Paid traffic makes sense only when you can tell what happened after the vendor reported a click. Measurement must follow the same definitions before and after the send.
Build a reliable baseline
Start with source tracking and our browser-based ROI calculator. The calculator uses assumptions, not predicted results. For a first test, compare your tracker’s visitors with the seller’s reported delivered clicks before drawing conclusions about revenue.
Understand your funnel metrics
Read the difference between cost per lead, opt-in rate, and sales conversion rate. These measure different populations; mixing denominators makes comparisons unreliable.
Troubleshoot and report
Use our click discrepancy checklist when two tools disagree and the campaign report template to document what changed. Keep testing one variable at a time where possible.
Measure the whole funnel, not a dashboard headline
The seller's system may count an eligible outbound click. Your analytics may count a loaded page visit. Your email tool records a subscriber after the form is submitted and any applicable confirmation is completed. Your checkout records a transaction. These are separate events, and each answers a different question. Decide what they mean before the campaign starts.
Record ordered clicks, provider-reported delivered clicks, observed landing-page visits, unique opt-ins, purchases, gross revenue and refunds in separate fields. Add the time window and currency. If a transaction occurs later or attribution is uncertain, document that limitation rather than crediting every sale to a single email send.
Use ratios only when their units match
For an illustrative campaign, suppose a $120 placement creates 240 observed landing-page visits and 24 valid sign-ups. The observed visit-to-sign-up rate is 24 ÷ 240 = 10%, and media cost per sign-up is $120 ÷ 24 = $5. That example does not imply that the actual campaign made a profit. You would need purchase, refund, product-margin and other cost data to draw a business conclusion.
Our ROI calculator lets you explore hypothetical outcomes, while cost per lead, opt-in rate and conversion rate each unpack a different denominator.
When numbers disagree
Compare the seller and analytics records using the same timezone, period, counted-click rule and redirect chain. Script blocking and incomplete page loads may explain part of a discrepancy; suspicious concentrations may merit investigation but are not proof of fraud. Use the reconciliation guide before disputing a purchase or changing providers.
Use a decision log, not just a number sheet
Next to every campaign, write one plain-language sentence describing what the numbers allow you to conclude. “The provider reported the contracted eligible clicks, but the form was broken for part of delivery” is more useful than labeling the campaign a failure. “We observed a promising sign-up rate but no attributable purchases during the defined window” is different from claiming that the provider did not deliver. Your record should name uncertainty instead of hiding it.
Before another purchase, choose one next action: reconcile a mismatch, repair a technical issue, or run a bounded comparison. If a result depends on a handful of purchases, give it time and avoid extrapolating a precise conversion rate. The campaign worksheet helps preserve those choices alongside the raw fields.
Useful next steps
Guide reviewed September 19, 2026. Provider recommendations and purchase terms can change; confirm current details before ordering.