Advertising Platform Analytics

We begin with an audit of what you run and what you see. We list the ad platforms in use, such as Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, Microsoft and marketplace ads, and the account structure of each. We list the analytics tools, tag managers, call tracking, forms and CRM that record results. Then we compare the numbers for a recent period: clicks reported by the platform against sessions in analytics, platform conversions against analytics events and both against real leads in the CRM. This shows the size of each gap and where it starts. Common causes include missing or overwritten campaign tags, conversion events counted twice, a thank-you page that can be reloaded, visitors who decline analytics cookies, clicks that never become sessions because of slow pages, different conversion windows, and platform-reported conversions that include view-through or modelled results. Next we fix the foundations. We link ad accounts to analytics where supported, switch on auto-tagging for Google Ads, and build a naming scheme for campaigns, ad groups and creatives so that reports can be filtered; see Google Tag Manager setup. For platforms that rely on manual tags, we create standard parameters and a link builder. We define which events count as conversions, separating primary goals such as qualified enquiries and bookings from secondary actions such as scrolls and downloads, and we import only the primary ones into ad platforms for optimisation. We check that each event fires once, with the right value, and passes through the tag manager correctly; see enhanced conversions implementation support and pixel and conversions API setup support. We add call and chat tracking so that phone and WhatsApp enquiries are included; see call tracking integration. We configure consent mode or equivalent settings so that measurement follows visitor choices, and we explain the gaps this creates; see consent-aware analytics configuration. We connect leads in the CRM to their click identifiers and campaign tags, so that quality and sales can be reported by campaign; see CRM and lead source tracking. We create a one-page guide explaining why each tool’s numbers differ and which one to use for which decision: the ad platform for in-platform optimisation, analytics for site behaviour across channels and the CRM for truth about leads and revenue. We re-run the comparison after changes and document the remaining gap as an acceptable range. We set monitoring that alerts you when tracking breaks, for example when conversions drop to zero. We cannot make all tools agree exactly or recover data lost before tracking was fixed, but connected tools give you a reliable picture to manage spending.