You are what you eat: Stop feeding your reports rubbish data

Your SEO insights are only as trustworthy as the data that feeds your reports. This talk explores how flawed tracking setups pollute your reports with messy, misleading data which can quietly derail your SEO strategy.

Katie will identify the typical pitfalls in tracking setups, the risks of bad data, and the practical fixes attendees can implement to ensure they feed their reports with reliable, meaningful information that drives effective strategy.

Katie will show you how to ensure your reports reflect reality, to help you make smarter, more confident data-led decisions.

Transcript

2. Have you ever had food poisoning? #measurefest
3. What does this have to do with reports? #measurefest
4. The outcome is not ideal #measurefest
5. Bad input -> Bad output #measurefest
6. Did you cook your food properly? Where did you get your food from? Did you eat at a restaurant? Did you add anything to the food? #measurefest
7. Did you cook your food properly? Have you checked your set up? Where did you get your food from? Where is your data coming from? Did you eat at a restaurant? Is somebody else impacting the data? Did you add anything to the food? What additional tracking do you have? #measurefest
8. Did you cook your food properly? Have you checked your set up? #measurefest
9. Tracking code implementation Issue : Tags firing multiple times or not at all Check : Is the tracking code implemented correctly once on each page? Fix: Standardise tag implementation method, test everything is only firing once #measurefest
10. Tracking platform settings Issue : Misconfigured settings can distort metrics Check : Review each of the settings in your tracking platform Fix: Update settings to align with your business #measurefest
11. Consent Mode Issue : Incorrect set up can lead to under/over reported traffic or skewed attribution Check : Test consent behavior to confirm tags respond correctly to user choices Fix: Ensure Consent Mode is configured correctly #measurefest
12. Internal Traffic Issue : Unfiltered internal traffic can falsely inflate visits, conversions, or engagement Check : Monitor traffic spikes during internal activity Fix: Exclude internal traffic using IP filters or traffic_type parameters #measurefest
13. Where was your food from? Where is your data coming from? #measurefest
14. Source/Medium & Channel Groupings Issue : Inconsistent or incorrect source/medium values can skew attribution channels Check : Review source/medium values, comparing against expected channel groupings Fix: Update default channel grouping rules if needed, or rectify UTM issues #measurefest
15. #measurefest
16. UTM Parameters Issue : Missing, inconsistent, or incorrect UTM parameters lead to misattribution of campaigns Check : Audit incoming traffic for missing or malformed UTM tags Fix: Implement clear UTM naming conventions and use documentation for consistent tagging across teams #measurefest
17. Did you eat at a restaurant? Is somebody else impacting the data? #measurefest
18. Hostname Issue : Data may be polluted by traffic from staging, dev, or unrelated domains Check : Review the "hostname" dimension to confirm all tracked domains are expected Fix: Filter out unwanted hostnames, use separate measurement IDs for staging #measurefest
19. Cross domain tracking Issue : GA4 may treat users as new when they move between your domains, counting your site as a referrer Check : Test journeys between domains and check if session/user IDs persist Fix: Ensure cross domain tracking is set up correctly in GA4 #measurefest
20. #measurefest Cross domain tracking
21. Working with others Issue : Lack of coordination between teams can lead to critical tracking being removed, broken, or incorrect Check : Regularly audit tag presence and data collection after changes by agencies or dev teams Fix: Define clear tracking ownership, review GA4 access and permissions and document your setup #measurefest
22. What did you add to the food? What additional tracking do you have? #measurefest
23. Enhanced measurement Issue : Enhanced measurement isn’t one-size-fits-all. It often misfires or misses key actions Check : Review which enhanced measurement events are enabled and test to ensure they match real user interactions on your site Fix: Disable unreliable enhanced events and implement custom tracking tailored to your site's #measurefest
24. How do we prevent bad data going forwards? #measurefest
25. Test, test, test #measurefest
26. Testing, testing • Always test new tracking rigorously before putting it live • Regularly re-test tracking when changes are made to the site #measurefest
27. Monitor #measurefest
28. Integrity dashboards for monitoring • Create early warning system dashboards that monitor: ◦ Tech issues ◦ Traffic grouping ◦ UTM anomalies ◦ Unassigned traffic ◦ Self-referrals #measurefest
29. Get everyone involved #measurefest
30. Sharing is caring • Train teams on data quality • Share UTM templates • Create clear documentation #measurefest
31. Data Hygiene Resources Here you can access our Data Hygiene Checklist & GTM integrity dashboard #measurefest
32. What are you feeding your reports? #measurefest
33. Thank you speakerdeck.com/varn/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/katieonew/