Analytics Data Looks Wrong

Overview

If the analytics data in your Ultimate Social Proof dashboard doesn't match what you expect, there are several factors that could explain the discrepancy. This guide covers the most common reasons and how to interpret your data correctly.

Data is aggregated hourly, not real-time

Ultimate Social Proof aggregates analytics data on an hourly basis. This means:

• New impressions won't appear in your dashboard immediately
• Expect up to a 1-hour delay before recent activity shows up
• The current hour's data may be incomplete until the hour finishes

If you've just installed a widget or made changes, wait at least one hour before checking your analytics to see accurate numbers.

Timezone considerations

Your analytics dashboard displays data using your store's timezone as configured in Shopify. This affects:

• How daily totals are calculated
• When the "Today" date range starts and ends
• How hourly data is grouped on charts

If your analytics seem off by several hours, verify that your Shopify store timezone is set correctly in Settings > General > Store details.

Understanding impressions vs session exposures

These two metrics measure different things:

Impressions

An impression is counted each time a widget is displayed to a visitor. If the same visitor sees your toast notification 5 times during their session, that counts as 5 impressions.

Session exposures

Session exposures count the number of unique visitor sessions that saw at least one widget. This gives you a better sense of how many actual visitors are being exposed to your social proof.

It's normal for impressions to be significantly higher than session exposures. A typical visitor might see multiple notifications during a single browsing session.

Ad blockers can prevent tracking

Some visitors use ad blockers or privacy extensions that may block analytics tracking. This means:

• The widget may still display to the visitor
• But the impression won't be recorded in your analytics
• This can cause your analytics numbers to be lower than actual widget views

Industry estimates suggest 25-40% of users may have some form of ad blocking enabled. Your actual widget exposure is likely higher than what analytics shows.

Compare with Shopify analytics

To verify your data makes sense:

1. Check your total store sessions in Shopify Analytics for the same date range
2. Your session exposures should be lower than or equal to your total Shopify sessions
3. Not every visitor will see a widget (they may not visit pages where widgets are configured)

If your session exposures exceed your Shopify sessions, double-check that you're comparing the same date range and timezone.

When data appears in the dashboard

Here's the typical timeline for when you should expect to see data:

Still seeing issues?

If your data still looks incorrect after considering these factors:

• Wait 24 hours to allow data to fully aggregate
• Verify your widgets are enabled and displaying correctly on your storefront
• Check that you're looking at the correct date range in the dashboard
• Contact our support team with specific details about what you're seeing versus what you expect