Google Analytics Audit Test #

143

Web Analytics Campaign Name Matches Facebook Ads Campaign Name

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 checks whether the utm_campaign parameter in Google Analytics matches the actual Facebook Ads campaign name from Meta Ads Manager.

Without a match, campaign performance in Google Analytics can't be accurately compared to what you're managing in Facebook, leading to:

  • Inconsistent campaign reporting across platforms
  • Confusion over attribution and ROI
  • Errors in performance analysis and budgeting decisions
  • Difficulty building accurate campaign-level reports or audiences in Google Analytics

The root causes are usually:

  • Improper UTM tagging
  • Use of dynamic placeholders (e.g., {{campaign.name}}) that don’t match final values
  • Manual errors or inconsistencies between platforms

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How to Conduct This Test

Basic Tests

  • In Google Analytics > Explore, build a Free-form report:
    • Dimensions: Session source/medium, Session campaign
    • Filter to show only source = facebook or meta, medium = cpc or paid_social
  • Export campaign names from Meta Ads Manager and compare them to the utm_campaign values in Google Analytics
  • Check for:
    • Spelling mismatches
    • Extra characters, casing differences, or underscores vs. dashes
    • Duplicated campaigns under different names

Advanced QA

  • In BigQuery run this query:
    SELECT session_source, session_medium, session_campaign, COUNT(*) AS sessions
    FROM `your_dataset.events_*`
    WHERE session_source IN ('facebook', 'meta') AND session_medium IN ('cpc', 'paid_social')
    GROUP BY session_source, session_medium, session_campaign
    ORDER BY sessions DESC;

Automated, Free Audit

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Or hire a pro to clean up your cross-platform campaign alignment.

How To Fix

  • In Meta Ads, set up UTM parameters with clear and consistent campaign names:
    • Use dynamic values (e.g., utm_campaign={{campaign.name}})
    • If no other option, apply manual UTM values
  • Create a campaign naming convention across all channels
  • Use the same format for Google Analytics and Meta Ads (e.g., product_launch_q2, not ProductLaunchQ2)
  • Regularly audit UTM tags and compare against ads platform names to catch errors early
  • In Google Analytics, ensure reports reference Session campaign for attribution accuracy
  • Hire a pro to establish a bulletproof UTM strategy and ensure your analytics match your ad spend.

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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