Introduction: Why is there Missing Data in Google Analytics 4?
Zennemis – Why is there Missing Data in Google Analytics 4? Sometimes you might find that some of your info in Google Analytics 4 is out there. It could be an event you’ve planned, traffic from a campaign, or the fact that you don’t have a lot of data from another tracking tool you’re using. This blog post will talk about the reasons why you might be missing data in Google Analytics 4 and what we can do to fix the problem or make sure it doesn’t happen again.
REASONS and SOLUTIONS
1. GA4 Tracking installation.
GA4 tracking installation involves setting up Google Analytics 4 on your website or app to collect user data. This process includes creating a GA4 property in Google Analytics, adding the GA4 tracking code (or using Google Tag Manager) to your site or app, and configuring events to track specific user interactions. The installation allows you to monitor website traffic, user behavior, and conversions, providing valuable insights for improving your digital marketing strategy.
2. GTM Tracking installation.
For people who are just starting to use Google Analytics 4, mistakes 1 and 2 can happen. To make sure tracking is set up properly, you should definitely ask your developer for help if you don’t know how to put a Google tag on a website. When installing GA4 with GTM, it’s important to make sure that tags are set up properly and the GTM version is made public.
3. Filters
Filters you’ve used could be one reason your GA4 Property doesn’t show you all the info. You might not see your test traffic in real-time reporting if you wanted to see how much traffic you brought to the website. This could be because an exclusion filter was set up to keep internal traffic out so that you could still get insights from the data you collected.
4. Data Sampling
If you look at a GA4 Report with a lot of data and see an orange exclamation mark at the top, it could mean that your reports are being sampled. This happens when you go over the limit for your GA4 Property type, which gives you a big picture view to look at your data from a higher level. So, you’re only showing a small part of your info.
5. Data Thresholding
When you only have a small amount of data for a certain event or variable, this is called “data thresholding.” It is added to your report if you have Google Signals turned on to protect the privacy of your users. To stop this from happening, you can either turn off Google Signals totally or change the reporting identity in your GA4 so that it doesn’t use Google Signals.
6. Cardinality
This number tells you how many different values are in your report. It’s not clear from Google what the exact cap is. I think it’s the same with Universal Analytics, though, where the cap is set to 5000 rows. Also, GA4 can reach its cardinality limit when a high cardinality dimension is used (one with more than 500 unique values). In this case, the report would add (other) rows to make up for the ones that were missing.
7. Using GA4 Explore Reports
GA4 only keeps data for 14 months by default when it comes to data retention. When you use GA4’s Explore Reports, you should be aware that this part can only show data from the last two months by default because that’s what your Data Retention Settings say. If you want to see more info when you use Explore Reports, you can change this to 14 months.
8. Processing Time
GA4 could take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to process the info you’ve sent them. So, the best time to check on the data collected today would be in the second half of the next day, when the data collection is likely to be done.
9. Missing Currency Parameter
If you have set up E-commerce Tracking for Google Analytics 4, you need to make sure that the Currency Parameter is set. This is necessary to make sure that there is data in the Monetization reports in GA4.
10. Tools that block GA Tracking
One way to stop Google Analytics from gathering information is to use a browser or an add-on for a computer that blocks Google Analytics.
11. Bug
A possible Google has announced a bug in Google Analytics 4 that changes how data is reported in GA4. This problem usually goes away on its own, but sometimes the fix doesn’t work in the past. Because of this, data will be missing from the times when the bug happened.
Conclusion: Why is there Missing Data in Google Analytics 4?
In conclusion, several factors can cause missing data in Google Analytics 4. First, improper GA4 or GTM tracking installations can disrupt data collection, so ensure proper setup. Filters may exclude certain traffic, limiting visibility in reports. Data sampling occurs when GA4 exceeds property limits, showing only a subset of data. Additionally, data thresholding and cardinality issues may restrict event reporting due to privacy or value limits. Reports from GA4 Explore are limited to the last two months by default. Furthermore, processing time delays, missing currency parameters, or tools blocking GA tracking can contribute to data loss. Lastly, bugs may occasionally cause reporting inconsistencies.
