7 Ways To Check If Google Analytics Is Installed Properly

Google Analytics is one of the best apps that can help you with your site. This will give you a full view of your visitor count and their activities. This also comes with general metrics. This is essential if you want to keep up with marketing.

The issue, however, is it can be complex at first. You have to work your way around the app first. In some cases, users also find it hard to set up. This results in inconvenience. To avoid this problem, we’re going to talk about 7 ways that you can do even without a professional.

Purpose of Google Analytics

First, let us give you an overview of the use of Google Analytics. This covers areas like SEO, marketing, and site management. Here are the things that you can do with it:

Check the top-searched keywords
Monitor the current trends
See the history of a certain keyword
Compare keyword frequencies

The functions above are available no matter if you connect your website or not. If you choose to use this with your site, you will get access to various data. To be specific, these involve essential stats for site management.

Below are the metrics that you will be able to measure:

Site traffic
Site visitors
Activities and qualities of visitors
Traffic sources
Past and present user interactions
Conversion rate

The best thing about this platform is its accessibility. This is totally free to use. This means that you don’t have to worry about additional costs if you want to start using this.

How to Check Google Analytics’ Status

Initially, you may find Google Analytics hard to understand. This is because it will display a wide range of data. You may even think some of them are unusual or in the wrong place.

This stated, the first thing that you need to know is if it’s properly connected. Doing this task will make it easier for you to work your way around the app.

Generally, there are 7 ways that you can do to check its status. These will only need you to make a few clicks.

In some methods, you may need to install a tool or two. Still, you can rest assured that these won’t take too much of your time or money.

1. Check the tracking status

The first method will revolve around the app’s tracking status. This method is the simplest one in the batch. Basically, you just need to check the tracking status. Here are the steps that you should do to access this:

Open Google Analytics. Log in, and connect your site if you haven’t yet.
Next, click the “Admin” button placed at the bottom left part. This is right at the dashboard screen.
Next, click “Tracking Info.” You can find this in the second column of the Admin screen.
Finally, select “Tracking Code.”

This is a tab made specifically for traffic-related details. You will also see other information through the real-time reports option. We will discuss this more in the next method. This assures accuracy. To be specific, this will let you keep track of the following:

The current amount of traffic
The number of active users
How long it has been running and collecting data
Real-time traffic reports

The tracking status also offers the “Send traffic test” feature. This will opt for Google Analytics to send traffic to your site. If Google Analytics is working, then you should expect the active user count to increase.

At the same time, you should also see all the stats above.

If even one of the metrics is not present, then you should try reconnecting the app. You should also take a double look at the tracking code that you used during the process. The error may lie in missing or over characters.

On the flip side, if you can access complete data, you can rest assured that Google Analytics is actively monitoring your site.

2. Use the real-time tracking data

Moving on to the second way, we will now focus on the real-time tracking data function. Previously, we navigated around the tracking status.

This comes in the form of a data report. Unlike the former who only shows traffic details, this will check the tags. In addition, this will also dig deeper into the current number of active users.

To access real-time reports, there are two methods that you can use. The first method is almost like how you can open the tracking status. See below:

Open Google Analytics.
Select the “Admin” button.
Click “Tracking Info.”
Then, select “Tracking Code.”
Click “real-time traffic reports.” This comes in the form of a hyperlink.

You should consider this method if you have just finished checking the tool’s tracking status. For the second method, refer to the following guide:

Sign in, and open Google Analytics.
Choose the “property” or site that you want to check. Then, click it to open its settings.
Select “Realtime.” This is on the left-hand side of the screen.
Click “Overview.”

In this report, you can expect to get access to the details such as:

Current active users
Revenue
Conversion rate
Current sessions
Pageviews per minute
Top active pages
Audience Overview

Simply speaking, if you can see any type of information, then you are good to go. Google Analytics connects and monitors your site and its metrics. If, however, it does show data, but it does not change even after some time, there may be issues.

3. Install Google Tag Assistant

Google Tag Assistant is one of the free browser extensions offered by Google. This will be responsible for checking the scripts’ status. To use this, here are the steps that you need to take:

Install “Google Tag Assistant.” You can easily do so by looking up the keywords online. You can also go to the Google App Store and look for the extension there.
Open Google Analytics, and then load the page in a new tab.
Click the extension’s icon.
Wait for the results.

The results will come in the form of a report. This will specifically monitor the tags and codes and their current condition. Here are some symbols that you may find in the report:

Grey “X”

This means that no code is on the page. This may be because the site is still in progress. Basically, the extension has nothing to process.

Green Indicator

The tags on the page are valid. Besides the indicator is the total number of tags found.

Blue Indicator

This indicates working tags. Google, however, has some things in mind to make them better.

Yellow Indicator

This signal means that one or more tags with minor issues are on the page.

