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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryAdtech & ProgrammaticDiscrepancy

Adtech & Programmatic

Discrepancy

The difference between impression, click, or spend counts reported by two systems, such as a publisher's and an advertiser's ad server.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

A discrepancy is the difference between impression, click, or spend counts reported by two systems, such as a publisher's ad server and an advertiser's ad server. Differences arise from timing, counting methods, latency, ad blocking, and filtering of invalid traffic. Contracts often specify an acceptable discrepancy threshold and which system's numbers govern billing.