Overview
This check identifies instances where the same Adobe Analytics tracking beacon fires more than once for a single page load or a single user interaction. In a healthy implementation, one user action should result in exactly one tracking request.
Duplicate tags lead to "inflated" metrics, which can distort your entire analytical dataset.
Why it is important
Duplicate tagging is a major threat to data quality because it artificially doubles (or triples) your key performance indicators:
Inflated Traffic: Your Page Views and Visit counts will appear much higher than they actually are, leading to false conclusions about site engagement.
Skewed Conversion Rates: If page views are doubled but orders are not, your conversion rate will appear to be 50% of its true value.
Increased Costs: Adobe Analytics billing is often based on server call volume. Duplicate tags can double your data collection costs without providing any additional insight.
Inconsistent Attribution: Duplicate hits can interfere with "Last Touch" attribution logic, as the second (identical) hit may overwrite or confuse the processing rules in Adobe’s backend.
Implementation
ObservePoint identifies duplicates by monitoring the network stream for multiple Adobe Analytics requests that share identical or nearly identical characteristics within the same page visit.
Trigger: The check occurs during every Audit or Journey page scan.
Logic: The platform looks for multiple hits to the Adobe tracking server (e.g.,
b/ss/) on a single page.Duplicate Definition: A tag is flagged as a duplicate if it shares the same Report Suite ID (RSID) and occurs within the same execution context (e.g., two Page View hits on the same URL).
Reporting: ObservePoint provides a specific report highlighting the pages where duplication is occurring and how many times the tag fired.
Here is a pre-built ObservePoint report filtered to Pages with Duplicate Adobe Analytics Tags.
Remediation
To eliminate duplicate tags, investigate the following common implementation conflicts:
1. Redundant TMS Rules
Often, a tag is set to fire on "Library Loaded" but another rule is also configured to fire the same tag on "DOM Ready" or "Window Loaded."
Action: Audit your Adobe Launch (AEP Tags) rules and ensure only one rule is responsible for the primary Page View beacon (
s.t()).
2. "Legacy" vs. "New" Implementation
If you recently migrated from hard-coded AppMeasurement.js to a Tag Management System, the old code might still be present in the page source.
Action: Check the page source code for any legacy
s.t()calls that were not removed after the TMS migration.
3. Single Page Application (SPA) Issues
In SPAs, developers often trigger a manual s.t() call on a virtual page change. If the TMS is also configured to fire on every "History Change," the tag may fire twice for every "page" the user sees.
Action: Coordinate with the development team to ensure that either the TMS or the application logic is responsible for the tracking call, but never both.
4. Improper Use of s.t() in Interaction Rules
Sometimes a rule intended for a button click incorrectly uses s.t() (Page View) instead of s.tl() (Link Track). This causes a second page view to be recorded for a simple click.
Action: Ensure all interaction-based rules use the Link Track action in the Adobe Analytics extension.
Conclusion
Duplicate tags are a direct threat to the "single source of truth." They lead to over-reported metrics that can result in poor business decisions and wasted marketing spend. By maintaining a "one action, one hit" standard, you ensure that your conversion rates and traffic data remain accurate.
Regular automated monitoring with ObservePoint is the only way to catch these duplicates across thousands of pages before they corrupt your historical data.