Stats discrepancies between AdWords API geo performance report and Google Ads geographic reporting (UI)

[Yakir Peretz]

Hi, 

We use the "GeoPerformanceReport", using the geographic fields: Country and City, including only physical location. 

We have discrepancies in ~25% of the cities: 

While most of the cities have exactly the same number of impressions, clicks, etc. on both reports - the rest have completely different stats. 

As an example: 

account id - 929-266-9401

Dates: Dec 15 2019 - Jan 13 2020

City of Buffalo, New York, United States 

API report stats: 134 clicks, 1530 impressions

Google ads UI stats: 49 clicks, 772 Impressions

But for other cities, like Reno, Nevada, United States:

API report stats: 61 clicks, 449 Impressions

Google ads UI stats: 61 clicks, 449 Impressions

We can't understand why the stats match in some cities but not in all of them.

Thank you in advance for helping, 

Yakir

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Yakir,

Thank you for reaching out. Please try making the call again and seeing if it is now correct. As explained in this guide on data freshness, it can take some time for your metrics to be up to date. If it is still not correct, please share your complete report definition and downloaded report so that I can further investigate the issue.

Regards,
Mitchell
Google Ads API Team

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[Yakir Peretz]

Hi Mitchell,

I've responded to you privately, did you get the message? 

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Yakir,

We have identified an issue on our end and are working to resolve it. I will let you know when there are any updates.

[Yakir Peretz]

Hi Mitchell, 

I understand, thank you. 

Is there any estimation about when the issue will be fixed? Or information about which report is the one we can use? (UI or API)

Also, is this a specific problem in the account we mentioned or a general issue? 

If there are accounts in which we can already relly on the api reports - it would be great. 

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Yakir,

Unfortunately I don't have any updates at this time and cannot speak to the timeline for it to be fixed. Until we investigate the issue further, I would avoid the report from the API and UI. I have not heard of this being an issue with other accounts so if you have a different account you can try, you should do that. I will let you know when I have additional information.

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Yakir,

I have just received an update from my team. The reason for the discrepancy is that the ways in which the API and UI determine what is included in a given city are different. To summarize, the UI appears to be more granular, whereas the API has a broader definition. For example, when searching for Buffalo in the API, this will include nearby cities such as Blasdell and Kenmore, whereas the the UI only includes Buffalo, which is the reason the stats appear higher in the API results. My team is aware of and is working on this issue. You can keep an eye on our Developer Blog for information on future releases.