> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.intelligems.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.intelligems.io/content-testing/troubleshooting-low-visitor-counts-in-a-split-url-test.md).
# Troubleshooting Low Visitor Counts in a Split URL Test
You launched a Split URL test and the visitor count looks lower than you expected. This guide walks through the most common causes and what to check for each, in the order we recommend investigating.
Before you start, it's worth setting expectations on what your visitor count should and shouldn't be compared against.
**Ad platform clicks are not a useful comparison.** Ad platforms count all clicks, including bots, repeat impressions, and clicks where the page never fully loaded. Intelligems only counts unique visitors who actually landed on the Origin URL and were bucketed into a test group. These numbers will never line up and the gap can be very large, even on a perfectly healthy test.
**Outside analytics tools (Shopify Analytics, GA4, etc.) are also not a reliable comparison for Split URL tests.** Because the redirect on a Split URL test fires client-side, these tools often attribute page views inconsistently between the origin and variant pages, and many of them undercount or miscount visitors who bounce quickly. We strongly recommend relying on Intelligems' own reporting to analyze Split URL tests rather than trying to reconcile against an outside tool. More on why in our [Analytics FAQ](https://docs.intelligems.io/analytics/analytics-faqs#why-doesnt-the-data-align-with-shopify-or-google-analytics).
If after setting that expectation your visitor count still looks off, work through the checks below.
## 1. Confirm the Intelligems script is loading on the Origin URL
If the Intelligems JavaScript isn't firing on your Origin URL, no visitors can be bucketed into the test. This is the most common cause of zero or very low visitor counts.
**How to check:** Open your Origin URL in an incognito window, open the browser console (right click → Inspect → Console), and type:
```
window.igData
```
If you see a populated object with `user`, `campaigns`, `personalizations`, and other fields, the script is loading correctly. If you see `undefined`, the script isn't on the page.
> `window.igData` console output (the expanded object in the browser console)
**Most common cause:** the Origin URL is a custom landing page built with a page builder app (PageFly, Replo, GemPages, Shogun, etc.). Page builders render pages through their own layout file rather than `theme.liquid`. If the Intelligems script is only installed in `theme.liquid`, it won't load on pages rendered by the page builder.
To fix this, copy your Intelligems script from the Intelligems app (Settings → Theme Script → Copy Script) and paste it into the `` of your page builder's layout file in Shopify.
> Settings → Theme Script in the Intelligems app (showing the Copy Script button)
See [Page Builder](https://docs.intelligems.io/getting-started/general-faqs#what-page-builders-does-intelligems-integrate-with) for page-builder-specific notes (Replo, GemPages, Shogun, PageFly, Pagedeck, Funnelish, Webflow, [Builder.io](http://builder.io)).
## 2. Confirm the test is bucketing visitors
Even if the script is loading, the test itself may not be assigning visitors to a group. In the same browser console on your Origin URL, type:
```
window.igData.user.getTestGroup('YOUR-EXPERIMENT-ID')
```
You can find this information by clicking on the three dots in the top right of your test > Show Info > clicking on the 12 digit ID next to the line that says "Express Payment Off For Google Analytics:".
If this returns a group object with a name (like `Control Group` or your variant name), the test is bucketing correctly.
> `getTestGroup` console output showing a Control Group object
If it returns `null` or `undefined`, the visitor isn't being enrolled in the test, even though the script is loading. The most likely reasons are covered in the next two sections.
## 3. Check for other live tests using the same Origin URL
If you have more than one live Split URL test using the same Origin URL, each visitor's experience on that page is being split between the tests. This will reduce the effective visitor count in each test and muddy the data for both.
**How to check:** In the Intelligems app, look at your list of active A/B tests and confirm no other Split URL test is using the same Origin URL.
**How to fix:** You have two options:
1. End one of the overlapping tests so only one test uses that Origin URL at a time. This is the cleaner option and gives you the most accurate data.
2. Use competing targeting to split traffic between the tests so each visitor only enters one of them. This works best with non-overlapping audience filters, for example:
* **Basic:** run one test on mobile only and the other on desktop only
* **More complex:** scope by UTM, such as Test A targeting `utm_source IS example1` and Test B targeting `utm_source IS NOT example1`
**One more thing to check if you're using a page builder (Webflow, GemPages, PageFly, Replo, Shogun, etc.):** even when everything above looks fine, a third-party app or the page builder's own configuration can sometimes block the tracking event from being sent back to Intelligems. The visitor gets bucketed correctly but is never counted. If you suspect this, open your Origin URL in an incognito window, open DevTools → Network tab, filter for `track`, and reload. The request should fire and return a 200. If it's stuck pending, missing, or erroring, reach out to your page builder's support to investigate.
