Start an A/A test and check the tracking
Table of contents
In short
To check your tracking setup in GA4, go to the real-time report and search for the event "Abtesting". Click on it and check whether the parameter "varify_abTestShort" is available. By starting an A/A test If the event is missing, check the integration of the Varify Snippet and the tracking settings.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Create A/A test and test tracking
1. Create A/A test
An A/A test works like an A/B test and assigns users to two variants - without any actual visible changes. This is how you can test the tracking setup.
Prerequisite:
The Varify Code Snippet must already be integrated into your website and the tracking has been set up.
- Create a new variant/experiment by clicking on the Varify.io dashboard. For example, open the homepage of your website.
- Click on the top right on the code symbol and select CSS.
- In the window, add a few space character and click on Save (this means that there are no visible changes for users).
- Save the variant at the top right under "Finish" and name them A/A test.
- In the dashboard, click on the page targeting of the A/A test and then to "Edit Conditions".
- Enter your domain and set the matching type to "Contains" (this will give you the most data for your A/A test, as it will be displayed for all users of your website).
- Start the A/A test.
8. go to any page on your website and check whether the AA test is being delivered. The easiest way to do this is to open the Varify Google Chrome Browser Extension and check that the AA test is listed under "Active Experiments". (It may take up to 2 minutes after the test goes live before you see the experiment. Reload the page accordingly).
2. Check live events in GA4
If the Varify snippet is integratedand the tracking has been set up and an A/A test has been started you can check in the GA4 realtime overview whether the events of your A/A test are arriving.
- Go to GA4 under Reports to the Realtime Overview.
- Search the widget "Event count by event name".
- Check whether an event called "Abtesting" appears (you may have to click through the pages of the widget).
- Click on this event to view the parameters. to open.
- Check whether the parameter "varify_abTestShort" is available (you may have to click through the pages of the widget).
- Click on the parameter and check whether the parameter consisting of Experiment ID and Variant ID is displayed correctly
If this parameter is visible and correct, the tracking is set up correctly.
(Optional) Check varify events in DataLayer
If no live events are visible in GA4, you can check in the developer console of your browser whether the Varify Tracking Events are correctly pushed into the DataLayer be played out.
This is how you proceed:
- Open a pageon which your A/A test is active.
- Open the developer console your browser: In Chrome: right-click on the page → "Examine" → Tab "Console" choose.
- Write dataLayer into the console and press Enter.
- Search in the DataLayer for an event with the name "varify".
- Expand the event - here you will find all the relevant parameters and information to the experiment, e.g:
Name of the experiment
Variant you are in
