You most likely faced a problem when your ad trackers showed you a different number of impressions, clicks, or even conversions. It\u2019s a pain point for many advertisers and publishers because precise data is what you need for smooth traffic purchase and monetization. Monitoring traffic quality at ADEX also involves collecting stats \u2014 and these stats can also suffer from discrepancy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This problem is very widespread, but it\u2019s not always an issue. Experts claim a discrepancy of up to 20% is a norm and should not cause a lot of worries. If it goes higher, though, it\u2019s time to pay attention to possible reasons \u2014 and, of course, solutions. We gathered the most popular discrepancy reasons and tips on how to beat the problem: read on to find out! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simply put, a discrepancy is when your ad campaign or monetization stats differ in various trackers. Let\u2019s look at an example to make things clearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are an advertiser and have an offer from a CPA network. To promote this offer, you buy traffic at an ad network. Both a CPA network and an ad network have embedded trackers, where you can check your impressions, clicks, and other stats. Like many media buyers, you also use a third-party tracker, that shows particular data, too. Finally, you started working with ADEX to make sure you are getting high-quality traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a perfect world, all trackers would show you identical stats. However, in reality, you usually see different figures. For example, you check your impressions and they look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main reason for the discrepancy is multiple redirects between your landing page and a traffic source. For instance, you receive traffic from an ad network, then it reaches an ADEX redirect or a landing page (depending on your ADEX integration method), and after it gets to a CPA network. Every platform that your traffic comes through may lose some data. For example, it often happens due to ad blocking systems.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n However, redirects are not the only reason. We will show you what can affect your stats in ADEX and how you can minimize the discrepancy when tracking fraud traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we talk about a discrepancy that appears in a fraud detection tracker, we mean impressions. At ADEX, impressions stats show how many users were checked by an anti-fraud tool. Let\u2019s see why your impressions may differ at ADEX and other ad trackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADEX offers various setting options. For instance, you can integrate a JS Tag into a single webpage, so ADEX will only track impressions from this page. Some ADEX customers prefer tracking only registered users, so they don\u2019t see impressions from the rest of the visitors in ADEX stats. In this case, an ad network might show more impressions than ADEX, a CPA network, or a third-party tracker <\/p>\n\n\n\n What shall I do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Just mind that ADEX doesn\u2019t count impressions as your ad tracker does. Check your ADEX settings thoroughly to make sure you understand what will appear in your statistics under the Impressions tab.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n You can select between three integration methods when you set ADEX: JS Tag, Redirect, and iFrame. A discrepancy is more typical for the latter two options, and this is why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We did our best to make redirect work as quickly as possible \u2014 in fact, our technologies solve discrepancy issues on our side. You might still face some data losses, though \u2014 not because of ADEX, but some external factors we can\u2019t affect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What shall I do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Avoiding extra redirects is the most obvious way out \u2014 and you can do it using JS Tag as the integration method. In fact, we offer JS Tag as the basic one-size-fits-all solution, and it is the only integration option that can help significantly minimize discrepancies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n One more tip on point for advertisers: one more way to reduce discrepancy is to work with direct offers. It allows you to avoid additional redirects that will inevitably appear with a CPA network.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n When a user has connection issues on their side, they might not see your ads properly. What usually happens in this case? A user clicks on an ad, and the ad network registers this click as an impression. If the user\u2019s connection is too slow, they don\u2019t see an offer appearing immediately after a click, and need to wait for some time. Of course, most of them don\u2019t want to wait \u2014 and simply close an ad before the ADEX code can detect them and count them in its stats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There also might be misclicks (when a user clicked on an ad accidentally) or short clicks when a user opened your ad but closed it before the ADEX code could detect this event. ADEX collects data very quickly \u2014 it takes a really short time span. Still, if a user closes an ad even quicker, say, within less than a second, ADEX might miss it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What shall I do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, you can\u2019t affect your users\u2019 Wi-Fi or mobile Internet speed. You can\u2019t also make them all purchase brand new gadgets that ensure great connection. However, proper targeting settings may help.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connection issues and outdated devices are widespread in Tier 3 GEOs. It doesn\u2019t mean you should stop sending or purchasing traffic there of course. Still, if you separate your campaigns by GEO, you will see zones that lose data due to poor connection \u2014 and will have a clue for optimization.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n It may seem strange: isn\u2019t low-quality traffic exactly what ADEX is supposed to detect first? Still, here we speak about very cheap and primitive bots \u2014 like those that can\u2019t even load any JS scripts. Such low-quality bots might appear in your traffic source but not even reach the ADEX check and ad trackers, which may again cause a discrepancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCPA Network<\/strong><\/td> 8 835 impressions<\/td><\/tr> Advertising Network<\/strong><\/td> 9 500 impressions<\/td><\/tr> Third-party Tracker<\/strong><\/td> 8 970 impressions<\/td><\/tr> ADEX<\/strong><\/td> 8 655 impressions<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n \n
\n\n\n\nDiscrepancy reasons and solutions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
ADEX vs. Other Trackers Settings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nADEX Integration Methods<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nPoor Internet Connection\/Outdated gadgets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nSuper Low-Quality Traffic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n