Analytics oddity

[Rich Owings]

Ever seen anything like this?

Looking at All Users, data begins to show up in March 2014, but if I add Organic as a segment, I see no traffic (organic or not) until July 2017.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@Rich Owings, I've seen that before. Some Analytics data got wiped out earlier this year, when Google's data-retention settings changed. What you might find in various views in GA is that data older than 26 months is gone.

I don't know of a way to reconstruct the lost data, but there's a setting you can change so that Google keeps data indefinitely, starting today. Here is a good walkthrough: The Google Analytics Setting You Must Change Immediately

 

[Rich Owings]

Good catch. Sure enough, when I check the setting, data retention is set to 14 months, and I can't see traffic before Aug. 25, 2017. It's just strange that I can see other, earlier traffic until I display the organic segment.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@Rich Owings, yup. Google shows total traffic but - as I recall - doesn't show that of specific channels.

 

[Rich Owings]

Ah, I see. And I thought all the GDPR craziness was behind us. Thanks for solving the mystery!