> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.outpost.pub/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Traffic Numbers That Don't Match

> Why Plausible, Ghost, and Google Analytics report different traffic for the same site, and what each one is good for.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why do Plausible, Ghost, and Google Analytics all show different traffic numbers?">
    Because counting web traffic is genuinely hard, and it gets harder every year. Plenty of what arrives at any website is software, not a person. Ad blockers keep improving. Browsers keep tightening what any measurement tool is allowed to see. Every tool draws the line between a reader and not-a-reader in a slightly different place.

    So the three will never agree, and no amount of investigation will make them. That's normal, and not a sign that anything is broken.

    AI crawlers are the usual suspect, but they mostly don't register in any of the three dashboards. They cost you hosting capacity, not accuracy.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is Ghost analytics best at?">
    Knowing who your logged-in readers are. Ghost is the only one of the three that can tell a named member apart from an anonymous visitor, because it is the system they signed into. That gives you two things nothing else can:

    * **Traffic split by audience:** public visitors, free members, and paid members, on the same numbers.
    * **Signups and paid conversions attributed to a post,** down to which members those were.

    Reading itself is reported at audience level, with the member-by-member detail on the signup and conversion side.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Which number should I trust?">
    Trust the direction, not the absolute number. What any of the three will tell you correctly:

    * **Up or down against last month.**
    * **Which stories outperform.**
    * **Which channels bring readers who go on to subscribe.**

    All three answer those reliably, as long as you use the same one every time. Avoid quoting two of them in the same conversation. If your numbers move in a way none of this explains, write to **[support@outpost.pub](mailto:support@outpost.pub)**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does Outpost treat Plausible as the number of record?">
    Because it's yours to take with you, and it's currently the only one Outpost can feed data into.

    * **It's yours to take.** Your site has its own separate space on Outpost's Plausible account, and Outpost covers the cost while it's there. Ask, and Outpost will transfer ownership to you, after which Plausible bills you directly at their standard rates. You're not locked in.
    * **Outpost can send data into it.** Connecting your site ([Plausible integration](/integrations/plausible)) makes Plausible track signups and account-page visits automatically, and banner campaign ads have optional fields for reporting their views and clicks there too. Your ad and CTA numbers of record still come from Outpost's own [CTA reports](/features/cta-dashboard), so the Plausible version is an extra view, not the record.
    * **It's already in your Outpost admin,** under **Reports & Activity → [Plausible Dashboard](/features/plausible-dashboard)**, once your site is connected.

    Plausible will normally be your lowest number. It is deliberately conservative about counting anything it cannot confirm is a person.

    One thing to check: the tracking code has to be pasted into Ghost by hand, under **Settings → Code injection → Site Header**. If it isn't there, Plausible sees nothing at all.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need Google Analytics, and does it need a cookie banner?">
    You don't need it to measure your traffic. Two legitimate reasons to keep it, neither of them about better numbers:

    * **You already read it fluently.** If it's the tool you and your team know, that counts.
    * **An advertiser or partner asks for it.** Some sponsors' reporting requires Google Analytics numbers specifically.

    On the banner: Plausible sets no cookies, so it needs none, and Outpost adds none. Google Analytics sets long-lived tracking cookies, so in the European Economic Area it needs consent before it loads. Outpost doesn't install Google Analytics, so that banner is yours to set up.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>