Pressboard Reads & Google Analytics Pageviews are considered comparable metrics. Implementation of scripts can play a part in producing allowable % variances.
Q: please confirm how Pressboard Reads are different from the page views from Google Analytics?
A Pressboard Read and a GA Pageview are simply a “page-load”, recorded by Pressboard Analytics (PBA) javascript and Google Analytics (GA) javascript, respectively. They are separate technologies, brought together by Pressboard Studio’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 are 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 audiences 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.
📂 PB script may not be loading in all environments that GA script is loading.
🔢 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)
Overall, the variance you can observe is negligible and in most cases is not any cause for concern. Think of Pressboard Reads as total “page-loads” or sessions (including return visitors), whereas Pressboard Unique Reads can be understood as the # of unique people visiting the page. GA PVs and UPVs follows the same logic.
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.