SOP #41 — "Just check Google Analytics" is wrong

SOP #41 — "Just check Google Analytics" is wrong

Myth: GA proves a site's traffic. Correction: GA shows what a property chose to report. It is editable, filterable, and easy to spoof. Verify it instead:

1. Request read-access to the live GA4 property, not screenshots or PDF exports — fail if they refuse.
2. Check the property creation date vs site age — a 4-month-old property on a "3-year site" is a flag.
3. Compare GA sessions against server logs or Cloudflare analytics for the same 30 days — variance over 15% = fail.
4. Cross-check with Google Search Console clicks — GA organic should roughly track GSC.
5. Pull a country/device breakdown — 90% from one cheap-traffic geo on a US-monetized site = fail.

If any source is screenshot-only, treat traffic as unverified and price it at zero.

Save this — run it every deal.