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Clicks – GAM vs. GA

Understanding the difference between clicks reported in GAM and GA

An often asked question is why are the clicks reported in GAM different to the ones showing in the client's GA reporting. The short answer is that, while they're called the same thing, they're actually measuring 2 different things.

GAM measures ad management and ad reporting metrics while GA is built to provide traffic insights.

The metrics are counted at two different points.

  1. GAM records the click when it actually happens, i.e., the user physically clicking on the ad.
  2. GA counts a page view or session when the user hits the site.

In effect, GA cannot count clicks at all.

Discrepancies will arise in situations where the user clicks the ad but before the new site renders or loads, they click away or exit. This will count as a click in GAM but there will be no associated session or pageview in GA.

Google support article: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6070304?hl=en