Why do some “Landing page” dimension values reported under sessions with paid source/medium values do not contain UTM tags?
This occurs because of how the source/medium is attributed to sessions in the report. The source/medium is determined using the last non-direct click attribution model, which means it tracks the last source that brought the user to your site before a direct session (typing the URL directly or using a bookmark). However, the landing page URL is captured from the session that appears within the selected date range for the report. These two values can come from different sessions, you can explore all the sessions of a particular user by adding the User ID or Client ID dimension to your report and opening the user explorer.
Why is “(not attributed)” reported as a dimension value?
The "(not attributed)" label appears in dimensions from ad platforms (e.g., account name, campaign name, campaign type) when traffic is recognised as coming from an ad platform but cannot be linked to a specific campaign, leaving the values for these dimensions unknown.
The label also appears when user or session data cannot be displayed due to privacy restrictions or when custom conversions are reported without any associated tracked sessions. These conversions still contribute to our machine learning-based attribution model.
Why is “(not set)” reported as a dimension value?
The "(not set)" label appears in ad platform dimensions (e.g., ad group name, campaign type) when traffic is associated with an ad platform and campaign, but the selected dimension isn’t available or supported by the platform. For example, Google Ads search campaigns don’t support the “Ad” dimension but do support the “Targeting Name (keyword)” dimension, while “Performance Max” campaigns support neither.
The "(not set)" label also appears in behavioral data dimensions when data cannot be displayed due to privacy restrictions or when the selected dimension isn’t available. For example, sessions originating from a URL without a "utm_campaign" parameter will be reported as "(not set)" under the "UTM Campaign" dimension.
Why aren’t some sessions with source/medium dimensions from paid traffic reported under their respective ad platform?
SegmentStream’s algorithm aims to identify traffic from each ad platform, even if it cannot be attributed to the campaign level. However, several factors can prevent proper attribution:
- Broken URLs: If the URLs used in campaigns contain typos or the website modifies or removes UTM parameters, tracking information might not be recorded.
- Using uncommon URL shorteners: Some URL shorteners prevent us from extracting UTM tags correctly, which can disrupt campaign tracking. If you're using an uncommon URL shortener, please notify our support team.
- Auto-tagging without additional UTMs/utm_id: We may not be able to track sessions if only gbraid or wbraid parameters are used without UTM tags. Please follow our UTM tagging best practices to avoid this issue.
- Clicks from unconnected ad accounts: If you have multiple ad accounts and haven’t connected all of them in the SegmentStream data source, traffic from those unconnected accounts will not be attributed to campaigns on the ad platform.
- Old UTMs, bookmarks, or link sharing: Traffic from old UTM links, bookmarks, or shared links (e.g., through social media or messaging apps) can affect data accuracy over time. We can only stitch new sessions to campaigns within 30 days of the last click on that campaign.
- Unsupported tagging: Incorrect use of tags, such as in product feed links, may prevent us from tracking sessions properly.
How does iOS 17 impact marketing analytics?
With the introduction of iOS 17, there will be a modification in how URLs with tracking templates are displayed. Specifically, iOS 17 will remove the
click_id (gclid, fbclid …) parameter from the URL. For instance, a URL that looks like:
htmlhttps://site.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=1467008&gclid=nvwieu5tryt5q9rut9wruqt33
will be altered to:
htmlhttps://site.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=1467008
What implications does this have for analytics?
The
gclid (Google Click ID) is a unique parameter that facilitates Google's ability to associate specific conversions with particular ad clicks. The removal of this ID means that there will no longer be a direct connection between a specific user's action and the click on an ad.When the
gclid was included in the URL, analytics platforms enabled marketers to view primary KPIs such as conversions, revenue, and ROAS with a high level of detail. This granularity allowed insights to be broken down by specific parameters like the version of the creative, keyword, city, and even the precise date and time of user interactions. Post the iOS 17 rollout, the data will be presented at a more aggregated level, potentially limiting the depth of insights.Seeking a Solution?
For those looking to maintain as much reporting precision as possible after the iOS 17 update, we have a comprehensive guide on implementing
utm_id. This approach allows for legally maximizing the granularity of your reporting.Why do I see sessions with non-google source/medium dimensions under the Google Ads ad platform dimension?
SegmentStream auto-associates sessions with Google Ads when they include click parameters like gclid, wbraid, or gbraid.
This occurrence can arise in cases where:
- Other advertising platforms purchase Google Ads traffic, for example, affiliate marketing network like AWIN
- There's human error, leading to the inclusion of Google-specific click ID parameters in ad links of other platforms.
Do your reports show assisted conversions or the view-through conversions from each of the platforms?
Our reports do not display assisted or view-through conversions from individual platforms. Instead, we offer a unique attribution model that highlights the incremental impact of each marketing channel. This model considers user behavior on your website and brings together data about user engagement with your brand on platforms like Facebook, Youtube, and others.
Why are there more clicks than tracked users in the paid Facebook Ads reported within SegmentStream?
The main reason for this difference is that users may not accept cookies when they engage with Facebook ads. To fix this, review your consent mode popup design to make it easier for users to accept cookies.
Another reason for the discrepancy is that users might click on ads multiple times. This is common with catalog-type ads, where users might click on several products. Facebook reports each click as an outbound click, but SegmentStream counts them as one user. To understand this better, compare the unique outbound click metric in your Facebook report with the number of users reported by SegmentStream.
Why are there more clicks than tracked users in the paid TikTok ads reported within SegmentStream?
SegmentStream uses TikTok's "Clicks (Destination)" metric to report clicks. This metric includes not only clicks that lead users to destinations like websites, apps, or app stores but also interactions such as clicking on the profile picture, caption, profile name, CTA button, and sliding to the left. Many of these interactions do not result in website visits, causing a higher number of reported clicks compared to tracked users.