Have you ever received reports from Google Analytics and found that they didn’t match server logs?
Welcome!
Data that is reliable and accurate can help businesses make informed decisions.
Instead of striving for perfect data, understand the causes and then find solutions. This will allow you to organize your data better.
Google Analytics is the most popular tool for tracking website performance. Many websites use it to track everything including page views, conversion rates, and page views.
It’s almost certain that your website is using GA to track visitor activities and improve performance.
Google Analytics works just like any other Google product.
While they are not critical, they can cause data fluctuations.
This guide will address 6 common Google Analytics errors.
Learn how to correct these errors and ensure that your analytics data is accurate
Google Analytics does not guarantee 100% accuracy
Incorrect data in Google Analytics could be a result of several factors.
First, you must ensure that your metrics are accurate and that your tracking system works properly.
Google Analytics cannot identify users who behave differently across different devices. This could explain the inaccuracy.
It could be because users have installed tracking blocks across multiple devices from their last login.
GA can attribute any subsequent interactions to users who disable their ad-blocking program to access websites.
These are the reasons Google Analytics is incorrect:
- Blocked cookie consent & private browsing
- Page timeouts/tracking loading dysfunction
- JavaScript code error and break
- Robots and Spam
How to Fix Six Common Google Analytics Data Errors
Can you trust your analytics? This is the short answer to this question: Yes!
Google Analytics is reliable and gives accurate results in nearly all cases.
Sometimes can be incorrect due to technical glitches and problems.
These six mistakes can lead to inaccurate data from GA. These are six common mistakes that can cause data from GA to not be accurate. We have suggestions for how to fix them.
Offline Campaigns not Tracked
Most likely, you’ve run an offline campaign such as a magazine advertisement or newspaper ad. It is difficult to track results.
Sending someone to your website from a billboard or newspaper ad is different from sending them there.
It is difficult to track offline advertising. Many marketers mistakenly believe that offline strategies cannot be tracked.
It’s possible to track offline campaigns’ results, but it isn’t impossible.
You could end up with gaps within your analytics bucket if you neglect your offline campaigns. This can confuse.
To tag every element with campaign details, you will need to find a way:
- Coupon codes
- Unique landing Page with Short Hyperlinks
- Two-step marketing campaigns
- Create a “How can you find us?” popup. ” popup.
Tracking offline marketing can help you not only to analyze and refine your GA data but also to speed up your campaign improvement.
Cross-Domain Tracking Errors
Google Analytics allows you to track visitors’ activities on both subdomains or domains separately. It tracks sessions that are used in one domain across all domains by default.
It is sometimes difficult to track visitors who come from other domains. This could cause problems like higher traffic numbers.
Google Analytics Cross-domain tracking does not distinguish between links and users who arrive directly from a search engine.
Understanding the behavior of visitors can be difficult.
This can make your marketing campaigns seem more effective than they are.
Cross-domain tracking is possible using Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager.
Google Analytics has instructions for adding required parameters. However, the Google Linker plugin is strongly recommended.
Cross Domain Tracking may be simpler with Google Tag Manager. There are two choices.
- Analytics uses Link Click/FromSubmit Tags to determine if a link was clicked or a submission form was submitted.
- Auto Link Domains uses cookie values and is the easiest way to set up Cross Domain Tracking in Tag Manager. It offers less flexibility than the original method.
Analytics Reports: Duplicate Pages
There are many methods to increase data clarity. One method is to eliminate duplicate data.
There are two possible ways that duplicate data could occur. When someone enters your URL in their browser using uppercase letters,
This is a problem that you might face quite often.
I have an example of the duplicate error I mentioned:
- /smart market/groceries/Fig
- /smart market/groceries/fig
- /smart market/groceries/FIG
However, users might not be able to reach the right page even if they try. Your Google Analytics data may also be incorrect.
Each URI (end URL) creates a new line in Analytics reports.
It is impossible to remove duplicate data from reports once it has been added. You can avoid this by taking preventive steps.
Here are the steps you can take to avoid data duplicates in Google Analytics
- Go to Analytics admin, and select “Filters” from the “All Website Data” section.
- Click on “Create New Filter” and then select “New Filter”.
- Enter “Force Lowercase” in the Filter Name field.
- Set the filter type to “Custom”.
- The “Lowercase” option can also be selected.
- Select “Request URI” from the dropdown menu.
- To create the filter, click “Save”.
Reports Missing Raw Data
Google Analytics lets you view and create reports that include numerical data about visitors to your site, traffic sources, and visitor behavior.
These raw data are more valuable than you might think.
Google Analytics returns raw information in the All Website Data View. This view is used to create new properties.
Don’t mess with your data. You won’t be able to go back!
Analytics can’t be applied retroactively to data that has been filtered.
This data view solves all data-analysis problems. You can use it to filter one segment or the entire set of data.
Reports indicate that self-referrals are very common
A “self-referral” is when someone refers to your site using a keyword. “
Google Analytics can become affected by self-referrals. This can affect acquisition, behavior, and conversion data and compromise data integrity.
You can refer to yourself when you set up your Analytics account using one Property that covers multiple domains.
This setting can be found under Google Analytics >> Administration >> Account >> Property >> Tracking Info >> Referral Exclusion List.
Don’t add domains in your traffic reports.
There are other reasons to self-refer to Google Analytics:
- Incorrect cross-domain tracking
- The page has a missing tracking code.
- Using UTM tags to create internal links is not allowed
Very low bounce rate
You are concerned about your bounce rate and want to know what is wrong with Google Analytics.
You may have discovered a problem with your data collection. Analytical services need to interpret the data.
This depends on the content, but an average bounce rate of a website is about 60%.
Check the following to see if your bounce rate suddenly drops below normal.
Make sure there aren’t duplicate code snippets
An Analytics plugin with the same property ID as your theme setting’s Analytics code is an issue.
This happens when the same property ID appears on multiple pages or posts. When you view reports for both types, both property IDs (PIDs), will be displayed.
Any that is not compatible with Google Analytics will need to be deleted or modified. It would look messy and confusing, which is unacceptable.
Be aware of GTM & GA overlap
Google Tag Manager, the newest kid on the block, is something you need to be watching if you are concerned about Google Analytics.
Google Tag Manager shouldn’t be used with another copy of the GA code.
You will get two triggers per website. The one you choose must be used, and the other must be deleted.
Organize non-interaction events
A live chat or popup window can be opened on your website.
These features may sometimes trigger Analytics. But don’t worry! They can be set to “non-interaction events” so they don’t affect your bounce rate.
These steps will help you solve your problem.
Popup builders such as Kobe Digital can also be used to manage bounce rates and increase market growth.
FAQs
How long does it take for Google Analytics to start tracking?
It can take up to 48 hours for Google Analytics website traffic statistics to appear. Real-time reporting can help you determine if Analytics is working properly.
Is all Google data accurate?
This is the short answer to your question: No! Google Analytics has errors like all other analytics tools. These inaccuracies are what I tried to highlight in this article.
Conclusion
As with all analytical solutions, there will always be an inaccuracy.
The margin of error in analytics software is smaller if you’re more familiar with it (e.g. Google Analytics). Google Analytics ).
Don’t just rely on outdated information/solutions; look at recent updates and look for the best ones.
What were your experiences with data errors? Share your thoughts.
