Differences between reports that are segmented or grouped by geographic area and reports without these segments or groups are expected for a number of reasons. For example, some metrics may not be attributed to any geographic area, visits may not be included in small geographic areas, and spam filtering isn't available for reports segmented by geographic areas.
Fewer clicks when dimensioned by geographic area
The reporting table displays a smaller number of clicks when a geographic dimension is applied. The smaller number is expected because some clicks aren’t attributed to a geographic area.
The following cases explain other discrepancies in reports segmented by geographic area.
Visits may not be included in small geographic areas
As you dimension or segment metrics by smaller geographic areas, you can expect even greater differences between the number of clicks reported by the engines and the number of visits reported by Search Ads 360, mostly because the engines and Search Ads 360 use different signals for locating clicks.
If Search Ads 360 or an engine isn't able to attribute a click to a specific geographic area, you'll see --- (dashes) in the reporting table. This behavior is normal, and has to do with differences in how Search Ads 360 and engines use data to determine location; as such, don't be alarmed if the difference between clicks and visits to unknown areas is large. The data is still useful for relative comparison.
Example:
| Geographic area | Clicks | Visits |
| Chicago | 500 | 700 |
| New York | 800 | 900 |
| --- | 300 | 600 |
Discrepancy between Google Ads metrics reported in Search Ads 360 and those shown in Google Ads
View similar reports in Google Ads
If you notice differences between the geographic metrics reported in Search Ads 360 and Google Ads, make sure that you are viewing metrics that are attributed in the same way.
Search Ads 360 attributes geographic metrics based on where your users were. In Google Ads, you can view location reports by what triggered your ad or where your users were.
To make sure that you’re viewing similarly-attributed metrics in Google Ads, view Google Ads location reports by the location of your users.
- In Google Ads, click the Campaigns tab.
- Select the campaign or ad group you'd like to see in the side panel. You can also see statistics for your entire account by clicking All online campaigns in the panel.
- Click the date range menu on the top right corner of the page and select the same time period selected in Search Ads 360.
- Click the Settings tab.
- Click Locations (underneath the Settings tab).
- Click the View locations reports and select Where your users were from the dropdown menu. Your data will be displayed by location.
- If you want to drill down to a different geographic level, check the box next to one or more of the locations in the table and click Select view for...locations.
Learn more about viewing Google Ads location reports. See How to view your location reports in Google Ads Help Center.
Geographic metrics are reported every 24 hours
While engine metrics are reported in Search Ads 360 every couple of hours, geographic metrics for Google Ads and Yahoo! Japan are reported every 24 hours in the engines and in Search Ads 360.
Geographic metrics before August 1, 2014 are not included
Geographic data is not available before August 1, 2014. For example, if the time range for a report that is dimensioned or segmented by country is January 1, 2014 to April 2, 2015, the report will only include metrics from August 1, 2014 to April 2, 2015.
Totals for geographic metrics are higher than unsegmented totals
Totals for geographic metrics may be more than the totals shown in an unsegmented report because spam filters are applied to unsegmented metrics. When segmented by geographic area, a report includes clicks that are removed by spam filters when viewing unsegmented reports.