## 4. Check your audience and targeting filters
Audience filters reduce the pool of eligible visitors. If you've added targeting that's narrower than you intended, your visitor count will look low.
In your test's setup under the Targeting tab, review each of the following. If any are set, only visitors matching those conditions will enroll in the test:
* **Country** — limits the test to specific countries
* **Device Type** — limits to mobile or desktop only (tablet traffic is grouped with mobile)
* **New or Returning Visitors** — limits to first-time or repeat visitors only
* **Source Sites** — limits to specific traffic sources (Email, Paid Social, Organic Search, etc.)
* **URL Parameters / UTMs** — limits to visitors arriving with specific UTM values
* **Landing Page URL** — limits to visitors who entered the site through a specific page
* **Referring Domain** — limits to visitors arriving from a specific domain
* **Klaviyo Segment** — limits to visitors in a specific Klaviyo segment
* **JavaScript Expression** — a custom expression that must evaluate to `true` for the visitor to be included
* **Cookie** — limits to visitors with a specific cookie set
If a filter is in place that doesn't match the audience your ad campaign is actually driving (for example, your test is targeting `utm_source=meta` but the live ad is using `utm_source=facebook`), enrollment will look low even though traffic is hitting the page. Full details on each option in our [Audience Targeting guide](https://docs.intelligems.io/general-features/targeting/audience-targeting).
## 5. Verify the destination URL loads correctly
If the Origin URL works but the Destination URL returns a 404, visitors in the test group will land on a broken page. The visitor is still enrolled in the test, but the experience itself is broken, which will hurt both your data quality and the customer experience.
**How to check:** Visit the Destination URL directly in an incognito window and confirm it loads.
**Also worth checking on the Origin URL:** if something else on the page is redirecting visitors before Intelligems can enroll them (a redirect set up in Shopify, your theme, or a third-party app), those visitors are being pulled out of the test before they can be bucketed. To rule this out, you can temporarily block the Intelligems script and load the Origin URL to see what happens:
1. Open your Origin URL in an incognito window
2. Right click anywhere on the page and choose **Inspect** to open DevTools
3. Click the **Network** tab at the top of DevTools
4. In the filter box, type `intelligems`
5. Right-click on the network request with the name of `bundle.js` and choose **Block request domain**
6. Reload the page
If the page still redirects you somewhere on its own after Intelligems is blocked, that confirms another redirect is firing first. You'll need to find and remove it (check your Shopify URL redirects, your theme code, and any installed apps) before the test can work correctly.
If the page stays on the Origin URL after you block Intelligems, this isn't the issue and you can move on.
## 6. Compare against the right baseline
If everything above checks out and visitor counts still look low, the issue may not be with the test at all. The most common version of this is comparing Intelligems visitor counts against the wrong number.
To rule this out, gather the following before drawing any conclusions:
**Your analytics tool (Shopify Analytics, GA4, etc.):**
filter to your Origin URL for the same date range as the test, and check the number of sessions and users. This gives you a sense of how much traffic is actually reaching your landing page. The numbers won't match Intelligems exactly, but they'll give you a much closer baseline than your ad platform's click count.
* As a rough sanity check: if your analytics tool shows around 1,000 sessions on the Origin URL and Intelligems is showing 50 visitors in the test, that's a gap worth investigating. A smaller gap (say, 1,000 sessions vs. 700 to 900 test visitors) is normal and expected.
* Keep in mind that any audience filters you've set on the test (see Section 4) will narrow the eligible pool further, so factor those in before comparing the numbers.
* **Your ad platform (Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, etc.):** confirm that the destination URL set in the live ad creative exactly matches your test's Origin URL. UTM parameters are fine, but the path (`/pages/your-landing-page`) must match. Click-tracking domains, link shorteners, or redirect services in the middle can sometimes change the final landing path. Open the ad in a clean browser and confirm the URL in the address bar after the page loads is your Origin URL.
If the analytics tool baseline shows traffic landing on the Origin URL in line with what you expected, but Intelligems is recording far fewer visitors, that's a real discrepancy worth escalating.
## Still seeing low visitor counts after these checks?
If all of the above check out and your visitor count still looks off, reach out to our support team through the in-app chat in the bottom-right corner of the Intelligems app, or by emailing . Please include:
* Your experiment ID
* Screenshots from your analytics tool (Shopify Analytics, GA4, etc.) showing sessions and users for the Origin and Destination URLs, matching the date range of the test
* Screenshots from your ad platform showing the live ad creative with the destination URL set to your Origin URL
* Approximate expected vs. actual visitor counts
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