Ad tracking answers
Why your ad numbers and your Shopify orders don’t match.
Short, straight answers with step-by-step fixes you can do yourself, for Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat.
Meta (Facebook & Instagram)
- Why does Meta show more purchases than Shopify?Meta counts a purchase for an ad up to 7 days after a click or 1 day after a view, even when the buyer came back through Google or...
- Why does Meta report purchases when Shopify has no orders?Purchases on days with no orders at all aren’t an attribution difference: something is sending a Purchase event outside checkout. The...
- Why does Meta show fewer purchases than Shopify?Meta only counts sales it can tie to an ad within its attribution window, so orders from email, search, repeat customers and shoppers...
- Meta shows more Black Friday sales than Shopify. Which number is right?Shopify’s order count is the real number of sales. Meta credits a sale to an ad up to 7 days after a click or 1 day after a view, and...
- How do I stop my Meta pixel firing twice on Shopify?A pixel fires twice when two things load it: usually old pixel code in the theme plus Shopify’s Facebook & Instagram app, or two apps...
- How do I fix Meta deduplication between the pixel and Conversions API on Shopify?Meta counts a browser event and a server event as one only when both have the same event name and the same event ID. If one source sends...
- Why do my ads get add to carts but no sales?Either the add-to-carts aren’t real (a pixel counting twice inflates them), or real shoppers are stopping between the cart and payment,...
- Why did Meta purchases go up after the Shopify Thank you page upgrade?If Meta purchases rose after the upgrade while Shopify orders didn't, the fix usually created a second Purchase source: the Facebook &...
- How do I fix “Required parameter ‘value’ is missing for event ‘Purchase’”?Meta shows this when a Purchase event arrives with no value, or with a value it can’t read, such as a formatted price like $49.99. It...
Google Ads and GA4
- Why don’t Google Ads conversions match Shopify orders?Google Ads credits a conversion to the day of the ad click and counts conversions for up to 30 days after it by default, while Shopify...
- Why doesn’t GA4 purchase revenue match Shopify?GA4 only records purchases from visitors it can measure and usually records gross revenue at purchase time, while Shopify’s totals...
- Why are Google Ads conversions higher than my Shopify sales?Google Ads reports more purchases than Shopify when the same order is counted by more than one conversion action or tag, when...
- Why are Google Ads conversions lower than my Shopify sales?Google Ads only counts orders it can tie to an ad click, so it will always show fewer purchases than Shopify's total. A large or sudden...
- Why does GA4 show “(not set)” as the source for Shopify purchases?GA4 shows “(not set)” when a purchase event arrives without the session that brought the buyer to your store. On Shopify this happens...
TikTok
- Why don’t TikTok Ads conversions match Shopify orders?TikTok credits a conversion to an ad inside its attribution window, which includes views as well as clicks, so it can claim orders that...
Snapchat
- Why don’t Snapchat Ads purchases match Shopify orders?Snapchat’s reporting has used a long default window after a swipe and a short one after a view, so it can credit sales days or weeks...
All ad platforms
- Which numbers should I trust: Shopify, Meta or Google?Trust Shopify for how many sales you made and how much money came in, because it records actual orders. Use each ad platform only to...
- How do I compare Meta Ads purchases with Shopify orders?Export Meta purchases by day and Shopify orders by day for the same 30 days and time zone, using 7-day click in Meta and only Online...
- Why is my ad ROAS higher than my actual sales, and how do I check real ROAS?Recalculate it from Shopify: divide the revenue of Shopify orders that came from the platform (by UTM or referrer, without test,...
- How can a Shopify store spot fake or low-quality ad traffic?Compare what the ad platform says it delivered with what arrived in your store. Many link clicks but few landing page views, sessions...
- Meta or Google purchases dropped after the Shopify Thank you page upgrade. Why?Shopify upgraded the Thank you and Order status pages for non-Plus stores by 26 August 2026, and code in the old Additional Scripts box...
WooCommerce stores
- Why is the Meta pixel firing twice on my WooCommerce store?On WooCommerce the Meta pixel usually fires twice because two sources load it: two tracking plugins, or one plugin plus pixel code...
- Why does Meta show more purchases than my WooCommerce orders?Meta credits a sale to an ad for up to 7 days after a click or 1 day after a view, and dates it to the ad, while WooCommerce lists each...
- Can I use PixelYourSite and Meta for WooCommerce at the same time?You can keep both installed, but only one of them should send the Meta pixel. If both send it, every PageView, AddToCart and Purchase...
- Why don’t Google Ads conversions match my WooCommerce orders?Google Ads credits conversions to the date of the ad click and counts them within its conversion window, while WooCommerce lists orders...
Choosing a tool
- Which tool should I use to check my Shopify ad tracking?Free pixel helpers, sales checks, server-side tracking and attribution platforms, and what each one answers.