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Why do the numbers in the Google Analytics dashboard differ from those in my native GA account?
Why do the numbers in the Google Analytics dashboard differ from those in my native GA account?

Explore why Google Analytics dashboard numbers differ from your native account due to distinct processing methods.

Gulce Gumrukcu avatar
Written by Gulce Gumrukcu
Updated over a week ago

We use Google Analytics API to get your traffic figures and statistics.

Google calculates the figures it presents in its interface (at analytics.google.com) in a different way from the numbers it makes available through its API.

When you look at the "Unique Users" measure in your native Google Analytics account (at analytics.google.com), for example, the number you see does not include duplicate users when recorded over time. Before reporting the aggregate number on its interface, Google removes these duplicates.

As a result, the graph they show for this metric displays a different amount than you'd obtain if you combined the unique users recorded for each day.

On the other hand, the number made available to developers by Google via their API includes duplicate users. They are not removed by Google.

As a result, the graph that we display for the "Users" metric does equal the total that you would get if you added up the unique users reported for each day.

It should be noted that this is a daily unique user count: If one of those users returns on a different day, Google counts them as a new "unique" user when sending your data through their API. When they send your data, the user is not marked as a duplicate.

This is why, when comparing weekly or monthly data passed through Google's API to what Google chooses to display in their own interface at analytics.google.com, some metrics may differ.

In short, Google crunches the numbers differently when reporting them internally (at analytics.google.com) versus when making that same data available to developers via their API. If you have a developer on your team, they can verify this for themselves by accessing your data through Google's API.

Although "Users" is used as an example above, this can also apply to other metrics for the same reason.


If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]!

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