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Google Analytics problems. And the fixes that work.

Missing data. "(not set)." Bot traffic. Metrics that don't add up. Pick the one that's costing you sleep.

Data quality issues 5 problems

GA4 is not showing data
Reported in 8.1M results
Data quality
Processing delays, consent mode gaps, broken tags, threshold sampling. Often misdiagnosed as a tracking issue.
How to fix it
"(not set)" is eating your reports
Reported in 4.9M results
Data quality
The placeholder GA4 uses when it can't attribute an event. Appears everywhere: source, landing page, session, campaign.
What it means, how to fix it
Engagement rate doesn't match reality
Reported in 1M results
Data quality
GA4 redefined engagement and removed bounce rate. The new metric can under-report real reading behavior by 50% or more.
Why the numbers lie
14-month data retention cap
Reported in 586K results
Data quality
GA4 deletes Exploration data after 14 months. Year-over-year comparisons break silently unless you export to BigQuery.
What gets deleted, what stays
Bots inflating your numbers
Reported in 399K results
Data quality
GA4's known-bot filter uses one static IAB list and misses most scrapers, AI crawlers, and ad-fraud traffic.
Test your GA4 for bots

Tracking setup 5 problems

Tracking button clicks
Reported in 1.6M results
Tracking setup
GA4's default click event misses most buttons. Custom event setup requires GTM, triggers, and variables to work reliably.
The setup that actually works
Tracking scroll depth
Reported in 413K results
Tracking setup
GA4's built-in 90% scroll event is the only default. No 25/50/75 breakpoints. No reading-depth signal without custom work.
Full scroll tracking setup
Tracking form submissions
Reported in 388K results
Tracking setup
GA4's form_submit event relies on the browser's submit listener. AJAX forms and single-page apps break it silently.
How to capture every form
Tracking outbound links
Reported in 82K results
Tracking setup
GA4's outbound click event only fires on target="_blank" links. Same-tab navigation disappears before the event fires.
Reliable outbound tracking
A/B testing after Optimize sunset
Reported in 59M results
Tracking setup
Google Optimize was killed in 2023. Paid replacements start at $200/mo. You can do split tests in 20 lines of JavaScript.
DIY A/B testing guide

Leaving Google Analytics 2 options

Why people stop using GA
Reported in 173M results
Leaving GA
EU bans, consent rejection losses, bot inflation, hidden BigQuery costs, broken attribution. The arguments for switching are stacked.
The full case for leaving Google Analytics
How to migrate off GA
Reported in 991K results
Leaving GA
Feature mapping, historical data, UTM preservation, goals, parallel tracking, cleanup. The migration actually takes an afternoon.
Step-by-step migration

Coming soon 20 problems

Track 404 pages in GA4Reported in 16M results
GA4 site search trackingReported in 7.3M results
GA4 event tracking setupReported in 2.9M results
GA4 dashboard: where's the simple view?Reported in 2.7M results
How to set up GA4Reported in 2.6M results
GA4 conversion tracking (key events)Reported in 2.3M results
Traffic sources in GA4Reported in 1.7M results
GA4 sessions vs usersReported in 1.4M results
Is GA4 accurate?Reported in 1.4M results
GA4 ecommerce trackingReported in 1.2M results
GA4 landing pages reportReported in 1.1M results
GA4 UTM parameters that silently breakReported in 1M results
GA4 direct traffic too highReported in 978K results
GA4 tutorial: the learning curveReported in 954K results
Track file downloads in GA4Reported in 704K results
GA4 cross-domain trackingReported in 682K results
GA4 duplicate eventsReported in 214K results
GA4 self-referralReported in 112K results
GA4 real-time not workingReported in 17.5K results
Exclude internal traffic from GA4Reported in 12.4K results

Keep reading

The best GA4 alternatives in 2026 Every serious option compared, with pricing. Clickport vs Google Analytics Direct comparison: features, pricing, privacy, data loss. Attribution modeling explained Why GA4's data-driven model keeps falling back to last-click. Bot detection in web analytics Why GA4's single IAB list isn't enough in 2026. Beyond pageviews The engagement metrics GA4 actually got right — and the ones it broke. Is Google Analytics legal in 2026? The EU country-by-country legal picture.

Tired of patching GA4?

Clickport is the analytics tool GA4 should have been. No cookies, no consent banner, no (not set), no bot inflation. See everything from day one.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is my GA4 not showing data?

Most commonly: the 24-48 hour processing delay, a broken or missing tag, consent mode blocking events, or the data threshold privacy filter hiding rows with low volume. Full diagnosis walkthrough.

What does "(not set)" mean in GA4?

It's the placeholder GA4 inserts when it can't attribute a value to a dimension. In Traffic Source reports it usually means direct traffic or missing UTMs. In Page reports it often means a broken page_view event. Full breakdown.

Does GA4 filter bot traffic automatically?

GA4 filters bots that match the IAB/ABC International Spiders and Bots List. That covers the most obvious known crawlers but misses most scrapers, AI crawlers, residential-proxy bots, and ad-fraud traffic. Test your GA4 for bots.

How long does GA4 keep my data?

Standard reports are retained indefinitely. But the Explorations data — the only place GA4 lets you build custom analyses — is deleted after 14 months. BigQuery export is the only way to keep granular event data longer. Full retention guide.

Is there a replacement for Google Optimize?

Google killed Optimize in September 2023 and recommended paid partners (VWO, AB Tasty, Optimizely). None is free. For most teams, a 20-line JavaScript split test wired into your analytics covers 90% of use cases. The DIY approach.

What's the best Google Analytics alternative?

Depends on what you need. Plausible, Fathom, and Simple Analytics compete on simplicity. Matomo and Piwik PRO compete on self-hosting. Clickport competes on no-consent-banner + real engagement metrics. Full comparison.

Search result counts sourced from Google via SerpAPI, April 2026. Counts vary over time and by region.