[UA] About Ad Exchange in Google Analytics [Legacy]

Learn how to integrate Ad Exchange with Google Analytics and about potential discrepancies.
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Ad Exchange lets you earn money by using a Google display tool on your website to host third-party ads that are relevant to your audience.

In this article:

Manage your Ad Exchange and Google Analytics integration

If you use Ad Exchange, you can link your Ad Exchange account to Google Analytics so you can use Analytics to give context to your Ad Exchange data and get a better understanding of your performance. Before you can link your accounts, here are a couple considerations to keep in mind:

  1. You must use the same email address in Analytics and Ad Exchange to link your accounts,
  2. You must have editor or admin permission in both accounts.
  3. For each Analytics property, you must decide which view(s) to use for reporting.

Data discrepancies between Ad Exchange and Google Analytics

If you see significant data discrepancies between the reports in your Ad Exchange account and those in the Ad Exchange section of Analytics, keep in mind these points:

  • Analytics only records data for Ad Exchange content ad units, and doesn't include link units, search boxes, mobile ads, or any other Ad Exchange products.
  • You must include Analytics tracking code on every webpage running Ad Exchange for content ad units to match in both Analytics and Ad Exchange reports.

If your tracking code and account are set up correctly, and you see data discrepancies in your Ad Exchange and Analytics reports, it might be caused by one of the following:

  • Iframes: Ad Exchange uses an iframe to serve ads. Browsers that don't support the <iframe> tag don't report an impression in Analytics. This can result in Analytics counting more pageviews than Ad Exchange counts impressions.
  • Security or other blocking software: Software that can block content, like firewalls, ad blockers, or other 3rd party image blockers, can also block Ad Exchange impressions. Users with these kinds of installations are still counted in Analytics, but Ad Exchange impressions and data won't be counted in your Analytics reports.
  • New Ad Exchange/Analytics integration: It can take up to 24 hours after you link your Ad Exchange and Analytics accounts before data is collected. If you've recently configured your Ad Exchange or Analytics code, or recently linked your accounts, wait at least 24 hours before data appears in your reports. Ad Exchange data that was collected before you linked your accounts cannot appear in Analytics.
  • Timezone settings: If the time zones in your Analytics and Ad Exchange accounts don't match, each product aggregates data into different time periods for the same displayed date in the reports. Edit a property to change the timezone in Analytics.
  • Analytics view filters: Analytics lets you create different reporting views. You can add filters to views to exclude specific data, so you can customize the data you see in your reports. Ad Exchange data associated with sessions that are filtered out of an Analytics view are also excluded from all the Analytics reports in that view. Learn more about filters in Analytics.
  • Missing Analytics data: If any Analytics data isn't collected, like if the tracking code didn't execute, the Ad Exchange data associated with that missing Analytics data is also not reported in Analytics.

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