Why Google Ads conversions don't match Google Analytics

The primary reason for discrepancies between conversion reports in Google Ads and Google Analytics lies in their differing attribution methods, which affect the reported date of the conversions:

1. Attribution Differences: Google Ads attributes conversions to the last Google Ads click, whereas Google Analytics attributes them to the last click across all channels.

2. Transaction Dates: Google Ads reports conversions based on the date and time of the click that led to the conversion. In contrast, Google Analytics records conversions based on the date and time when the conversion actually occurred. It's important to note that the 'All conv. (by conv. time)' column in Google Ads reflects the number of conversions imported from Analytics based on the conversion date, not the date of the click.

Google Analytics and Google Ads figures would never match each other unless all your customers purchase on the day of the click and do so only once. Google Analytics reports conversions based on the day of the transaction, whereas Google Ads reports them based on the day of the click. With any kind of recurring payments, reports for relatively recent days will display higher numbers in Google Analytics (as they include payments from previous months' customers) and lower in Google Ads.

How to reconcile the differences?

It's possible to report conversions based on the date of acquisition in Google Analytics by using 'First Visit Date' dimension for additional grouping or filtering.

For more granular analysis, uses Able CDP revenue tracking and attribution reports.

Able CDP has an ‘Acquisition-Transaction’ switch in its reports (click ‘Explore’ button next to the chart on the main dashboard page to open) that switches between two modes to display attribution based on the data in Able, which is first-touch and has an unlimited attribution window.

Switching to acquisition date would display conversions reported by the date of acquisition (first click) instead, displaying conversions attributed consistently with Google Ads attribution:

Clicking on the date and individual segment would allow you to drill down into the data and see which conversions are behind the reported figure:

References

1. Revenue Tracking and Attribution, Able CDP
2. Creating a Google Analytics 4 Report for Conversions Based on Date of Acquisition, Able CDP Blog
3. Data discrepancies between Google Ads and Analytics, Google Analytics
4. Comparing Analytics and Google Ads conversion metrics, Google Analytics