Does Google LIE?

[Nakatomi]

Like a lot of people I keep a watchful eye on my webstats & search engine goings on. For a while now I've noticed that when I've had a flurry of leads Google seems to think I had very few, if any clicks yet my server stats tell me these leads came via search results. This has given me the distinct impression Google is being more than economical with the truth, maybe to help sway me into giving them money for advertising. But if they're not being upfront with stats when they're not being paid why should I trust the numbers they report for keywords in advertising hmm?

Has anyone else ever noticed this? It might well be that google stats don't reflect recent real-time data but I'm sure I've checked later & found the same - google saying I had less clicks on days I had several leads. I'm sure not that many people are bookmarking me to enquire later...

If we can't trust Google, all bets are off! How can anybody know what they're doing - changes they make etc are for the better, if not from stats in the first instance?

[DJ Jules]

Like a lot of people I keep a watchful eye on my webstats & search engine goings on. For a while now I've noticed that when I've had a flurry of leads Google seems to think I had very few, if any clicks yet my server stats tell me these leads came via search results. This has given me the distinct impression Google is being more than economical with the truth, maybe to help sway me into giving them money for advertising. But if they're not being upfront with stats when they're not being paid why should I trust the numbers they report for keywords in advertising hmm?

Has anyone else ever noticed this? It might well be that google stats don't reflect recent real-time data but I'm sure I've checked later & found the same - google saying I had less clicks on days I had several leads. I'm sure not that many people are bookmarking me to enquire later...

If we can't trust Google, all bets are off! How can anybody know what they're doing - changes they make etc are for the better, if not from stats in the first instance?

I don't know for sure, but I'd hazard a guess that the new ad/tracking blocking options in chrome/edge might be blocking Google's own click tracking.

[Nakatomi]

I don't know for sure, but I'd hazard a guess that the new ad/tracking blocking options in chrome/edge might be blocking Google's own click tracking.

It's been going on longer than that. I just get on with things, happy I get leads despite Google's foibles but it's still a concern

[Imagine]

It's been going on longer than that. I just get on with things, happy I get leads despite Google's foibles but it's still a concern

I've been noticing it for a good while now. At first I thought I'd mucked something up on the move from GA3 to GA4 but there's definitely something wrong somewhere.
Whether it's the mass of privacy settings now included on browsers etc, people using VPNs or what I don't know.

Something else I've noticed is that I'm getting a hell of a lot of traffic from areas of the UK that are miles away from me. I'm assuming that's where the user's ISP terminates rather than their actual geolocation but still not helpful.

[Nakatomi]

I've been noticing it for a good while now. At first I thought I'd mucked something up on the move from GA3 to GA4 but there's definitely something wrong somewhere.
Whether it's the mass of privacy settings now included on browsers etc, people using VPNs or what I don't know.

Something else I've noticed is that I'm getting a hell of a lot of traffic from areas of the UK that are miles away from me. I'm assuming that's where the user's ISP terminates rather than their actual geolocation but still not helpful.

I thought it might be a privacy settings thing on the user's end but I doubt that many people even set things that way.
As for getting hits from outside your usual area I'm trying my best to NOT get leads from just down the road. The amount of time I waste fielding calls about blimmin christenings in the town I live arghhh! I don't even mention christenings or kids parties for Pete's sakes Maybe it's time to try smacking a big price banner on my site to put them off!

"Christenings: from £1999.95!"

[Marc J]

Web server stats for hits / requests don't filter out "visits" by known, or any, bots. Google does.

Which, OK, on its own doesn't explain actual leads (which bots wouldn't normally do), but there is the rise in increased privacy settings too, as others have mentioned. I've just taken a look at a busy ecommerce site I host, which uses GA4 and it's very easy to see which orders / conversions are tracked and which aren't, and around 20% aren't.

[Nakatomi]

Web server stats for hits / requests don't filter out "visits" by known, or any, bots. Google does.

Which, OK, on its own doesn't explain actual leads (which bots wouldn't normally do), but there is the rise in increased privacy settings to, as others have mentioned. I've just taken a look at a busy ecommerce site I host, which uses GA4 and it's very easy to see which orders / conversions are tracked and which aren't, and around 20% aren't.

Hmm I wonder why mine aren't being tracked then. According to them it's all set up ok. I'll look at it again soon.

[rth_discos]

When you say 'Google' are you referring to GA4 analytics? Webmaster Tools? Or Google Ads?

[Nakatomi]

When you say 'Google' are you referring to GA4 analytics? Webmaster Tools? Or Google Ads?

Search console.

[rth_discos]

A couple of things to bear in mind here...

1: I'd be looking at what GA4 analytics are telling you - I assume you're recording conversions through this too?

2: People don't always convert immediately. They may have done the search previously and then come back to the website at a later date to make the enquiry.

Tools like MouseFlow and Hotjar can be quite useful to properly measure how people are interacting with your website.