This article details how to troubleshoot your Google Analytics and Xola integration. Please know that your Google Analytics tracking will not be 1:1 with Xola transactions. There are many factors on why this may happen, please read this article first if you are not seeing 1:1 conversions before you dive into troubleshooting.
What's covered in this article:
- Quick troubleshooting steps
- Verify That Your Google Analytics Integration Is or Is Not Working
- Check Your Google Analytics Tracking Code
- Check Your Google Analytics Settings
- Check Your Google Analytics Plugin Settings
Quick troubleshooting steps
- Check your website's universal header and footer for the Universal Analytics tracking code. Google recommends pasting your tracking code immediately before the closing </head> tag.
- Sign into your Google Analytics account.
- Click "E-commerce Settings"
- If you do not see any data here then there are two possibilities:
- The Google Analytics toggle is not turned on in your Xola account. Check with Xola support.
- The toggle was switched on but Ecommerce tracking was never enabled in your Google Analytics account. Please see our Guide to ECommerce Tracking for instructions on how to turn this on.
Verify That Your Google Analytics Integration Is or Is Not Working
Important: Google Analytics takes up to 48 hours to process transaction data. Once you set up Xola’s Google Analytics integration, we recommend waiting at least 2 days before verifying that you are receiving Xola transaction data in Google Analytics.
- Log into your Google Analytics account, and navigate to an unfiltered view
- Select the timeframe you want to verify
By default, Google Analytics excludes today’s date in the time window. If you are trying to verify transactions for the current date, you will need to update the time frame to include today’s date. However, we do not recommend verifying your Google Analytics integration on the same day it is implemented. - Navigate to Conversions > Ecommerce > Overview in the side panel
- Look for proof of transactions recorded in Google Analytics
If you do not see online transactions being recorded in Google Analytics after 48 hours, there may be an issue with your Google Analytics tracking code or the integration setup. Follow the steps below to troubleshoot your Google Analytics integration.
Check Your Google Analytics Tracking Code
Our integration sends the purchaser’s booking information directly to the Google Analytics code on your website. You may not be receiving data from Xola if your Google Analytics tracking code is missing or not working properly.
- Download the Google Tag Assistant extension to your web browser, and activate the extension
- Click the extension icon, and select “Enable” to begin tracking your Google Analytics tags
- In the same tab, navigate to the the web page with the Xola button that you are troubleshooting (if you are already on the appropriate page, refresh your browser window so that Tag Assistant can start troubleshooting).
- Once Tag Assistant has loaded, click the Tag Assistant extension icon. In Tag Assistant you may see one or more of the following
Issue #1: Tracking Code is Missing
If Tag Assistant displays “No Tags Found” you may not have installed the Google Analytics tracking code on your website (or on specific web pages).
How To Fix It: Add the Google Analytics tracking code to your website.
Issue #2: Tracking Code Implemented Incorrectly
If Tag Assistant displays a red tag next to your Google Analytics tracking code, you have a major implementation issue which you should fix as soon as possible.
How To Fix It:
- Click on the Google Analytics tag marked in red
- Find the issue(s) identified by Google Tag Assistant under “Where to optimize”
- Fix the issues identified using Google’s recommendations on how to fix Google Analytics Errors
Issue #3: Tracking Code is Outdated
Xola’s Google Analytics integration is not compatible with Google’s old analytics tracking code (ga.js). Google no longer supports their ga.js tracking code. If you are using the old code, you will need to replace it with the Universal Analytics tracking code (analytics.js).
How To Fix It: Migrate your website from using Google’s legacy tracking code (ga.js) to their updated Universal Analytics tracking code (analytics.js).
Issue #4: Tracking Code Implemented Correctly, But Using Google Tag Manager
There are two ways to integrate Xola with Google Analytics: (1) by installing Google Analytics tracking code directly, or (2) using Google Tag Manager.
If you use Google Tag Manager to deploy your Google Analytics code, you need to follow additional steps to integrate Xola with Google Analytics via Google Tag Manager.
If you are not sure whether or not you use Google Tag Manager, you can find out using Google Tag Assistant:
1. In Google Tag Assistant, click on your Google Analytics tag
2. Look for a message that says “Implemented in Google Tag Manager”. If this message is present, you need to integrate Xola’s with Google Analytics via Google Tag Manager. If you are not sure whether or not you use Google Tag Manager, you can find out using Google Tag Assistant:
Issue #5: Tracking Code Implemented Correctly
If Google Tag Assistant indicates that your Google Analytics tracking code is implemented correctly, and you are not using Google Tag Manager, there are a number of reasons your Google Analytics account may not be receiving transaction data.
Check Your Google Analytics Settings
Issue #1: Ecommerce Tracking Not Enabled in Google Analytics
Ecommerce tracking must be enabled in your Google Analytics account for Google to receive and process Xola’s booking data.
To enable Ecommerce tracking in Google Analytics:
- Navigate to the Admin panel in your Google Analytics account
- In the view you are using, select “Ecommerce Settings”
- Verify that “Enable Ecommerce” is turned on. If it is not, select “edit” and switch the toggle to “On”
Issue #2: Ecommerce Tracking Not Enabled in Specific View
Ecommerce tracking has to be enabled individually for each Google Analytics view that you create. If you are using multiple views, follow the instructions above to verify that Ecommerce tracking is enabled for the Google Analytics views that you want to receive Xola booking data.
Issue #3: Filters Exclude Hits from Xola Domain
Google Analytics Ecommerce data is sent to your account directly from a xola.com domain. Some admins have filters that exclude all hits except that that come from their domain. These filters will cause Google Analytics to filter out all of your transaction data.
How To Fix It: Modify your filter settings to include xola.com domain hits.
Note: It is best practice to always maintain a Google Analytics view with no filters. Once data in Google Analytics is filtered out from your account it cannot be recovered. Maintaining an unfiltered view assures that you do not suffer any permanent data loss.
Issue #4: Data Has Not Been Processed
Google Analytics takes up to 48 hours to process transaction data. Once you set up Xola’s Google Analytics integration, we recommend waiting at least 2 days before verifying that you are receiving Xola transaction data in Google Analytics.
Issue #5: Xola checkout is redirecting customers
Google Analytics only works if you are using our Embedded checkout, or have our buttons installed as an iFrame, and not a redirect. If a customer is redirected to another URL from your website, the tracking code will not follow. If you are unsure how to tell this on your website, please reach out to our Support Team, support@xola.com.
Issue #6: Blockers
Many of your customers may use browser extension that will block ads which won't allow the loading of certain files and webpages, particularly paid ads, video ads, and display ads. These extension sometimes block Google Analytics tracking codes and tag manager, and could be the reason you are not seeing 1:1 conversions.
Check Your Google Analytics Plugin Settings
If you are using a plugin to install Google Analytics on your website, there may be extra settings that you need to configure to enable ecommerce tracking.
Some plugins (like MonsterInsights) are not compatible with Xola. Often these plugins only provide ecommerce as an "add on" or paid feature, and only for specific stores like Woocommerce.
If your plugin does not support Google Analytics ecommerce tracking, we recommend you install a different plugin or add the Google Analytics script directly to your website.
Didn't Solve the Issue?
If you are still experiencing problems with your Google Analytics integration, please contact the customer support team at support@xola.com,