In this article

We explain how the comparison between Google Analytics (GA) and Permutive pageview numbers in reporting and how important it is to compare data in a generic like-for-like way.

GA and Permutive

It is important to compare the data in as close as possible 'Like for Like' scenario. This is important to be able to build an accurate understanding of the differences between the platforms.

Note: Please note that by definition Permutive and GA are different systems and work differently, nuances of the systems can have ranging impacts on the numbers seen.

GA is dependent on analytics.js to run on the page to track pageviews, similar to Permutive being dependent on our SDK to be available on the page. Please consider how and when these two libraries are run in correlation to each other. There might be some unforeseen scenarios where a site has GA on the page but not Permutive, as well as the other way around. Additionally, a site may have consent blocking Permutive but not GA.

Points to consider when comparing GA and Permutive: 

1. Users are different in GA and Permutive.
2. Do Permutive/GA run on consent? (Please consider this on a per-domain basis).
3. Please only share pageview numbers, not user numbers. Users are not able to be compared "like for like" by definition.
4. What traffic is being looked at? (Web/AMP/FIA).
5. Is there high volumes of pageview rejections on the rejections dashboard? This traffic will not be collected by Permutive.

Note: When providing the GA information to Permutive for comparison please take the following points in mind.

Required information from GA:

1. Set a fixed timeframe between the dates.
2. Does the GA traffic include bot traffic?
3. Split the traffic by domain. (Split by sub-domain if deemed useful in this comparison).
4. Split the traffic by URL.
5. Split the traffic by browser type. (Safari/Firefox/Chrome/Other).
6. Split the traffic by type. (Web/AMP/FIA).
7. Share GA Pageviews, not unique users.
8. Please provide the data in the form of a. (Google Sheets/CSV/EXCEL).

Required information from Permutive:

1. Have the Permutive numbers been retrieved from Insights or BigQuery? If BigQuery please provide the query used.
2. Is consent by token active on the domain we are comparing?