"The numbers don't match!" - a common cry in the world of web analytics! Why don't the numbers from one source match another? Or worse yet - why don't the numbers from the same source match when you get them in different ways?! 

We get this question very frequently in regards to Google Analytics - especially since ShufflePoint uses the Google Analytics API to pull GA data. As most GA users know, GA is subject to data sampling where large amounts of data (usually a wide timeframe) are concerned. The same data pulled through the API is also subject to sampling, and in that case the metrics in ShufflePoint may not match what you see in GA (here is a great primer on GA sampling).

Once you are sure sampling isn't the issue causing the discrepancies, and you need our assistance in getting to the bottom of why the numbers reporting in ShufflePoint differ from what you are seeing in the GA web interface, we'll need some help from you:

• Create a GA custom report that replicates the report you are trying to pull into ShufflePoint. Even if the data that you are pulling into ShufflePoint exists in a standard GA report, creating a custom report will absolutely ensure that you are comparing the same data since custom reports are powered by the GA API too.
• Send us an email to [email protected] with these three components:
  • A full-screen screen grab attachment of the GA interface showing this custom report - including the browsers address bar.
  • A full-screen screen shot of the ShufflePoint query tool with the query you are comparing against what you are seeing in GA.
  • A cut-and-paste of the query in the body of the email (so we don't have to retype/recreate it and we can start troubleshooting faster).

Once we have those components we can dig into why your particular difference might be occurring. Without these things, we can't recreate exactly what you're seeing/doing with ShufflePoint and your GA reports.