Menu
One of the most common issues you’ll experience in Google Analytics is (not set) values. Missing or inaccurate data compromises your ability to gain reliable insights and make valuable business decisions, which is the whole point of using a platform like Google Analytics.
Here’s a quick summary of what you need to know about (not set) values.
It means GA hasn’t received any valid information for the dimension you’ve selected. However, the reason you’re getting this value and the potential implications can vary, depending on the report it appears in.
Here are some examples:
If you’re looking at page views and set the primary dimension to “page title”, you’ll want to keep an eye out for (not set) values. This is definitely something you should address if you’re seeing this value for pages that rank – or should rank – in search engines.
For non-indexed pages, pages behind login screens or other pages that don’t need to rank, this isn’t such an issue.
Network domain reports tell you which websites your visits are coming from and there are many reasons why you might get (not set) for a relatively large percentage of traffic.
If your Google Ads reports are returning (not set) values, this could mean your account is either linked incorrectly or not at all.
If you see (not set) for a very small percentage of traffic, this is fine. Sometimes, Google simply can’t detect the user agent containing this information. However, a large percentage of traffic (5%+) showing as (not set) means something more serious is going on – for example, you’re getting an unhealthy amount of traffic from bots or crawlers.
Detecting (not set) values and determining which ones require action is a key part of website maintenance. In some cases, these values are completely natural but there are many scenarios where they point to technical issues that could impact website performance, search ranking or compromise your data insights.
We have many SEO specialists and web maintenance experts in-house who can investigate and help you deal with these issues. Just drop us a line here and we’ll get in touch.
Dave is head of SEO at Vertical Leap. He joined in 2010 as an SEO specialist and prior to that worked with international companies delivering successful search marketing campaigns. Dave works with many of our largest customers spanning many household names and global brands such as P&O Cruises and Harvester. Outside of work, Dave previously spent many years providing charity work as a Sergeant under the Royal Air Force Reserves in the Air Cadets sharing his passion for aviation with young minds. He can often be found in the skies above the south coast enjoying his private pilot licence.
Website under-performing but not sure why? Our free review will reveal a list of fixes to get it back on track!
Categories: PPC
Categories: Data & Analytics, PPC
Categories: Data Science