Why platform conversions add up to more customers than you have
Each ad platform counts the conversions it can connect to its own ads, by its own rules, without knowing what the other platforms counted. When one customer saw or clicked ads on two platforms, both can claim them, so the platform totals add up to more customers than you actually have.
Why does each platform claim the same customer?
A customer might click a Meta ad on Monday, see a TikTok video on Wednesday and click a Google search ad on Friday before signing up. Each platform only sees its own part of that path. Each one finds an ad interaction inside its own window and records a conversion. None of them is lying; they simply do not share a ledger.
What does the overlap look like in numbers?
| Source | Customers claimed |
|---|---|
| Google Ads | 64 |
| Meta Ads | 92 |
| TikTok Ads | 11 |
| LinkedIn Ads | 9 |
| All platforms added together | 176 |
| Paying customers in Stripe | 129 |
The platforms claim 47 more customers than paid. Counting each customer once, by last click, gives one total that cannot exceed 129.
Which mechanics make the totals grow?
- View-through counting: a person who only saw an ad can count as a conversion.
- Separate windows: each platform looks back over its own number of days.
- Counting settings: some conversion actions can count more than one conversion per click.
- Modeled conversions: when tracking is limited, platforms may estimate part of the total. Google Ads, for one, models conversions it cannot observe.
- The conversion itself: a sign-up or lead is counted even if that person never pays.
How do you count each customer once?
Start from your payments, not from the platforms. For each paying customer, find the last ad click within your matching window and give that campaign the credit. Customers with no click go on an unmatched line. The method is described in last-click vs platform attribution.
Related pages
- Last-click vs platform attribution in plain termsWhat each attribution method credits, and why Datarithms starts from payments.
- Meta Ads and paying customersFacebook and Instagram results, view-through counts, and the export we need.
- Google Ads and paying customersSearch and Performance Max conversions vs paying customers, and the export we need.
- GlossaryPlain definitions of the ad measurement terms used on this site: paying customer, CAC, attribution window, last click, view-through, ROAS and more.
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