Match trends between ODP and Google Analytics

Because Optimizely Data Platform (ODP) and Google Analytics capture and process information differently, match the trends between the two platforms instead of matching metrics.

If you see unexpected results when analyzing the trends of the two platforms, several factors could be causing the differences.

ODP attribution is based on email opens and clicks. Google Analytics cannot see when ODP emails are opened and relies on clickthrough information for attribution. Revenue attribution differs if a click has not occurred or the proper UTM information is not present in the clicked URL.

When ODP reads the UTMs present in a URL, it caches those values for all events submitted for at least 60 days with a cookie. The cookies persist over direct sessions, and any other source can overwrite the stored value.

Because ODP and Google Analytics do not refresh at the same pace, compare reporting periods from the last 24 hours to ensure all comparable data has been collected and processed in both platforms.

ODP combines the identities of known customers and anonymous visitors across devices, but Google Analytics does not. This results in situations where Google Analytics identifies a "new" customer or visitor, but ODP recognizes them from another device and marks them as "returning."

ODP and Google Analytics depend on separate tracking codes. Based on the placement of these codes on your pages, one code loads and registers events while another does not.

For example, if your ODP code is placed higher on your pages, it may load before a customer leaves a page, while the Google Analytics code set lower on the page may not.