Microsoft Clarity Recording Fewer Sessions Than Google Ads Clicks for the Same Date Range

Issue Summary

We are observing a recurring discrepancy between Google Ads click counts and Microsoft Clarity session recordings on our website.

Google Ads reports significantly more ad clicks than the number of sessions/recordings captured in Microsoft Clarity for the same date range. This discrepancy impacts our ability to accurately analyze visitor behavior and measure campaign performance.

Environment

• Website: https://www.bolddesk.com/
• Platform: WordPress
• Analytics Tool: Microsoft Clarity
• Traffic Source: Google Ads
• Clarity script is installed site-wide and loads correctly.
• No recent implementation changes have been made to Clarity.
• Cookie consent is accepted before testing.

Data Observed

August 2026

DateGoogle Ads ClicksClarity RecordingsMissing Recordings10-Aug-202627151211-Aug-20262314912-Aug-202631256### July 2026 DateGoogle Ads ClicksClarity RecordingsMissing Recordings21-Jul-2026271314### Additional Historical Data DateGoogle Ads ClicksClarity RecordingsMissing Recordings09-Feb1712510-Feb127511-Feb1211112-Feb13112## Example Discrepancy

Google Ads (21-Jul-2026)

Campaign: bolddesk.com - Search - India - HelpDesk

• Impressions: 193
• Clicks: 27
• CTR: 13.99%

Microsoft Clarity (21-Jul-2026)

• Sessions: 13
• Unique Users: 13
• Bot Sessions Excluded: 0

Result

MetricCountGoogle Ads Clicks27Clarity Sessions/Recordings13Difference14For this date, approximately 52% of Google Ads clicks did not result in a Clarity recording, despite no bot sessions being excluded.

Previous Investigation

We previously contacted Microsoft Clarity support regarding a similar discrepancy between LinkedIn Ads clicks and Clarity recordings:

Reference Ticket:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5707576/discrepancy-between-linkedin-ads-click-counts-and?page=1#answer-12503614

In that case, the Clarity team mentioned possible causes such as:

• Mobile browser limitations
• In-app browser restrictions
• Early page exits before Clarity initialization
• Do Not Track (DNT) settings
• CSP restrictions

However, we are now seeing a similar discrepancy with Google Ads traffic, where users are landing directly from Google search ads.

Questions

1. Does Microsoft Clarity apply any sampling, filtering, throttling, or rate-limiting that could prevent some sessions from being recorded?
2. Are there any known limitations related to:
   • Google Ads traffic
     • Mobile browsers
       • Privacy settings
         • Cookie consent
           • Session initialization
           1. Could Clarity discard sessions if a visitor leaves the page very quickly after clicking an ad?
           2. Is there any diagnostic method available to verify whether Clarity successfully initialized for all visitors arriving from Google Ads?
           3. Can Clarity support review our project and confirm whether any sessions are being dropped due to technical, privacy, or browser-related factors?

Evidence Attached

The following screenshots are attached for reference:

1. Google Ads dashboard showing click counts for the campaign
2. Microsoft Clarity dashboard showing recorded sessions for the same date range.
   
3. Comparison demonstrating the discrepancy between Google Ads clicks and Clarity recordings.

Note: This question is related to Microsoft Clarity session recordings and reporting discrepancies. A dedicated Microsoft Clarity tag was not available when creating this post, so the closest reporting-related category was selected.

Request

Could the Clarity support team please review this behavior and advise:

• Whether the observed discrepancy is expected.
• What factors may cause sessions to be missing.
• Any recommended steps to identify why a portion of Google Ads traffic is not appearing in Clarity recordings.

We can provide the following information if needed:

• Clarity Project ID
• Specific landing page URLs
• Additional screenshots
• Session examples
• Testing details

Thank you for your assistance.

Contact: 

[ve***@***.com]

[bh***@***.com]

**** PII REMOVED ***