Google analytic most wanted keywords-"" Not provided" and "Not set"

In this post i am going to explain you about the the terms of Google analytics which some peoples don't know as they are seeing these nightmare keywords in their daily status of Google analytics account of their websites or blogs

My first question is how many of know about "what is (not provided)" and (not set) appears in keywords column of their website or blog Google analytics account.

Focused Area:

The main reason why (not set) to appear as a dimension value is specific to each report

You might see (not set) as the value for dimensions within each of these dimension groups:

Advertising: Campaign, Ad Group, Keyword, Match Type, etc.

Content: Landing Page

Visitors: Flash Version, Screen Colors, Language, etc.

1) In-terms of Google Ad words:

There is a redirect in the URL

The gclid parameter is altered or dropped from the ad (See: CPC Data Not Collected)

2) The Traffic Sources reports

Search > Organic

If (not set) is appearing in your Organic search reports, it could be that:

An incorrectly configured filter is modifying campaign variables or referral patterns.

urchin.js is being used on the landing page. This tracking code is no longer supported and so its search-engine list is out of date. Many new search-engine URL formats are not recognized (e.g., bing.com/?q=KEYWORD). Visits originating from these sources will be marked bing/(organic) but since no search term could be recognized, keyword will be (not set).

The Content reports

Site Content > Landing Pages

If you see landing page = (not set), this is generally due to a visit with no_trackPageview hit included.

This can happen if you have a visit with another type of interaction hit, such as_trackEvent, _trackSocial, or _trackTrans (Ecommerce), but no_trackPageview hit.

To investigate, create an advanced filter that includes pageviews matching exactly 0. You can then apply this to the Content > Event reports, Traffic Sources > Social > Social Plugins report, or Conversions > Ecommerce reports. This will help you identify which type of hit is causing the issue.

Often, the cause is:

A view filter removing specific pageviews

The omission of the _trackPageview code call on the website

The Audience reports

Technology > Browser & OS > Screen Resolution

It is quite common that the screen resolution that has the highest Ecommerce conversion rate is (not set). Additionally, a high incidence of (not set) Ecommerce rates can occur for these dimensions:

Flash Version (occurs if Flash is disabled in browser settings)

Screen Colors

Language (in demographics report)

Generally, these traffic segments are small, and so are not statistically significant.

Special reports

Custom reports

When you select a traffic-source related dimension (such as Campaign) in a Custom Report, the dimension is applied to all visits in the account, not just Paid Search traffic. Therefore, visits that do not have any campaign information associated (e.g., direct, referral traffic) will be reported under (not set). You will see something similar if you select the Campaigns report under Traffic Sources > Sources rather than theCampaigns report under Advertising > AdWords.

Instead of creating a Custom Report, the best way to get this information would be to use an advanced segment in the specific report.

Visitors Flow

Similar to the custom reports, when you select a dimension such as Campaign in the Visits Flow reports, you may see (not set) in the Funnel path because all visits from direct and referral traffic would not have campaign information. If you do the math, you'll see that (all other campaigns sources) + (not set) = total visits.