Learn why generating reports on the 1st of every month can be misleading. This blog post dives into the challenges of time zones, reporting delays, and invalid click filtering, offering tips for digital marketing agencies to ensure accurate and timely reporting for clients across the globe.
- Time Zone Discrepancies: Google Ads reporting is based on Pacific Standard Time (PST) by default. While there is no campaign-level time zone setting, advertisers can set their account-level time zone. This means a report generated on June 1st IST will reflect May data for IST clients, but not necessarily for PST clients.
- Reporting Delay: Google Ads reports have a processing delay of up to 3 hours. This means data for the very end of the previous month might not be fully captured in a report generated on the 1st.
- Invalid Click Reconciliation: Google identifies and filters out invalid clicks, but this process isn’t real-time. It can take 24-48 hours for Google to identify and remove invalid clicks, so reports on the 1st may not reflect the final, accurate figures.
- Data Availability: Depending on the specific metrics you’re reporting on, some data might not be available immediately. For example, conversions that require additional verification (like phone calls) might take longer to show up in reports.
- Report Scheduling: Consider scheduling reports for a later date within the first few days of the month. This allows for more complete data processing and invalid click filtering.
Google’s infrastructure is indeed built on a massive network of data centers around the world. However, when it comes to Google Ads API data access, the specific location from where your application retrieves data isn’t something you directly control. Here’s how it works:
- Google’s Network: Google Ads data is stored in Google’s Cloud Platform (GCP), which utilizes geographically distributed data centers. This ensures high availability, scalability, and redundancy.
- API Access: When your application interacts with the Google Ads API, it doesn’t directly connect to a specific data center location. Instead, you make requests to Google’s API endpoints, which are designed to route your request to the most optimal location based on various factors.
- Factors Influencing Location: Factors like your application’s location, current load on different data centers, and network efficiency all play a role in determining which data center serves your request.
- Transparency on Location: You won’t have direct visibility into the specific data center location where your request is processed.
Remember, a slight delay in report delivery can be well worth it for a clearer picture of campaign performance. Leverage these insights to optimize campaigns, maximize client satisfaction.