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To keep your Google Analytics setup useful for attribution, make sure that you have correctly installed the tracking code on your website and configured your goals and filters. You should also regularly review your traffic sources to identify direct or no-source attribution gaps. If you are experiencing direct or no-source attribution gaps, consider implementing UTM tracking parameters to more accurately track the sources of your website traffic. UTMs can still break because of ad blockers, GA misconfiguration, ReCharge checkout issues, and other handoff points.

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Common Failure Points in Google Analytics

Google Analytics has some common failure points that can cause data sources to diverge:
  • Subscription checkout issues: Subscription services like ReCharge often do not correctly attribute orders. This can happen for a number of reasons, and the solutions generally depend on the subscription service.
  • Ad blockers: The data that GA provides is generally only as good as the tracking, and most tracking tech (pixels, cookies, tags, etc.) can be circumvented by customers.
  • Faulty tracking: There’s no absolute right or wrong approach for setting up UTMs, but most companies make some sort of mistake when setting up tracking. The best practices we have identified are covered in UTM Setup, Improving Last-Click Attribution, and the UTM link-building template.
  • Factors not visible to SourceMedium: Tracking is complex, and many other factors that are not visible to SourceMedium can come into play. It is generally reasonable to expect 10-20% discrepancies between Shopify order data and GA.