Google Analytics Audit Test #

140

Using Best Practices for UTM Campaign, Matching Ad Platform

Why It Matters:

Critical to understanding where your traffic is coming from and assigning appropriate credit.

Industries:

All

Checks For:

Accuracy

How accurate is your recent data?

Insight Category:

Attribution

Can you tell which marketing efforts are working?

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Background

A GA4 audit is essential for uncovering missing insights—key data points that organizations don't yet know and can act upon. A well-done audit evaluates both behavioral tracking and traffic attribution, ensuring each is accurate and useful. It also assesses whether the data collected truly supports business decisions and reporting.

Test Detail

This test evaluates whether your 'utm_campaign' values follow consistent and actionable naming conventions. Sloppy or inconsistent campaign names can make it hard to report by initiative, split out brand vs. non-brand, or analyze results over time.

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How to Conduct This Test

Basic Tests

  • In Google Analytics, navigate to Explore > Free-form.
    • Set dimensions: Session source/medium and Session campaign.
    • Review the list of campaign names and look for inconsistencies:
    • Are there unnecessary variations? (e.g., "Brand_Campaign", "brand-campaign", "BrandCampaign_Q2")
    • Do names lack context, like channel or objective?
    • Are campaign names missing altogether?
  • If your campaign names are hard to read or don’t follow a pattern, you’re losing analysis power.

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How To Fix

  • Create a UTM campaign naming convention that includes elements like campaign type, objective, funnel stage, and platform (e.g., prospecting_q2_search_google).
  • Train internal teams and agencies to follow the convention.
  • Use templates or naming guidelines in Google Ads, Meta, and email platforms to enforce it.
  • Hire a pro to create and enforce a campaign naming system that makes your Google Analytics insights useful.

Tips from a Google Analytics Consultant

Focus on Insights

Every Google Analytics audit should result in a plan for more insights.

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An insight is:

  • something you don't know
  • and can act on to improve performance

The Goal

Identify and remove insight blockers. Don't get tempted to track things you can't act on!

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