Pressboard Reads & Google Analytics Pageviews are considered comparable metrics. Implementation of scripts can play a part in producing allowable % variances.
Q: How does Pressboard Analytics Reads differ from Google Analytics Pageviews?
A Pressboard Read and a GA Pageview are simply a “page-load”, recorded by Pressboard Analytics (PBA) JavaScript and Google Analytics (GA) respectively. They are separate technologies, brought together by Pressboard's reporting suite. It’s important to note that there is always a possibility of observing a 5 - 15% industry-accepted variance when comparing results from different methodologies, often due to the reasons listed below:
⌛ Scripts could be set to load at different times. For example: PBA script loads 2 seconds after page-load while GA script loads within 0-2 seconds. As a result, any users who bounce before PBA script loads fully would not be captured, whereas GA might capture their arrival on the page. The opposite is also possible. Be sure to check with your web ops team on the specifics of your set up.
📂 PB script may not be loading in all environments that GA script is loading e.g Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
❌ In some cases, PB script may not be firing at all, indicating an issue with implementation. Follow QA steps outlined in this article. Also ensure page/s are correctly tagged as "branded content" in order to fire any tracking tags.
🔢 Day-to-day results between PB & GA can have a larger than normal variance due to cadence at which dashboard results are updated. Pressboard Reads are visualized hourly, whereas GA PVs are updated twice daily. Results for both sources should be fully visualized 24 hours after the campaign’s chosen END date (at Campaign level in Pressboard)
Troubleshooting
If you've followed the guidelines outlined in this article but still cannot explain the variance, you can get in touch with your Customer Success Manager to continue troubleshooting. Make sure to provide details including the campaign name and raw data from the native app being compared to.