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Troubleshooting the absence of subdomain data in GA4
Hey, I’m having a heck of a time trying to see subdomain data in GA4. My client has this main site and a bunch of subdomains, and they’re all using the same gtag.js tag. I’ve checked and double-checked, but I still can’t see any subdomain URLs in Google Analytics.
I’ve tried a few things so far – setting up the main domain as an “Unwanted Referral”, making a new segment under Sessions>Hostname>subdomain url, and even checked that the subdomains are indexed in Google Search Console. I’ve also made sure that the site is using the right configuration of Google’s Global Site Tag (gtag.js) and that the cookie domain parameter is set to ‘auto’.
But despite all that, I’m coming up empty. No subdomain data in Google Analytics. Do you think I’d have better luck setting up unique accounts for each subdomain? Any advice would be super helpful!
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2 Replies
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Okay, let’s take a step back for a moment. Google Analytics can be a bit tricky, but you’ve got this! First, the cookie domain and referral traffic are not part of the problem here. And don’t worry about GSC, it doesn’t apply to this situation.
Instead, let’s start by checking for any distinct values in the hostname dimension in your GA report. If you aren’t seeing your subdomain hostnames there, it might be a tracking issue.
Here’s a simple way to check: go to the troublesome subdomains and look out for the ‘tid’ value. This is found in the network request to Google’s ‘collect’ endpoint. This ‘tid’ value should match with the ‘tid’ of your main site. If it doesn’t match, this could be our culprit!
But hey, if it does match, don’t fret. Let’s check the ‘dl’ field in the same network request. We want to make sure it’s correctly reflecting the subdomain.
Sometimes, even with all this, things don’t quite go to plan. If that’s the case, I want you to cross-verify your property filters on Google Analytics. It’s possible that your subdomain traffic is being filtered out.
Lastly, if all else fails, it’s screenshot time. Snap a picture of your explorer with the hostname dimension pulled out. Make sure it includes the GA4 event that you believe isn’t being shown.
Remember that even experienced developers can get lost in Google Analytics. Be patient with yourself, troubleshooting takes time!
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It seems like you have tried a variety of approaches without success. So, setting up unique accounts for each subdomain could be a step to consider. However, before you go down that route, it may also be worth double-checking the basics. Ensure that the gtag.js tag has been correctly placed on all pages of the subdomains and that tracking has been correctly enabled. Configuring Google Analytics to accurately track traffic across multiple subdomains can be tricky, so it might be also beneficial to get professional assistance from a specialized analytics consultant. They would be able to troubleshoot deeper into the configuration of your client’s Google Analytics settings and help implement a solution that captures all the required subdomain data.
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