It’s common to see differences between data in Demandbase Site Analytics and external analytics platforms such as Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or Adobe Analytics. These differences usually do not indicate an error. They reflect how each platform collects, filters, processes, and reports website engagement data.
This article explains why reporting data may vary across platforms and provides recommendations for aligning your analysis.
Why Demandbase Site Analytics Data Differs from GA4 and Adobe Analytics Data
Demandbase Site Analytics, GA4, and Adobe Analytics are built for different reporting goals. Demandbase focuses on known business engagement for B2B go-to-market use cases, while GA4 and Adobe Analytics focus more broadly on website behavior across all users.
| Feature | Demandbase | GA4 | Adobe Analytics | Tips |
Audience Focus |
Known business | All users (including non-business) | All users (including non-business) | Use Demandbase to evaluate account and business engagement. Use GA4 or Adobe Analytics for broader traffic analysis. |
Measurement Unit |
Reports on Visits | Reports on Sessions and Events | Reports on Sessions and Hits |
Compare Demandbase Visits with GA4 or Adobe Sessions. Don’t compare against Events or Hits. |
Bot and Test Traffic |
Filters out bot and test traffic | May include bot and test traffic unless manually filtered | May include bot and test traffic unless manually filtered |
Apply traffic filters in GA4 and Adobe Analytics to reduce noise. See Filter Out Bots. |
| Page Load | Varies by configuration | Varies by configuration | Varies by configuration | Review script timing if one platform records activity that another platform misses. |
| Cookie Consent | Varies by configuration | Varies by configuration | Varies by configuration | Confirm that consent settings allow each platform to collect comparable visitor data. |
| Signal Tracking | Multi-sourced | Browser cookies and IP | Browser cookies and IP | Account for differences in how each platform identifies and tracks visitors. |
| Reporting Focus | B2B attribution and intent | Web behavior analytics | Web behavior analytics | Compare trends and directional patterns instead of expecting exact metric parity. |
| Session Handling | Groups activities from the same account into greater sessions when applicable | Varies by configuration | Varies by configuration | Do not expect session logic to map one-to-one across platforms. |
How Page Load Behavior Can Affect Site Analytics Reporting
Page load timing can affect whether each analytics platform records the same visit or session. If scripts load at different times, one platform may capture an activity that another platform does not.
To improve engagement reporting, structure landing pages with clear CTAs and navigation paths that encourage visitors to continue to another page.
For more information, see Best Practices for Landing Page Setup.
Recommendations for Aligning Demandbase Site Analytics with External Analytics Platforms
Use the following recommendations to reduce avoidable reporting gaps across Demandbase Site Analytics, GA4, and Adobe Analytics.
Integrate Demandbase with GA4 or Adobe Analytics
Integrate Demandbase with GA4 or Adobe Analytics to reduce manual mapping effort and improve data consistency.
In GA4, Demandbase maps firmographic data to page views using event parameters.
In Adobe Analytics, Demandbase registers a load event that maps firmographic data stored in Data Elements to eVars. Adobe asynchronously calls the Demandbase IP-API and stores the data in local storage.
Align UTM Tracking Across Analytics Platforms
Inconsistent UTM tracking can create reporting gaps across Demandbase, GA4, and Adobe Analytics.
To align UTM reporting:
- Use GA4 Explore or Adobe Analysis Workspace when analyzing campaign data.
- Review the UTM parameters used in campaign creative and compare them with the values used in reporting.
- Look at the total number of sessions associated with UTM parameters.
- Confirm whether the platform uses
utm_source,utm_medium, or another parameter for session source reporting. - Check whether the UTM values in external platforms are broader than the campaign or segment you are analyzing in Demandbase.
- Account for differences in string matching, because some platforms may not match UTM values exactly
Filter Bot and Test Traffic in GA4 and Adobe Analytics
Demandbase filters out bot and test traffic. GA4 and Adobe Analytics may include this traffic unless you apply filters.
To reduce bot and test traffic in GA4 or Adobe Analytics:
- Filter out traffic from the Linux operating system.
- Filter out traffic from known bot or test referrers.
Common referrers to filter include:
- https://aax.amazon-adsystem.com/
- https://aax-us-east.amazon-adsystem.com/
- https://storage.googleapis.com/
- https://www.google.com/
- https://www.example.com
Outcome of Aligning Site Analytics Reporting
After you align integrations, UTM tracking, and traffic filters, your reports should be easier to compare across Demandbase Site Analytics, GA4, and Adobe Analytics. The numbers may still differ because each platform uses different collection methods, identification logic, and reporting goals.
When analyzing reporting data, use Demandbase Site Analytics to understand which known businesses are engaging with your website. Use GA4 or Adobe Analytics to understand broader website behavior. Focus on business engagement, firmographic insights, and directional trends instead of exact metric parity.