Google Analytics Audit Test #

82

Match Between Clicks in Twitter/X to Analytics Sessions

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 compares clicks reported in Twitter Ads (now X Ads) with sessions recorded in Google Analytics from Twitter-sourced traffic.

Twitter’s in-app browser and redirect behavior, combined with limited UTM enforcement, often leads to discrepancies.

A significant gap usually points to:

  • Missing or incorrect UTM tagging
  • Google Analytics not firing due to slow-loading landing pages
  • Stripped parameters through redirects or short links
  • iOS tracking limitations or anti-tracking browser settings

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Google Analytics audit test results.

How to Conduct This Test

Basic Tests

  • In Twitter/X Ads Manager, pull total clicks for a recent campaign and date range.
  • In Google Analytics > Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition, filter for:
    • Session source/medium = twitter / paid_social
    • Or use your campaign-specific UTM campaign name.
  • Compare clicks from the ad platform with sessions in Google Analytics for the same campaigns.
  • If you’re seeing fewer sessions than expected (especially under 60–70% of total clicks), tracking loss is likely.

Automated, Free Audit

Run our Instant Audit to check for accurate attribution of your Twitter/X Ads campaigns in Google Analytics.

Unsure how to evaluate or fix your Twitter/X Ads attribution in Google Analytics? Hire a pro.

How To Fix

  • Ensure all Twitter ad URLs are tagged with full UTM parameters:
    • utm_source=twitter
    • utm_medium=paid_social
    • utm_campaign=...
  • Avoid redirect chains and link shorteners that may strip query parameters.
  • Test links manually in Twitter’s in-app browser (especially on iOS) to confirm UTMs are retained and Google Analytics is firing.
  • Optimize page load speed and move Google Analytics scripts higher in the DOM to reduce bounce-before-track issues.
  • Consider tagging with both UTMs and using Twitter’s website tag for redundancy.
  • Hire a pro to align click and session data so Twitter Ads aren’t under-credited in performance reporting.

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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