ReferenceTracking error
(not set)
Analytics shows (not set) when a report dimension has no value for that visit, such as the source, the landing page or the content group. Common causes are an unlinked Google Ads account or auto-tagging turned off, a session with no page view, and consent settings that drop the session start. Find the column that shows it, then fix that cause.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- In any Analytics report with a dimension column, such as Session source / medium or Landing page, as the row (not set).
- What stops
- Nothing stops. The sessions still count, but they are not placed under a source or a page.
- How serious
- No penalty. The gap hides which traffic the missing value should have named.
What it means
(not set) is a placeholder, not a source or a page. Analytics writes it when a dimension has no value for that visit, so a report looks complete while it hides where the traffic came from or which page it reached.
The help page lists causes by dimension. The first step is to name the column in the row you see, because each cause belongs to one column.
What actually triggers it
Source or medium, with Google Ads not linked
Traffic from a Google Ads account that is not linked to the property, or from a link without auto-tagging, has no source to show. Manually tagged URLs with incomplete UTM parameters do the same.
Landing page, with no page view
A session with no page_view event has no landing page to report. The help page names this as the cause for that column.
Content group, from automatic events
Automatic events cannot carry the content_group parameter, and a parameter sent empty shows the same placeholder.
Consent set in one step
Setting every consent value with the default command, or sending events after consent is denied, can drop the session_start event. Each dropped session start leaves its session without a source, so the report fills with (not set).
Fix it in this order
- Note which report and column show (not set). Each cause below belongs to one column.
- For the source or medium column, open the Google Ads link in Analytics and confirm the account is listed. If auto-tagging is off in Google Ads, turn it on, using the steps on the page about missing Google Ads data.
- For the landing page column, check the tag loads on the page at the start, so a page_view is sent with every visit.
- For manually tagged links, complete the utm_source and utm_medium parameters, and build each link with a URL builder.
- For consent, change the settings with the update command, not by setting every value with the default command.
Visits recorded before the change keep their (not set) value. Check the same report after a few days of traffic to see whether the new rows are named.
Often confused with
The session has a source, but no default channel rule claims it. (not set) means the value is missing; Unassigned means the value exists and no rule matches it.
Google Ads account and Analytics property are not linked
A larger failure, where Google Ads traffic and cost do not appear at all. A (not set) row in the source column is often the first sign of it.