New research from Rakuten Marketing has found attributable revenue from Facebook ad campaigns might be higher than web analytics lead them to believe. This is causing advertisers to report lower return on investment from Facebook than is actually the case.

The analysis of client performance data revealed discrepancies between Facebook conversion tracking and web analytics that are obscuring as much as 192 per cent more attributable revenue and higher return on ad spend for mobile campaigns. For one client included in the study, the attributable revenue from Facebook conversion tracking could be as high as £3.8m annually, while their web analytics would report only £1.6m.

The report, The Facebook Measurement Divide, finds that marketers relying solely on third-party analytics platforms are not realising all earned Facebook revenue and potentially missing as much as $4.7m annually in lost attributable revenue.

Rakuten Marketing analysed client campaign performance across Facebook advertising on desktop and mobile over a four-week period to determine consumer conversion performance. According to the report, Facebook conversion tracking compared to marketers’ third-party analytics reporting showed attributable revenue on Facebook is largely under-reported for marketers.

While a discrepancy between Facebook conversion tracking and third-party web analytics also exists for desktop campaigns, it is significantly lower, 3 per cent on average, indicating cross-device identification as the primary cause.

The Facebook Measurement Divide provides data via client case studies, along with in-depth cross-device ad performance data; a breakdown of measurement challenges marketers face with cross-device marketing strategies; and best practices to help marketers improve overall campaign investment and performance.

“The findings of this report highlight that marketers need to be diligent about gaining transparency into their performance measurement,” said Rakuten Marketing CEO, Tony Zito. “Innovation is affecting consumer behaviour at a pace that does not allow for one-time attribution models that will accurately measure current and future marketing strategies. Our focus is to arm marketers with actionable insights that empower them to capitalise in the rapidly evolving landscape in which they compete.”