Margin of error between measured conversions and actual conversions in GA4
After implementing server-side tagging, you may still notice discrepancies between the conversions measured in GA4 or your marketing platforms and the actual conversions. This difference, known as the “margin of error,” often raises questions. Several factors can contribute to a discrepancy between measured and actual conversions. Some of the main causes include:
Ad blockers and tracking prevention: Many users use ad blockers or browsers with built-in tracking prevention that also block first-party tracking scripts and cookies. As a result, user actions from some visitors may still go unmeasured, even when using a first-party tracking setup.
User cookie preferences: Due to privacy regulations like GDPR, you must allow visitors to provide consent for cookies through a Consent Management Platform (CMP). The choice to grant or deny cookie consent also affects your first-party tracking. If users reject analytics or marketing cookies, their events will not be forwarded to analytics or marketing platforms.
Network connectivity and technical issues: Technical issues, such as connection problems, script errors, or errors in the tagging configuration, can prevent all data from being correctly transmitted to your channels.
How to minimize this margin of error
While achieving 100% accuracy is impossible without using webhooks, there are steps you can take to reduce the margin of error in your conversion measurements:
Optimize your CMP: Ensure that your cookie banner is unavoidable, so visitors cannot use your site without explicitly giving or denying consent. Provide visitors with a clear choice to enable or disable tracking and offer a “yes”/“preferences” option to minimize the impact of cookie preferences on your data. If the first screen of your cookie banner includes an “opt-out” button, it increases the percentage of visitors rejecting cookies.
For more information on configuring your CMP and integrating it with Google Tag Manager, refer to this blog article on setting up a CMP in combination with server-side tagging.
Regular audits and monitoring: Monitor your analytics and marketing results closely to quickly resolve any issues. By tracking errors and discrepancies in the data, you can maintain or improve the accuracy of your tracking setup. Various stakeholders involved in a website or webshop may make changes in Google Tag Manager or on the site that negatively affect tracking.
In the trytagging environment, you can set up alerts to receive automated emails when a status change is detected regarding the server or tagging pixel.
Ad blockers and tracking prevention: Many users use ad blockers or browsers with built-in tracking prevention that also block first-party tracking scripts and cookies. As a result, user actions from some visitors may still go unmeasured, even when using a first-party tracking setup.
User cookie preferences: Due to privacy regulations like GDPR, you must allow visitors to provide consent for cookies through a Consent Management Platform (CMP). The choice to grant or deny cookie consent also affects your first-party tracking. If users reject analytics or marketing cookies, their events will not be forwarded to analytics or marketing platforms.
Network connectivity and technical issues: Technical issues, such as connection problems, script errors, or errors in the tagging configuration, can prevent all data from being correctly transmitted to your channels.
How to minimize this margin of error
While achieving 100% accuracy is impossible without using webhooks, there are steps you can take to reduce the margin of error in your conversion measurements:
Optimize your CMP: Ensure that your cookie banner is unavoidable, so visitors cannot use your site without explicitly giving or denying consent. Provide visitors with a clear choice to enable or disable tracking and offer a “yes”/“preferences” option to minimize the impact of cookie preferences on your data. If the first screen of your cookie banner includes an “opt-out” button, it increases the percentage of visitors rejecting cookies.
For more information on configuring your CMP and integrating it with Google Tag Manager, refer to this blog article on setting up a CMP in combination with server-side tagging.Regular audits and monitoring: Monitor your analytics and marketing results closely to quickly resolve any issues. By tracking errors and discrepancies in the data, you can maintain or improve the accuracy of your tracking setup. Various stakeholders involved in a website or webshop may make changes in Google Tag Manager or on the site that negatively affect tracking.
In the trytagging environment, you can set up alerts to receive automated emails when a status change is detected regarding the server or tagging pixel.
Updated on: 22/11/2024
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