Your Ad Dashboards Don't Agree. Here's What to Trust.
Google says one thing, Facebook says another, and your bank account says a third. Here's how to know which ads are really working.
If you run ads on both Google and Facebook or Instagram, you've probably noticed something strange. Add up the sales each platform says it brought you, and the total is higher than the sales you actually made. Sometimes much higher.
Nobody is lying, exactly. Each platform counts sales in its own way, and each one gives itself credit whenever it can. If a customer saw your Instagram ad on Monday, searched your name on Google on Wednesday and bought on Thursday, both Facebook and Google may count that same sale as theirs.
Why this matters
If you believe every dashboard, you'll think your ads are working better than they are, and you'll keep spending on things that don't pay off. If you ignore the dashboards completely, you can't tell good ads from bad ones. You need a way in between.
Pick one source of truth
The most reliable number is the one in your own business: your booking system, your online shop, your bank account. Those are real customers and real money.
Look at the big picture first. Add up everything you spent on ads last month, and divide it by the number of new customers you got. That's what each new customer cost you. If that number is going down, or staying steady while you grow, your ads are working overall, whatever each dashboard says.
Use the dashboards for what they're good at
Platform dashboards are still useful for comparing things within the platform: which ad gets more clicks, which audience responds better, which photo works best. Use them to choose between ads, not to add up your total results.
Make the tracking honest
Good tracking makes a big difference. When your website tells Google and Facebook exactly which visitors became paying customers, and how much they paid, the platforms can put your budget in front of people who are more likely to buy. It's worth setting up properly, and it usually takes a few days, not weeks.
Ask customers too. A simple 'How did you hear about us?' question on your booking or contact form is old-fashioned, but it catches things no dashboard can, like word of mouth or a friend's recommendation.
Test by switching things off
The clearest way to know if an ad channel is working is to pause it for a couple of weeks and watch what happens to your real sales. If nothing changes, that money was probably being spent on customers who would have come anyway. If sales drop, you've learned the channel matters. Small, careful tests like this tell you more than any dashboard.
The simple version
Trust your own sales numbers first. Use the platform dashboards to compare ads, not to count results. Set up tracking properly. And every so often, test by pausing a channel.
If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your ad accounts, book a call. We'll look at what you're spending, what's coming back, and where the money is best used.