If you’ve ever explored your Google Analytics 4 (GA4) reports, you may have seen the value (not set) showing up in some of your website performance reports.
(not set) simply means that GA4 couldn’t find enough information to identify the data, such as where the user came from. This could be because the tracking details are missing, incomplete, or misconfigured.
There are several common reasons why (not set) may show in Google Analytics, including:
Missing UTM Tags
UTM tags tell Google Analytics where your website visitors have come from. This means that they can be properly attributed to the most accurate source, medium or campaign.
If these UTM tags are missing or spelt incorrectly, Google Analytics is unable to properly identify which source, medium or campaign brought the user to the site. As a result, (not set) would be shown in performance report.
Tracking code issues
If the Google Analytics tracking code is missing, installed incorrectly, or not properly firing, Analytics won’t receive this data.
For example, if you have the GA4 tracking code installed on your homepage, but not on your checkout confirmation page, Analytics can’t record the conversion on this page, resulting in (not set) displaying as the landing page or event source in performance reports.
Privacy settings
When users have disabled cookies or use private browsing, Analytics can’t store or send information about the user’s session.
As a result, the data for these users may appear in GA4 as (not set), as they cannot be tracked properly.
For example, Safari blocks the majority of third-party cookies by default. If visitor using this browser lands on a site, Analytics may not be able to record the details of their traffic source, so it will show as (not set).
What does this mean for website owners?
When (not set) appears in GA4 reports, it can make it harder to determine where your website traffic is coming from, and which of these channels are contributing to performance.
This missing or incomplete data can distort your analytics reports, skewing the accuracy of your website performance.
Traffic that should be attributed to Organic Search, or AI Traffic, may instead be misconfigured as (not set).
This misattribution can ultimately impact business decisions, such as how you allocate marketing budget or assess your return on investment.
It’s important to minimise (not set) values from appearing in your Google Analytics reports to ensure that you have an accurate and reliable view of your website’s performance.
Need help fixing (not set) values in your GA4 reports? Get in touch with Engage Web today to start improving the accuracy of your website performance tracking.
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