewer sessions attributed to the campaigns and more associated to "(not set)", you can add UTM parameters to your campaigns to be used as a fallback. This is especially important for campaigns where privacy parameters such as WBRAID or GBRAID may be used.
Here’s an example of manual tags to add in addition to auto-tagging: ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=DemandGenCampaignName
Learn more about manual tagging and how to collect campaign data with custom URLs .
Make sure your Google Ads Import and Export Settings are correct (Google Analytics Data Flow and Conversions)
If you're sure the accounts are linked and you still don't see click or cost data, check that you have selected the option to import the data from the linked account to the view in question.
If you're experiencing issues with Google Analytics data (like conversions or events) not flowing into Google Ads, or discrepancies between the 2 platforms, checking your linking and import settings is crucial.
- Verify Account Linking: Ensure your Google Analytics property is correctly linked to your Google Ads account. Data cannot flow if the accounts are not properly connected.
- Check Auto-Tagging: Confirm that auto-tagging is enabled in your Google Ads account. This appends the GCLID to your ad URLs, which is essential for Google Ads to attribute conversions and site activity reported by Google Analytics.
- Enable Data Sharing: In Google Ads settings (under Data manager > Google Analytics (Google Analytics) & Firebase > Manage and link), ensure that data sharing options, such as "Import Google Analytics audiences" and campaign/cost data sharing, are enabled for the linked Google Analytics property.
- Import Key Events as Conversions: For Google Analytics events to be usable as conversions in Google Ads, they must first be marked as "Key Events" in the Google Analytics interface (Admin > Data display > Events > Mark as key event). After this, you need to import these key events into Google Ads as conversion actions ( Conversions > + Create conversion action > Import > Google Analytics properties > Web).
- Set Primary Conversion Actions: In Google Ads, ensure your imported Google Analytics conversion actions are set to 'Primary' if you want them to be used for bidding optimization. 'Secondary' actions are for observation only and don't influence bidding.
- Understand Conversion Attribution: Google Ads attributes conversions to the date of the ad click, while Google Analytics and backend systems might attribute them to the date the conversion occurred. When comparing, use the 'All conv. (by conv. time)' column in Google Ads for a more accurate comparison with systems that use conversion time.
If you're sure the accounts are linked and settings seem correct but you still don't see the expected data flow or conversion counts, double-check your website's Google Tag implementation for both Google Analytics and any Google Ads specific conversion tracking. Ensure tags are firing correctly for relevant events and on the correct pages.
Learn how to [UA] Link/unlink Google Ads and Analytics [Legacy]
Learn how to Connect Google Ads to Google Analytics .
Verify the date the accounts were linked
Confirm if the date ranges you’re comparing include periods during which your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts weren’t linked. Data will not populate retroactively.
Your site has a server side URL rewrite
Adding additional parameters to your URL may cause your rewrite rule to break. A small percentage of websites don't allow arbitrary parameters in the URL and as a result serve error pages when you include those parameters. We suggest that you ask your webmaster to allow arbitrary URL parameters.
Your landing page might redirect to a different page
Redirects in landing pages can keep the Analytics code from launching and properly identifying the traffic as having come from a paid search campaign. For example, if your ad leads to http://www.mydomain.com/index.html
, but you've created a 301, 302, or JavaScript redirect from that URL to http://www.mydomain.com/page2.html
, the campaign information that was originally appended to the landing page (like GCLID or UTM parameters) is lost when it redirects. This can cause attribution issues and discrepancies between Google Ads clicks and Google Analytics sessions.
Work with your web developer to investigate any website redirects, JavaScript behavior, or server-side processes that might be altering or removing URL parameters. Test your landing page URLs directly by appending parameters (for example ?gclid=test or ?utm_source=test) to see if they persist after the redirect and on the final landing page. Ensure your Google Tag (for Google Analytics) fires before any redirects occur.
Learn how to track redirecting pages .
Make sure the landing page for your ads is being tracked
If the landing page for your ads isn't being tracked, your campaign information isn't passed to Analytics. Ensure that you're tracking all landing pages for your Google ads.
Users might have set their browser preferences in ways that prevent Analytics used on websites from collecting data
Users entering your website through Google Ads might have JavaScript or images turned off, or they might use other technologies to prevent Analytics from reporting about your website users (such as by installing the Analytics opt-out browser add-on). In some cases, Analytics might not be able to report these users, but they're reported through Google Ads.
Make sure your landing page is able to load the code properly
Clicks reported on Google Ads but not on Analytics may be the result of an obstruction between the Google Ads click event and the ability to load the tracking code on the landing page. If this is the case, ensure that your web hosting servers are functioning properly, the page is loading for all possible users and IPs, and the tracking code is installed correctly on your web pages.
Learn how to Verify your Google tag .
Users return during the lifetime of a campaign
During the lifetime of a given campaign, a returning user to your site is attributed to that one campaign. In such cases, you can expect to see more sessions than clicks. To see the number of sessions from returning users, cross-segment the campaign by User Type.
Users return to your site via bookmarks
Analytics uses the gclid
parameter in your final URLs to identify traffic from Google Ads ads. The gclid
parameter shows up in your landing page URL when a user arrives at your site from your ad. For example, if your site is www.example.com
, when a user clicks on your ad, it appears in the address bar as:
www.example.com/?gclid=123xyz
If users bookmark your website along with the gclid
parameter, Analytics records traffic from these bookmarks arriving from your Google Ads ads. However, Google Ads doesn't record the clicks and advertisers are not charged for these sessions since they're not actual clicks on the ads.
The server delays
If a user comes to your site from an ad, and then leaves the landing page before the tracking code executes, then the gclid
parameter is never passed to the Google servers, and that click isn't associated with the session. The result is a clicks vs. sessions discrepancy.
