You may notice two common discrepancies when comparing Meta Ads Manager and Shotgun Smartboard data:
- Traffic data doesn’t match : Meta reports far more link clicks than Shotgun reports visits.
- Some events tracked in Shotgun don’t appear in Meta
Here’s why these happen and how to explain them.
1. Traffic Data in Meta vs. Shotgun
It may be normal for Meta's traffic figures to appear higher than Shotgun's.
This is due to several factors :
Different definitions
- Meta “Link Clicks” = any click on your ad (image, “see more,” likes, shares, etc.), not just clicks to your event page.
-
Shotgun Traffic = only sessions where a user actually loaded your landing page with UTM parameters.
➡ Many “link clicks” in Meta never result in a page visit.
Page load loss
- Some users click but leave before your page fully loads.
- Shotgun tracking only records visits after the page loads and the tracking script runs.
➡ These visitors never appear in your Shotgun data.
Multiple clicks from the same user
- Meta counts every click, even repeated clicks from the same person in one session.
- Shotgun deduplicates based on sessions.
Fake or invalid clicks (bot traffic)
- Low-quality placements (Audience Network, click farms) can generate clicks that never load your page.
- These inflate Meta’s numbers but don’t show in Shotgun.
💡 Tip: For real conversions and business value, trust Shotgun’s numbers over Meta’s click counts.
2. Events Tracked in Shotgun but Missing in Meta
Sometimes, you’ll see certain events in Shotgun analytics (like purchase) that don’t appear in Meta Ads Manager.
This can happen because:
- Mobile app and widget events aren’t tracked by the Meta Pixel.
- Cookie rejection or ad blockers can block the Pixel from sending events to Meta.
💡 Good to know: How to reduce this gap: Implement the Meta Conversions API. This sends events from your server instead of relying on browser tracking, making data more reliable.
✅ Need more help? Contact our support team
