How come Google Analytics shows different results from my reports
How come Google Analytics shows different numbers from my reports?
According to Google:
“Different analytics products may use a variety of methods to collect data about your traffic, so it’s normal to see discrepancies between reports created using different products. But the best way to think of metrics across different analytics programs is to think in terms of trends, as opposed to numbers themselves.”
NOTE: Originally, this was posted in the Analytics help site, but this was taken down.
Depending on the analytics tool you use, reports may happen on the server-side (much in the same way as how Zeald reporting works). Google analytics, on the other hand, only reports on browsers with Javascript enabled, so it does not see things like search engines and as always, reports lower figures.
Our analytics tool vs Google Analytics
Different analytics tools have certain limitations in the way they record and track data. Each approach has positives and negatives. Zest’s own analytics tool, for instance, makes it difficult for us to tell the difference between a real person and a robot who pretends to be a real person. Google Analytics’ approach, on the other hand, has its own downsides as well. It errs on the side of excluding data, so it doesn’t report it.
So at times, our own CMS’ Analytics reports are more accurate than Google Analytics and vice versa.
For more accurate reporting
We strongly recommend using your analytics tool and Google Analytics in parallel. It may be difficult to compare figures between the two systems, and we suggest that you focus on trends as opposed to specific numbers.
Enabling your own CMS’s analytics
WordPress – This will require a plugin. If you need an analytics plugin installed on your WordPress website, contact our support team.
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