Why OrcLink and GA4 differ

The two tools count different things in different ways. A difference is normal; this page lists where it comes from. Statements about GA4 describe how it commonly works; check your own property settings.

What is counted

• OrcLink counts outcomes from the system that owns them: the store order, the CRM stage, the call record, the form you marked for capture. The source system's record is the truth; an OrcLink number is a labelled claim about which click brought it.
• GA4 counts events the browser sent (or that you sent with the Measurement Protocol). A sale that never fired a browser event is not in GA4; a refund is in GA4 only if you send one.
• In OrcLink a refund or a lost deal lowers the outcome's net value, because the source system says so.

Which visit gets the credit

• Model. OrcLink's default model is last non-direct click; you can pick first touch, last touch, linear, time decay, position-based, U-shaped, W-shaped, full path or custom weights. GA4 uses its own default model and lookback window for its key events.
• Lookback. OrcLink looks at the visits and clicks before the outcome as far back as your workspace keeps data (Settings > Privacy: 90 days, 12 months, 24 months or no time limit).
• Channels. OrcLink puts each visit in a channel with its own rules (click ids first, then UTM values, then the referrer) plus your custom rules. GA4's default channel group uses other rules and names.

When it is counted

• OrcLink reports an outcome on the day it reached the stage (an opportunity, a won deal), in UTC days. GA4 reports an event on the day it fired, in your property's time zone.
• A deal that closes 40 days after the click is in OrcLink on its close day; in GA4 it is only there if something sent an event that day.

Consent and identity

• With a consent manager, the OrcLink script records nothing for a visitor who refuses, and waits for their choice. GA4 with Consent Mode can fill part of that gap with Google's modelled data. OrcLink's observed numbers are never modelled.
• OrcLink joins visits to people only by its own click id or by the same hashed email or phone seen on two devices: no fingerprint, no guess by time. GA4 has its own identity methods.
• OrcLink does not record crawlers and reports AI-agent visits apart from people.

Modelled numbers in OrcLink

Data-driven attribution, the impression layer, the modelled fill and the marketing mix model are always labelled Modelled and shown apart from the credited numbers. Data-driven attribution (Markov chains) shares credit by how journeys look; it is not a causal measurement. The marketing mix model is a rough, directional estimate from weekly totals, not a measured return.