Red Indicator

Finally, the red indicator shows that one or more tags have major issues that need fixing.

Note that by clicking a specific icon, the app will show more details about it. This will show you suggestions as to how you can solve or improve the issue.

4. Install Google Analytics Debugger

The fourth on our list will also lie on an extension. This time, however, we will be working with Google Analytics Debugger. This will enable the debug version of Google Analytics Javascript. This will apply to all the sites that you will open through the Google search engine.

This will be a much more helpful tool considering that this caters to Google Analytics. Consider this as an accessory to keep the app in its best state.

Here is how you can use this:

Install the “Google Analytics Debugger.”
Click the icon on the browser tab to turn it on.
Run Chrome Javascript. This will enable you to see the messages. Then, if you are using Windows or Linux, press Ctrl + Shift + J. If you are using Mac, on the flip side, press Command + Option + J.
Refresh the current page that you are on to update the results.

This will give you a more in-depth data analysis. You will see how Google Analytics tracks the pages. This will also show warnings and notices if ever it finds any issues. In addition, this will show suggestions as to how you can solve them.

5. Use MonsterInsights

MonsterInsights is a plug-in designed to assist with analytics. Although this says WordPress in its functions, they also advise users of Google Analytics to use this. Below are some things that you can do with this:

Exclude Specific User Roles

By using this, you can expect that the tool will gather more accurate data. You can exclude different user roles. Enabling this feature will prevent multiple tracking of single users by mistake. This will be helpful if the problem with your Google Analytics lies in inaccuracy. This will improve the connection between the said app and your site.

Stop Tracking Admin Users

Google Analytics often considers admin clicks as traffic unless you manually edit its settings. With MonsterInsights, you can automatically exclude them by default. This will further contribute to the data’s accuracy.

One drawback of MonsterInsights is that it’s not free to use. This ranges from $99 to $399 per year. When choosing a package, consider the number of sites that you will use it for. They also offer exclusive features depending on the plan that you will buy. For your assurance, they offer a 14-day money-back guarantee.

6. Access Page Source

The Page Source method will tell you if the site works with Google Analytics.

Here, you will focus on finding the tracking code in its source. This means that if your goal is to check the data accuracy, the previous ways will be much more helpful. This is only ideal if you need to check the connection with convenience. This will enable you to do so even without access to your Google Analytics account.

To check a page’s source code, below are the steps that you need to do:

Load the site or page that you want to check.
Right-click anywhere on the said page.
Click “View Page Source” from the menu.
Press Ctrl + F.
Type in “gtag.js,” “analytics.js,” and “ga.js” on the search bar. This will show you the app’s tracking code.

If you can find the said codes, you can rest assured that Google Analytics works with the site. However, there are some cases when you can find them. This may be because you installed them from another source. If so, you need to use developer tools.

7. Conduct a site health check

Conducting a site health check is possible with a third-party platform. This will run a full scan on your site. From the name, this will evaluate tags, codes, visits, and the general stats. This will also show where errors lie, as well as how to resolve them.

One platform that you can turn to for this matter is MonsterInsights. This is the same app discussed in the fifth method. You can also look for other tools online if you prefer.

Bottom line, conducting a site health check will tell if there are any errors with the code. This will tell if Google Analytics is properly working with the site or going through some changes.

What will happen if Google Analytics is not installed properly?

You may be wondering as to what will happen if you don’t install Google Analytics properly. It does not matter if it is not on purpose. The effects will still be nothing other than piles of cons. Contrary to what you may think, you will not end up in just a faulty tool.

Here are some things that you may experience without Google Analytics’ help:

Inability to monitor website data

Without Google Analytics, you won’t be able to monitor details about your site. You won’t have an idea about its traffic, conversions, users, and more. This will be hard for you once you need to make site-related decisions.

Inaccurate metrics

If Google Analytics does show data but is still not connected, it will result in wrong results. This will still reflect badly on your online matters.

Poor marketing strategy

Poor marketing strategies are the fruit of little and/or wrong data. This will make it hard for you to gather the results that you want. May it be about sales, leads, or conversions, reaching your goals can be blurry.

Poor site performance

Lastly, you should expect poor site performance due to poor details and tactics.

Considering these, it is just right that you ensure that Google Analytics works with your site. At the same time, you should check the accuracy of the data that it delivers.

Of course, you can still use other apps as an alternative. It will be hard for you to find something that is also free. This can mean more expenses for you.

Summary

All in all, having Google Analytics is a good addition to your site. Not using it the right way, though, is nothing but a waste. This needs a proper setup. You also need to take your time in learning its features.

This will let you get the most out of the tool. At the same time, you will be able to monitor and manage your site’s performance better.

The tasks above can help you keep Google Analytics up and running. These will ensure that it collects complete and right data. You should also consider using Google extensions for easier checking.