Why does my Google Analytics and Pepperjam reporting not match?

Commonly, advertisers will review their Google Analytics reporting to track and measure affiliate conversions; however, it’s important to note that Google Analytics is not by design an affiliate management tool.

Google Analytics tracks users’ actions at the session level. Within a single session, multiple clicks can exist. On the other hand, your Ascend platform records actions at the click level. These differing metrics can lead to discrepancies between both systems’ reporting suites. Likewise, the addition of cross-channel engagement can lead to misattribution of transactions.

Advertisers should always rely on the reporting in the Ascend system first and use Google Analytics to complement the data. Pepperjam considers a transaction valid whenever an affiliate cookie is present on the customer’s device at the time of purchase. To mitigate some of the discrepancies in reporting, advertisers should consider reviewing the destination URL parameters (Creatives > Generic) that universally append to all creatives. Parameters should be UTM format to be recorded properly in Google Analytics.