Meta Ads Data Differences
When comparing LightLead data with Ads Manager, discrepancies may appear. This is a normal occurrence caused by fundamental differences in how the data is retrieved and processed. Below are the main causes and ways to minimize the discrepancies.
Cause 1: Different Time Zones
Description of the issue: Ads Manager displays data in the time zone selected in the interface (which may differ from the account's time zone). LightLead always uses the ad account's time zone (timezone_name).
How it affects the data:
- Day boundaries may not line up by several hours
- "Yesterday's" data in LightLead may partially fall on "today" in Ads Manager
- The difference is most noticeable when analyzing data for the current day
Example: if the account's time zone is America/New_York (UTC-4) and you're viewing Ads Manager in Europe/Moscow (UTC+3), the difference is 7 hours. Data for July 25 in Ads Manager may include part of July 24 from LightLead.
How to check: make sure Ads Manager has the time zone matching the ad account's timezone_name selected.
How to minimize: compare data for full days (at least yesterday and earlier), not for the current day.
Cause 2: Different Attribution Windows
Description of the issue: Ads Manager lets you choose different attribution windows for displaying conversions (e.g. 1d_click, 7d_click, 1d_view, 7d_view). LightLead uses the attribution settings configured at the account level, which may not match what's displayed in the Ads Manager interface.
How it affects the data:
- Conversions: the number of conversions directly depends on the selected attribution window
- ROAS: the wider the window, the higher the ROAS (more conversions are credited to the ad)
- Cost per conversion: CPA drops as the attribution window widens
Example: Ads Manager is set to display with a 7d_click + 1d_view window (showing 100 conversions), while the account setting is 1d_click (the API returns 65 conversions). The difference: 35 conversions don't make it into LightLead's data.
How to check: compare the attribution settings in Ads Manager (the Attribution Setting column) with the account settings in Business Settings.
How to minimize: use the same attribution windows in Ads Manager and in requests through LightLead.
Cause 3: Data Update Delay via API
Description of the issue: data via the Graph API updates with a delay relative to the Ads Manager interface.
Reasons for the delay:
- Aggregation delay: the API aggregates data in batches, typically with a 15-60 minute delay
- Attribution delay: conversions may be recorded with a delay of up to 7 days (within the attribution window)
- Processing on Meta's side: internal data processing before publishing to the API may take additional time
How it affects the data:
- "Today's" data in the API is almost always incomplete
- "Yesterday's" data may change slightly on a repeat request (new conversions are added)
- Data older than 2-3 days is usually stable
Example: at 10:00 AM, today's data shows 50 conversions in Ads Manager, but the API returns only 35. By evening, the API will catch up with Ads Manager.
How to minimize: for reporting, use data from the day before yesterday and earlier. For daily monitoring, use yesterday's data with the understanding that there may be a margin of error of 1-3%.
Cause 4: Deduplication and Data Processing
Additional factors that can cause minor discrepancies:
- Pixel and CAPI deduplication: Meta deduplicates events sent simultaneously through Pixel and the Conversions API. The deduplication process can produce different results in the UI and the API
- Rounding: Ads Manager may round values for display (e.g. CTR to one decimal place)
- Data sampling: with very large volumes, Ads Manager may show data based on sampling (marked as "data based on sampling")
- Different API versions: Ads Manager may use a newer API version with different calculation algorithms
Recommendations for Comparing Data
- Compare data with a 2-3 day delay: this minimizes the impact of attribution delay
- Check overall totals, not individual rows: aggregated metrics (total spend, total impressions) usually match more precisely
- Verify attribution settings: make sure the attribution windows match
- Account for acceptable margin of error: a discrepancy of up to 2-3% is considered normal
- Use Ads Manager as the reference: in case of discrepancies, Ads Manager is the source of truth, since its data undergoes full processing by Meta