Running Ads in 2025? These 5 Tracking Myths Are Quietly Burning Your Budget

If you’re running ads on Meta, TikTok, or Google in 2025, there’s a good chance you’re wasting money without even knowing it.

And no — it’s not because your creatives are bad or your targeting is off.

It’s because the data you’re basing your decisions on is lying to you.

Sounds dramatic? Let’s break it down.

The Perfect Campaign That “Failed”

Last month, we spoke with an eCommerce brand owner who launched TikTok Search Ads for the first time. They nailed their creative, targeted high-intent keywords, and saw a flood of traffic.

But here’s the twist:

TikTok Ads Manager told them they had a ROAS of 1.3 — barely break-even.

They almost shut it off.

The problem? Their pixel wasn’t catching nearly half of the actual sales. When we layered in first-party tracking, the true ROAS jumped to 2.7 overnight.

Same campaign. Same ads.
Double the return.

That’s when we realized:

In 2025, the biggest killer of ad performance isn’t bad marketing…
…it’s bad tracking.

The 5 Myths That Quietly Burn Your Budget

Here’s what’s still floating around in marketing teams — and why it’s dangerous:

1. “The pixel tracks everything.”

❌ Reality: Pixels miss up to 47% of your conversions. Between iOS privacy updates, ad blockers, and people switching devices mid-journey, the “chain” breaks constantly. Your ads are performing better than you think — you just can’t see it.

2. “UTMs are enough.”

❌ Reality: UTMs only work if someone clicks your tagged link and stays in the same browser until checkout. But in real life? People click on TikTok, then Google you later… or check out on a different device. Your UTM? Useless.

3. “ROAS is accurate.”

❌ Reality: ROAS is only as good as the data feeding it. If 50% of your sales are invisible, your ROAS number is meaningless — and worse, you might pause the exact campaigns that are making you money.

4. “Ad blockers don’t matter.”

❌ Reality: Up to 30% of users block tracking scripts entirely. That means zero data from those sessions unless you’re using adblock-proof tracking.

5. “Conversions = attribution.”

❌ Reality: A sale doesn’t mean the right campaign got credit. If TikTok brings in the buyer but Google gets the attribution, TikTok’s budget gets cut — and your scale dies.

Why This Matters More in 2025

TikTok Search Ads are one of the biggest new opportunities for eCommerce brands this year. They let you target people actively looking for products — not just passively scrolling.

The intent is sky-high.

But here’s the catch: if your tracking is broken, you might look at your TikTok dashboard and think the channel is underperforming. You’ll pull budget… and hand your competitors the space to dominate.

The same goes for Meta, Google Shopping, and YouTube.
If you can’t see the true performance, your scaling strategy is basically guesswork.

The Fix: First-Party, Cookieless Tracking

Here’s how top eCommerce brands are winning in 2025:

• First-party tracking → Directly collects data from your site, unaffected by browser privacy rules.

• Cookieless tech → Works even when third-party cookies disappear (which they will).

• Adblock-proof methods → Still captures sales data from the 30%+ of shoppers with blockers on.

• Cross-device stitching → Connects the dots when a shopper starts on TikTok mobile and finishes on desktop.

With this setup, your ad dashboards tell the truth again. You see the real ROAS, you know which campaigns to scale, and you stop killing winners by mistake.

How GrowthCart Fits In

At GrowthCart, we help eCommerce brands connect high-intent ad channels like TikTok Search Ads with bulletproof first-party tracking — so you can scale with confidence.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

1. Tracking Audit – We map where you’re losing data and how it’s impacting your decisions.

2. First-Party Setup – Implement cookieless, adblock-proof tracking without adding dev headaches.

3. Campaign Alignment – Sync accurate sales data directly into TikTok, Meta, and Google dashboards.

4. Scale Plan – Show exactly where to increase spend and which creatives to back.

The result? More accurate data, smarter scaling, and no more budget leaks.

Reply to email to book your FREE audit!

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