Why Mida data is different from Google Analytics

Mida and Google Analytics (GA) use diverse technologies and methods to track your website's activity. That's why you might notice discrepancies between the data provided by GA and Mida.

Visitor data on Mida vs GA

GA "Sessions" measures the total visits on your website. If a visitor comes, leaves, and revisits your site, GA records it as two visits. This happens because GA terminates a session after 30 minutes of inactivity. 

In contrast, Mida counts "Visitors" uniquely. If the same visitor checks your website multiple times during the cookie period of six months, Mida registers this as one visitor. 

For more accurate comparison, refer to the "Users" data on GA's "Audience Overview" page and compare it to the "Visitors" data on Mida. However, the exact data match would not be possible since GA and Mida use different tracking methods. Expect a 5-10% mismatch, except if your GA reports are sampled while Mida does not sample data and reports on all visitor data.

Date range when comparing data

When you compare data on a specific date range, Mida will only show REAL unique visitors for those selected dates. In contrast, GA will display both new and returning visitors for the same period. 

For instance, suppose a visitor accesses a page (part of a specific Mida experiment and also tracked by GA) on March 9th. Both Mida and GA consider this person a unique visitor for that day. 

Now, if the same person revisits the site on March 10th, Mida won't count this as a unique visitor for March 10th - because the visitor isn't new for the experiment. However, if your selected date in GA is March 10th, it records this returning visitor as another unique visit. 

So, for March 9th, both Mida and GA will report one unique visitor. However, for March 10th, Mida will report zero unique visitors while GA records one. If you set the date range as March 9th-10th, both platforms will report one unique visitor.

Conversions data on Mida vs GA

When it comes to conversions, Mida only records the first conversion while GA tracks multiple conversions. More precisely, Mida tracks all events, but only the first is designated as a conversion. The reason is that Mida associates conversions with unique visitors, and each visitor can have only one registered conversion. Consequently, you'll likely see a higher conversion count in GA.

Data freshness on Mida vs GA

GA reports require 24-48 hours to refresh, whereas Mida provides real-time updates. Hence, if you've paused any experiment on Mida, wait for at least 48 hours before comparing the data.

Timezone configuration

The data shown in the reports will match the time zone set in each tool or application. So, if the time zones aren't the same between the tools, the data shown for a certain date range will be different as well.

It's critical to synchronize the time zones on both platforms to ensure accurate data comparison. Once this is done, you can then review the data for the same date range. 

Check out the steps in this GA articles to understand how to change your time zone settings. You can manage your Mida time zone setting on 'My Profile'. 

Event time record on GA vs Mida

GA doesn't log the precise moment an event occurs, but rather when their server processes it. This can result in discrepancies regarding the day a visitor conversion is attributed. Therefore, it's suggested to compare data over several days, instead of focusing on a single day. This approach helps average out these differences.

Classification of devices

There's no universally accepted classification for devices. This may result in discrepancies when tests are intended for specific devices or while segmenting device-based data. Different platforms may categorize the same device differently, for example, labeling it a tablet instead of a mobile. Such inconsistencies could affect data comparisons between platforms like Mida and GA.

Presence of Mida and GA script

When comparing Javascript-reliant statistics like unique visitor counts, it's essential that both Javascript tags are present on all the pages you wish to monitor. If there's a mismatch, with certain pages tracked in one tool but not the other, it's likely due to missing Javascript tracking codes on some pages. 

To compare accurately, ensure the exact same set of URLs are tracked in both Mida and GA platforms. For instance, if GA is tracking visitors sitewide but your Mida script is limited to your landing page, the data in GA will reflect higher numbers.

Split URL/ redirect test data

When running a Split URL experiment in Mida, all website traffic is initially directed to the original URL before Mida's script processes the traffic and re-routes it to a variation URL, if that is the designated action for a particular visitor.

From your analytics software, such as GA, it might appear that all the traffic is being received by the original URL, even when variation URLs are accurately recording their respective shares. 

This discrepancy can produce the misleading perception of increased page views, as each variant retains the correct percentage, yet the original URL shows total accumulation in addition to its own percentage, which matches or nearly corresponds to the total.

To fix this issue, please see this article.

Sequence of tracking codes

Ensure that the Mida tracking script is placed on the page BEFORE your GA or any other analytics software tracking code. This straightforward reordering can resolve the issue in most situations. It can also prevent the misleading perception of the original URL attracting more traffic in split URL/ redirect testing.

Page load issues

Any issues with the loading of GA or Mida JavaScript codes can cause differences in data. 

If a page only partially loads because of errors or slow internet, it might stop the script from properly working for both tools. So, routinely check your website to make sure it doesn't have any page load errors.