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Troubleshooting: Missing GA4 Server-Side Data in Google Optimize Experiment
“Hey there! So, I’ve been running Optimize on my site for a while now and I’m changing over to the new GA4 container. Now, I know the GA4 link is still in its trial stages and will be phased out, but it should still be good until September 2023, right? I’ve managed two successful runs with the GA4 container before.
The issue is I’ve had a couple of tests up and running for over 2 days now. The test versions display on my website OK, but nothing’s being recorded or displayed under ‘Reporting’ for the experiment. I’m not sure why this is.
I have a screenshot of the experiment here – take a look. Optimize seems to be working fine when I check out the ‘Check Installation’. We installed Optimize using GTM.
Our site has a standard server-side tagging for GA4. We’ve made sure the Optimize tag launches before the GA4 configuration tag.
I just assumed the normal experiment impressions would show up like usual in the Optimize ‘Reporting’ page.
I gave the Optimize installation troubleshooter a go, everything seems to be fine with my experiments in my Universal Analytics Optimize container, and the Optimize tag in GTM is launching without a hitch.
Would you be able to help me figure out why this is happening?”
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2 Replies
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Sorry to hear you’re encountering this issue – it’s a bit of a head-scratcher, isn’t it? From what I gather based on my experience, it seems that there may be some hiccups with Google Optimize when paired up with GA4 for server-side events.
From what I see, whilst you’re generating ‘experiment_impression’ events, fittingly with ‘experiment_id’ and ‘variant_id’ parameters for GA4, Google Optimize acknowledges the existence of sessions in the experiment, but isn’t reporting back as much as it’s supposed to. It’s a bit odd, but I feel that there could be a potential hiccup connecting GA4 and Google Optimize, especially when we’re talking server-side.
Don’t hold your breath on a solution though, as it looks like Google Optimize is on its way out. Frustrating, I know, but it looks like we’re not alone dealing with this head-scratcher!
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Sure, I’d love to help troubleshoot this issue. It seems you’ve done a lot of the right steps in diagnosing the problem so far.
Numerous factors could lead to a lack of data in your ‘Reporting’ section.
Firstly, ensure that the test is truly live – it should be in the ‘Running’ state and not just ‘Ready to run’. Double check your audience targeting and scheduling settings.
Secondly, make sure that your Optimize and Analytics tags are installed correctly. Even though they seem to be firing in the expected sequence in GTM, there might be other issues preventing data from being sent or received correctly.
Lastly, it can take 12-24 hours for data to start appearing in Optimize reports. Since you’ve surpassed this timeframe, the issue likely lies elsewhere. However, sometimes there might be additional delays in data processing.
If you’ve checked and re-checked all of these potential issues and still encounter the same problem, I suggest reaching out to Google support for further assistance. They have access to more detailed troubleshooting tools and information and might be able to provide more specific guidance based on the particular settings and conditions of your site and test setup.
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