Tell me more ×
Webmasters Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for pro webmasters. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

When I look at the Google Analytics goal report for yesterday, it shows that I had 3,000 conversions for a given goal - 74% completed, and 6% abandoned.

  • Where is the missing 20%?
  • My numbers show more like 500 conversions for this goal. Why are Google's numbers so different?
share|improve this question
1  
Can you provide a screenshot or extended description of the goal's configuration? Regarding the extra 2500 conversions, you may have multiple calls to the page tracking event on your goal completion page or some other configuration issue (in which case it would help to know which site this issue is occurring on). – danlefree♦ Aug 31 '11 at 3:38
I had multiple contact forms on a website. Sidebar site wide, a contact form, and a popup. All lead to the same thank you page, the goals weren't configured uniquely and messed up the results. Check your traffic sources log and drill down to see if there were any unusual hits to your conversion page. – Anagio Oct 21 '12 at 9:29
Have you correctly configured your GA goals? – Prasad Dec 20 '12 at 10:22

migrated from webapps.stackexchange.com Aug 24 '11 at 16:35

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

Maybe 6 weeks ago I set up new "goals" in analytics for a client with a corporate (they are a franchisee) subdomain, which is a horrific mess. That fact slipped my mind (the goal, as pathetic as it is was 2.2 pageviews per visitor), and when I check analytics today I saw what I thought was a spectacular month in conversions from AdWords. A bit more digging made me realize that wasn't the case, but that now my "goals" in analytics included the new settings (oops).

While goals in GA and conversions in AdWords can overlap, the differences are key. As a Google rep explained to me: you can set and import goals from analytics into AdWords, but not the other way around. So structure and exact definitions are important.

More info on the differences between Google Analytics and AdWords tracking

share|improve this answer
up vote -2 down vote

Google is free and not always accurate. They are not accountable for analytics. I would use a premium service like Clicky. Its only 60.00 a year. 30 day free trial.

share|improve this answer
2  
-1 Request was for an explanation of the GA behavior, not recommendations of entirely other services. Also: citation needed. There are way too many sites happily using GA for you to simply dismiss it as inaccurate without backing it up. – Su' Sep 10 '11 at 9:37

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.