The results of daily observations of O 3 and NO 2 atmospheric total conent around St.Petersburg, retrieved from the automatic ground-based measurements of zenith-sky scattered visible solar radiation, are presented. The measurements acquired in 2009-2013 are compared with the data of satellite observations by the GOME (ERS-2), SCIAMACHY (ENVISAT) and OMI (AURA) instruments. Investigation of the disagreement revealed between the data of satellite and ground-based measurements allowed us to improve the ground-based method (DOAS technique) and reduce the average difference down to ~ 2 and ~ 20% for O 3 и NO 2 content, respectively. Remaining differences may be further reduced if the seasonal variability of calculated air mass factors is taken into account in the ground-based method.