Google Analytics Audit Test #

75

LinkedIn Attribution for All Paid LinkedIn Links

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?

Google Analytics Audit logo

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 identifies whether sessions that include the LinkedIn Ads click ID parameter li_fat_id are being misattributed in Google Analytics. LinkedIn appends li_fat_id to ad destination URLs for tracking purposes, but Google Analytics does not automatically interpret this value for source attribution.

If not handled properly, sessions from LinkedIn Ads may show up as:

  • Direct
  • Referral (e.g., lnkd.in)
  • Unassigned

This results in:

  • Underreported LinkedIn performance
  • Misleading return on ad spend (ROAS) and customer acquisition cost (CAC) metrics
  • Broken attribution paths and ineffective campaign optimization

Check This Test for Free! Instantly.

Our free instant audit tool checks for 90 issues in 90 seconds.

Then gives you a prioritized list of items to tackle.

No cost, no sales call... just free goodness.
‍

Run a free instant audit
Google Analytics audit test results.

How to Conduct This Test

Basic Tests

  • In Google Analytics > Explore, create a Free-form report:
    • Dimensions: Session source/medium, Landing page + query string
    • Metrics: Sessions
    • Filter for page_location containing li_fat_id=
    • Look for sessions where the source is not linkedin, or where the medium is (not set) or referral

Advanced QA

  • In BigQuery, use this query:
    SELECT session_source, session_medium, page_location, COUNT(*) AS sessions
    FROM `your_dataset.events_*`
    WHERE page_location LIKE '%li_fat_id=%'
    GROUP BY session_source, session_medium, page_location
    ORDER BY sessions DESC;
  • If you see li_fat_id sessions showing up with source values like direct, referral, or unassigned, your LinkedIn attribution is broken.

Automated, Free Audit

Want help checking for this issue? Run our Instant Audit

Or hire a pro to fix your LinkedIn Ads attribution permanently.

How To Fix

  • Ensure all LinkedIn Ads links include manual UTM parameters:
    • utm_source=linkedin
    • utm_medium=cpc
    • utm_campaign=name-of-campaign
  • Avoid intermediate redirects that may drop query parameters (especially on mobile)
  • Validate using Google Analytics DebugView that sessions with li_fat_id retain correct UTM and attribution context
  • Hire a pro to ensure every LinkedIn click gets properly tracked from impression to conversion.

Tips from a Google Analytics Consultant

Focus on Insights

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

‍

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!

Hire a Google Analytics Consultant
Google Analytics consultant