Editing Email Campaigns (section)

== Campaign clicks vs. Google Analytics Sessions ==

Google Analytics sessions and clicks in your campaigns are tracked differently from one another.

=== How campaign and automation email link clicks are tracked ===
When a contact clicks a link in your campaign or automation email, ActiveCampaign instantly redirects those contacts to one of its link-tracking domains and then immediately sends them to the intended URL. When a contact is redirected to one of those link-tracking domains, it's logged in ActiveCampaign's system as a link click. Link click metrics for each campaign and automation email are available in your campaign reports. Learn more about [[Link Tracking]].

=== How Google Analytics sessions are tracked ===
Google Analytics logs JavaScript-enabled pageviews that result from campaign link clicks. A session in Google Analytics is a group of interactions (page views, events, social interactions, and a transaction) that take place on your website within a given time frame. A single contact can have multiple sessions, which can expire after 30 minutes of inactivity.

In Google Analytics, several things happen before a session is finally loaded. When a campaign link click occurs, the browser is pointed to your landing page. Your website then responds to this request and transfers data from the web server to the contact's browser.

When the browser starts to download the landing page, there may be a request for several files simultaneously. This includes JavaScript, CSS, images, video, audio, and more. The requests for JavaScript include the Google Analytics tracking code. The contact's browser and security settings must support cookies, JavaScript, and images. If any of these are disabled, Google Analytics may be unable to record a session.

Then, the contact's browser sends a separate request to the Google Analytics servers, and the session is recorded.

=== Causes of discrepancies between link clicks and Google Analytics sessions ===
Discrepancies between link clicks in Campaign Reports and Google Analytics sessions are common. Several scenarios could cause this, some of which are listed below:
* A contact clicked a link in your email multiple times during the same Google Analytics session. Your campaign report would show multiple link clicks, and Google Analytics would show one session.
* A contact clicked a link in your email one time and was redirected to your website. They were then inactive on your site for more than 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the contact comes back and interacts with your website. Your campaign report would show one link click, and Google Analytics would show two sessions.
* A user clicked a link in your email once and closed their browser before the page (and Google Analytics) could load. Your campaign report would show one link click, and Google Analytics would not track a session.
* You tested the URL or email link prior to sending the email to your contacts. Google Analytics will include these tests in their sessions. In this case, the numbers in Google Analytics may be higher than what you see for clicks in your campaign report.
* Google Analytics tracking code was not correctly added to your site, or contacts are going to pages that do not have Google Analytics installed. In this case, your campaign reports will show link clicks, and Google Analytics will not show sessions.
* Discrepancies between link clicks and Users or Visitors in Google Analytics are also common for the reasons listed above.

=== What to do when there is a large discrepancy between link clicks and Google Analytics sessions ===
Our Customer Experience Team can help you determine if Google Analytics UTM URL parameters are being added to your campaign links. However, you may need to contact Google Analytics to resolve the issue.

For more detailed information about tracking campaigns with Google Analytics, see Google's documentation on that topic.