A marketing manager is closely monitoring their data to see how effectively their ads are driving online sales and generating leads through sign-ups. When the marketing manager compares Google Ads data with their offline data, they see a difference in the number of sign-ups in Google Ads vs. their offline data source. Assuming everything is working as intended and the issue lies with when a conversion was counted, what's likely causing this data discrepancy?

The discrepancy likely stems from how Google Ads attributes conversions versus other data sources. Google Ads attributes conversions to the date and time of the ad click that initiated the conversion path, not necessarily the date and time the conversion actually occurred. For instance, if a user clicks an ad on Monday and converts on Wednesday, Google Ads will record that conversion on Monday. Other analytics platforms or offline data sources often record conversions based on the actual date and time the conversion event took place (Wednesday in this example). This difference in attribution windows and reporting dates is a common cause of such discrepancies. The other options describe incorrect or irrelevant reporting metrics and attribution methods.