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How to troubleshoot when report numbers don't match what you expected

This article summarizes common causes and troubleshooting steps for when a report's impressions, clicks, conversions, etc. don't match what you expected.

If the "Impressions," "Clicks," "Conversions," etc. in your report look different from what you expected, please check the following common causes.

Common causes

Impressions are higher than pageviews
If multiple displays are set up on the same page, a single pageview can generate multiple impressions, causing the impression count to exceed the pageview count. See "Reports: Available Metrics" for details.

Impressions (display count) are lower than expected
An impression is only counted when a display actually appears on screen after meeting all of its conditions — device, targeting, re-display rules, whether the user already converted, etc. Simply visiting the page does not add to the count. See "How are views counted?" for details.

Click count doesn't match actual user actions
Closing a display via a button set to "Close display" or via the ✕ button is not counted as a click. Also, for HTML content, only links with the pl-html-link class are counted. See "How Click Count Works" for details.

Impressions suddenly stopped growing at some point
Once your plan's impression limit is reached, display delivery stops entirely until the monthly limit resets. You can check your current limit and usage from the user icon in the top right of the admin dashboard. See "What happens if I exceed my plan's display limit?" for details.

Wanting a breakdown by trigger (exit intent, after a set time, etc.)
Currently, reports cannot show a breakdown by trigger. If you want to compare, create multiple displays with the same design but different triggers, and check each one's report individually. See "Reports: Available Metrics" for details.

Doesn't match Google Analytics (GA4) pageview numbers
Promolayer and GA4 use different measurement methods (differences in counting conditions, the scope of bot/crawler exclusion, etc.), so the numbers are not expected to match exactly. See "Why doesn't the Display view count match Google Analytics (GA4) pageview count?" for details.

Total pageviews don't match the sum of pageviews per row (Plus plan only)
There may be cases where the total in the report and the sum of each page view row do not match, in terms of page views and display impression counts. This is because page views are shown per display.

Below is a report after a page with Displays A, B, and C installed has been loaded twice. For each display row, the page view count is shown as "2".

Troubleshooting steps

  1. Confirm that the conditions (date range, target page, timezone) match between what you're comparing (e.g., GA4) and your report.

  2. Check whether you're comparing "pageviews" or "impressions," and confirm whether multiple displays are set up on the target page.

  3. Check the display conditions for the display in question (device, targeting, re-display rules, etc.).

  4. Check whether any of the "Common causes" above apply, and review the specifications in the linked articles for the relevant item.

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