Analytics Discrepancies
Why doesn't my data match my other analytics tools
Have you ever wondered why the numbers you see in Visually don’t quite match up with what’s reported in Shopify, Google Analytics, or other platforms? It’s a common question! While it might seem simple at first glance, the world of tracking and analytics is actually quite intricate. There are several reasons why you might notice discrepancies across different reporting tools:
- Visitor and Session Definitions: Some tools focus on counting traffic from unique individuals or devices, while others look at sessions, which represent a specific time period when a unique visitor was active. Depending on the reporting tool used and whether they employ first-party or third-party tracking methods, you might also see differences in how visitors are identified and deduplicated across various browsers and devices. Visually defines a session similar to Google Analytics, however Shopify has a slightly different definition.
- Revenue definitions: At Visually, we focus on counting orders that come specifically from online sales channels. Other analytics tools, however, might include additional revenue streams in their calculations, which can lead to some variation in the numbers you see.
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Bot traffic: Different analytics companies have their own unique ways of handling bot traffic. Some take extra steps to block bots, while others might let some through. These varying approaches can lead to differences in the analytics you see.
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Cookie consent and regional internet privacy laws: Your visitors' locations might bring certain privacy regulations into play, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These rules mean that we can only collect analytics if visitors give their consent, ensuring their data remains private.
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Time zone differences can play a big role in reporting!Depending on where you and your store are located, you might notice some interesting differences in the timing of when visitors show up in various reports. At Visually, we kick off all reports at 00:00 UTC (GMT+0). On the other hand, Shopify and Google Analytics often consider the time zone selected by the client. This means that the data we attribute to a particular day might be seen as belonging to a different day in Shopify or GA.
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Theme page setup: We might not be implemented on every theme page, as some clients have unique setups. For instance, we may only be integrated with the product detail pages (PDP) or product listing pages (PLP), but not the home page. This can lead to fewer sessions being counted since we don't track all bouncing sessions that occur on the home page. The same applies to blog pages, user account pages, and others where our integration might not be in place on certain themes.
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Slow networks: If users are on a slow network, it’s possible that their analytics data may be sent to Google Analytics or Shopify first. This can happen when their analytics script loads before ours. Often, this is due to our script being placed lower in the document HEAD, resulting in it loading after other scripts that take priority.
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Different Geo: When we run an experience on our products, it's important to remember that we actually conduct tests across different locales. Sometimes, customers may overlook this when creating reports in Shopify or Google Analytics and might forget to include these various locales for a specific page. This consideration applies to every page, including the home page, so keeping it in mind can help ensure your reports are complete!