Missing Visitor Data

Diagnose and resolve issues when visitor data appears to be missing or incomplete.

Common Scenarios

No Data at All

If your dashboard shows zero data:

1. Check tracking is installed - See Tracking Not Working
2. Verify date range - Ensure you're viewing the correct period
3. Check website selection - Confirm the correct website is selected in Domains
4. Wait for propagation - New data may take 1-2 minutes to appear

Partial Data Missing

If some metrics are missing but others work:

Missing Data	Likely Cause
Geographic location	VPN/proxy, missing geo data, or bot filtering
Returning visitors	Cookieless mode or cookies blocked
Session duration	Single-page visits or quick exits
Referrer data	Direct visits or HTTPS→HTTP
Events	Custom events not implemented

Date Range Issues

Check Your Filters

1. Look at the date picker in the dashboard toolbar
2. Ensure it covers the expected period
3. Try "Last 7 days" to verify data exists

Data Retention Limits

Plan	Retention
Free	1 year
Pro	2 years
Scale	4 years
Enterprise	Custom

Data older than your retention limit is deleted.

Traffic Source Issues

Missing Referrer Data

Cause: Direct visits or referrer stripped

Direct visits happen when:

• User types URL directly
• Clicks from email (often)
• Bookmarks
• Some mobile apps
• HTTPS to HTTP (referrer policy)

Solution: Use UTM parameters:

https://yoursite.com/page?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

UTM Parameters Not Showing

Check:

• Parameters spelled correctly
• Not being stripped by redirects
• URL encoding correct

Example:

Correct: ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc
Wrong: ?utmsource=google (missing underscore)

Geographic Data Missing

Country/City Not Showing

Zenovay resolves location from the visitor's IP at request time, then discards the raw IP (it's never stored in plaintext). Location can still come through as unknown for a few reasons:

1. VPN/proxy users (the resolved location reflects the exit node, not the person)
2. No geo data for that IP range (some addresses can't be mapped to a city)
3. Bot traffic filtering (excluded requests never produce a visitor row)

Geographic data is approximate by design and there's no per-site setting to turn it on or off. If a specific city looks wrong, it's usually a VPN, a corporate gateway, or an IP range with limited geo coverage rather than a configuration problem.

Session and Duration Issues

Session Duration Shows 0

Causes:

• Visitor viewed only one page
• Visitor left before any interaction
• JavaScript error prevented tracking

This is normal for:

• High bounce rate pages
• Quick reference content
• External link landing pages

Sessions Not Linking

If the same visitor appears as multiple sessions:

Causes:

1. Cookieless mode enabled (no cross-page identity persistence)
2. Cookies/storage blocked by browser or user
3. Incognito/private browsing
4. Session timeout (default 30 minutes)

Event Tracking Issues

Custom Events Not Appearing

Check:

1. Event code implemented correctly
2. No JavaScript errors
3. Event name matches dashboard filter

Test in console:

// Send test event
window.zenovay('track', 'test_event', { test: true });

Events Appearing as Page Views

Ensure you're using the right method:

// For events
window.zenovay('track', 'button_click', { button: 'cta' });

// For page views (automatic, or manual for SPAs)
window.zenovay('page');

User Identification Issues

Identified Users Not Showing

Check:

1. window.zenovay('identify', ...) called after login
2. User ID is consistent
3. Cookies/storage not blocked

// Correct usage: user ID, then traits
window.zenovay('identify', 'user-123', {
  email: '[email protected]',
  name: 'John Doe'
});

User Data Not Linking

Ensure:

• Same user ID used consistently
• Identify called on each session
• Not clearing cookies between visits

Bot Traffic Filtering

Traffic Seems Too Low

Zenovay automatically filters bots:

• Search engine crawlers
• Monitoring services
• Known bot user agents

This filtering runs server-side on every request, so your dashboard reflects real human traffic, which is typically lower than raw server logs.

Traffic Seems Too High

If you see suspicious traffic:

1. Check the Live View tab for patterns
2. Look for unusual countries
3. Check for high bounce, low duration

If specific IPs or paths are inflating your numbers, exclude them:

1. Open the website's dashboard from Domains
2. Go to its settings and open the Exclusions tab (under Tracking)
3. Add the IP addresses, paths, or hostnames you want to exclude

Data Sampling

Zenovay does not sample analytics data. Every qualifying event is counted on all plans, so your reported numbers reflect 100% of tracked traffic (after bot filtering and any exclusions you've configured).

If your numbers still seem inconsistent, the cause is usually bot filtering, exclusions, or a tracking gap rather than sampling.

Real-Time vs Reports

Real-Time Shows Data, Reports Don't

Data processing delay:

• Live View: near-instant
• Aggregated reports: up to a few minutes

Wait and refresh reports.

Reports Show Data, Real-Time Doesn't

This is expected:

• Live View shows currently active visitors
• Reports show historical data
• Both are correct

Comparing to Other Tools

Numbers Don't Match Google Analytics

Differences are normal due to:

• Different tracking methods
• Different bot filtering
• Different session definitions
• Different user identification

Expect 10-20% variance between tools.

Page Views Lower Than Expected

Check:

• Script on all pages
• SPA route changes tracked with window.zenovay('page')
• No pages excluded accidentally

Data Export Issues

Data export is available on the paid plans (Pro, Scale, and Enterprise). Scheduled exports are available on Scale and Enterprise.

Export Missing Data

Check:

• Date range in export
• All data types selected
• Export completed successfully

Export Truncated

Large exports may be:

• Split into multiple files
• Better handled via scheduled exports
• Retrieved via the REST API for full data

Verification Steps

1. Check Live View

   • Visit your site
   • You should appear within seconds

2. Check Page Source

   • Verify the script is on all pages
   • Correct tracking code

3. Check Browser Console

   • No JavaScript errors
   • window.zenovay object exists

4. Check Network Tab

   • Tracking requests succeeding
   • 200/204 status codes

Recovery Actions

If Data Was Lost

Unfortunately, deleted data cannot be recovered.

Prevention:

• Set up regular exports (Scale and Enterprise)
• Use appropriate retention settings
• Don't delete websites accidentally

If Tracking Was Broken

Once fixed:

• The historical gap remains
• Future data will be accurate
• Consider adding a chart annotation to mark the gap

Contacting Support

If issues persist, contact support with:

1. Website URL
2. Dashboard screenshot
3. Date range affected
4. Steps already tried
5. Browser console errors

Next Steps

• Tracking Not Working
• Data Discrepancies
• Understanding Metrics