Mobile redirect causing traffic drop? Can I move analytics code to capture them as visitors before redirecting them?
-
Yesterday I implemented a mobile redirect as I don't have a mobile version of my site. As a result I've seen a drop in traffic which makes sense as my redirect script is at the top of the page. If I were to move the redirect script below the analytics code would that allow me to still track mobile users? Would this affect my bounce rate though?
-
Yes, the "drop" in traffic (or drop in reported traffic) is because the analytics code doesn't have time to kick in before the redirect script takes over.
If you were to move the refresh script to the bottom of the code and the analytics to the top, the likelihood of reversing this goes up. We had a similar problem with a client site in that they had a very heavy piece of conversion optimisation software running at the top of the code and our tracking code at the bottom. Users clicking from search to the home page usually knew where they wanted to go quite quickly, and would click away before our tracking code had loaded. Client was desperate to know why our SEO traffic had gone through the floor. It had not. We had them reverse the analytics and CRO codes and our traffic "came back".
JS is executed in the order it's included in the code, so moving it should work. Should being the key word - I am not 100% on this.
I am not sure how to place a delay with JS so hopefully someone else can chime in on that one. Meta refreshes allow a short time delay - does anyone know what the correct way to do this for solely mobile traffic would be? Acknowledging that meta refreshes are not recommended for SEO, but they are a popular way of defining a short delay in redirecting a user.
-
The mobile site is not operated by me unfortunately.
-
Why you not add the analytics code to the mobile site too? The actual market of mobile phones runs JS without problems.
-
Uh, hard to say as you need to do it in the script you're including ;-). Can you send me the URL of the JS (or via PM, whatever you prefer)?
-
Thanks for your reply. How would I add a delay to this code?
-
Hi Sam,
If you're doing the redirect with a JavaScript solution then the answer would be yes. Put you would need a delay of 1-2 seconds to make sure the GA tracking code is initialized.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Why is Indeed.com traffic appearing as organic in Google Analytics?
A large number of sessions in my client's Google Analytics account appear to come from medium: organic and source:Indeed. Since I'm focused on SEO for this project, I'd prefer that Indeed be treated as referral traffic. Any ideas for fixing this issue? Also, and I'm sure the answer is no, is there a way to fix the past data in Google Analytics that has already reported Indeed as an organic medium?
Reporting & Analytics | | Kevin_P0 -
How do sites without access to a site's analytical data, determine a site's organic traffic?
I've recently used a organic traffic checker that showed you your traffic compared to each google algo update. I was interested in how they derived the organic traffic totals for each month, without having access to our site's google analytics? I've since compared the data to historical google analytics data and it's not wrong, isn't 100% match either but isn't far from fact. So if they're predicting or making a guess, it's rather spot on, site crawlers and SERPs snapshots only provide so much info, I'm just wondering where they get the rest from and how?
Reporting & Analytics | | Deacyde0 -
Google Analytics - Average Position
Hi Just trying to get some clarity on Google Analytics Average Positions in "Aquistions/Search Engine Optimisation". For a very competitive keyword Google Analytics is saying i am on average position of 6. Is this Page 6? I am assuming position six would be 1.6?
Reporting & Analytics | | Cocoonfxmedia0 -
Google Analytics Code
We have a quick question about our Google Analytics code: We recently updated to a re-marketing Analytics code, and some of our traffic numbers seem to be off by a bit. I used the Google Tag Assistant Chrome Extension today, and noticed that it's finding our old Analytics code on our pages, but it's coming up as an error due to "no HTTP Response". I am attempting to remove this code from the website, but it is nowhere to be found in the HTML coding. Only the current one is there. So I'm wondering if this second Analytics code is effecting our traffic and reporting, even if the code is currently non-functional? and if it is, how could I go about removing it if it's not currently in our HTML? Thanks!
Reporting & Analytics | | PlanetDISH0 -
Funnel Visualization in Google Analytics
Hello. I have a question about funnel visualization in Google Analytics where there is an eCommerce goal (i.e. add to cart, shipping, purchase) with the first step being mandatory. Issue:
Reporting & Analytics | | Unity
The amount of completed purchases reported in GA doesn't match the actual transaction figure via the eCommerce platform. Question:
I was wondering if anyone knows why this occurs? I have a few ideas on why however I haven't been able to locate any supporting evidence. So I was hoping to generate a few ideas from the SEOMoz community to help me investigate further. Any ideas welcome! Much thanks,
Davinia0 -
How can I track search engine optimization data in Google analytics?
My website is linked to a Google Analytics web property. But, I am not able to track search engine optimization data in Google Analytics. So, How can I get it done?
Reporting & Analytics | | CommercePundit0 -
Weird drop in ranks... google.fr
Hello folks, Before our domain: <cite>www.convertisseurvideo.net</cite> Keyword: convertisseur video ( convert your video ) is at the first(page) google.fr for this keyword search. Right now, its at second page, really dropped. And our CTR = 1% . How can we improve the CTR? Any toughts ? Thanks. ss.JPG
Reporting & Analytics | | augustos0 -
What's the best way to track moble traffic / sales from a subdomain in Google Analytics?
Hello, I've been trying to figure out the best way to track traffic and sales for a subdomain mobile site and would appreciate any feedback or guidance. I've set up an advanced segment but have found that I'm not able to source traffic since the segments get disabled when trying to view top content pages. I've also setup an additional sub-profile under the main domain profile in google analytics and have set up an advanced filter using the following guildelines http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingSite.html In the Profile Settings page, click the Add Filter link. Choose Add New Filter and provide the filter a name. Choose Custom Filter and select Advanced on the Filter type settings. Under Advanced settings: FieldA should be set to Hostname FieldB should be set to Request URI Set the values for both Field A and Field B to (.*), which is an expression that captures all characters. Set the Output To --> Constructor option to Request URI and provide $A1$B1 as the value for that choice. I'm unsure if I've set up the profile / filter correctly, the traffic stats are different than the segment. The mobile profile is also tracking all ecommerce transactions instead of just mobile. Here's the code I have in place. we're using the Traditional code Thanks, Jamie
Reporting & Analytics | | marketing_zoovy.com0