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How to Check if Google Analytics is Working

Cody Schneider••7 min read

You’ve installed the Google Analytics tracking code on your website, but now what? Staring at an empty dashboard can be unsettling, making you wonder if you’ve missed a step or if data is secretly flowing into the wrong digital drawer. Fortunately, you don't have to guess. This article will show you several quick and definitive ways to confirm that Google Analytics is properly installed and collecting data from your website.

The Easiest Method: Your Real-Time Report

The simplest way to see if Google Analytics is working is to use its own Real-Time reporting feature. This dashboard shows you visitor activity as it happens, giving you immediate confirmation. Think of it as switching on a light to see if the power is working.

Follow these steps:

  1. Open your website. In one browser tab or on your phone, navigate to your website. It’s best to use a "clean" browser session by opening an Incognito or Private window to avoid an existing login or cookie history from complicating the test.
  2. Log in to Google Analytics. In a separate browser window, go to your Google Analytics 4 account.
  3. Navigate to Real-Time reporting. In the left-hand navigation pane, go to Reports > Real-Time.
  4. Look for activity. The report should immediately show at least “1” in the “Users in last 30 minutes” card. You can explore the other cards in the Real-Time report to get more confirmation. For example, the “Views by Page title and screen name” card should show the title of the page you are currently on.

If you see your own visit show up, congratulations! Your tracking code is working. If nothing appears after a minute, it’s a sign that something is wrong, and you should move on to the next methods.

Check Your Website’s Source Code

Every time a user visits your site, their browser loads your website's HTML source code. Your Google Analytics tracking script needs to be embedded within this code for it to work. Manually checking for its presence is a foolproof way to confirm it’s been installed.

Your GA4 tracking code snippet will start with <-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->, and include a Measurement ID that looks something like G-XXXXXXXXXX.

How to View Your Site's Source Code

You don't need to be a developer to do this. Simply go to your website, right-click anywhere on the page, and select "View Page Source." This will open a new tab filled with the HTML code that builds your website.

Once you’re viewing the source code:

  • Press Ctrl + F (on Windows) or Cmd + F (on Mac) to open a search box.
  • Type gtag.js into the search box. This is the name of Google's global site tag library.
  • Alternatively, search for your unique Measurement ID (e.g., "G-123ABC456").

If the search finds the GA4 code snippet, you’ve confirmed it's installed. Best practice is for this script to be placed within the <head> section of your HTML, so it loads quickly and can track visitors even if they leave before the page fully loads.

Use a Browser Extension to Automate Checking

Manually checking the source code works, but it can be tedious. A much faster way to check for Google Analytics — and other marketing tags — is with a browser extension. These tools automatically scan the page and give you a clean report.

Google's Tag Assistant Companion

The best tool for the job is Google's own Tag Assistant Companion Chrome extension. It's designed specifically to help you troubleshoot the installation of Google Tags (including Google Analytics, Google Ads, etc.).

Here’s how to use it:

  1. Install the Tag Assistant Companion from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Navigate to your website.
  3. Click the Tag Assistant icon in your browser's extension bar.
  4. Click "Add domain," enter your website URL, and click "Connect". This will open your website in a new tab in a special debug mode.
  5. Navigate back to the Tag Assistant window. You should see a "Connected!" message. Click "Continue".
  6. Tag Assistant will now show you all the detected Google tags on your site. Look for a tag showing your GA4 Measurement ID (G-...).

Tag Assistant doesn't just show you if the tag is present, it also flags any errors it finds. A green tag means it's working properly, while blue or yellow/red tags indicate potential issues that need investigation, making it an excellent first diagnostic tool.

Get Granular with DebugView

If you've confirmed the tracking code is present but want to verify specific events — like form submissions, button clicks, or e-commerce actions — you'll need a more powerful tool: DebugView.

DebugView is a feature within Google Analytics that provides a real-time, event-by-event stream of your own activity on your website. Everything you do on the site will appear in a detailed log inside GA4.

To use it, you must first enable debug mode for your browser. You can do this easily with the official Google Analytics Debugger Chrome extension.

Here's the process:

  1. Install the Google Analytics Debugger extension and turn it "ON" by clicking its icon in your extensions bar.
  2. Log in to your GA4 account and navigate to Admin > Display > DebugView.
  3. Visit your website in the same browser (with the debugger extension turned on).

As you click around your site, you’ll see events appearing in the DebugView timeline in real time. Standard events like page_view and session_start should appear immediately. If you've set up custom events, like a "generate_lead" event for a form submission, you can test the form and watch for that specific event to appear in DebugView to confirm it’s tracking correctly.

Common GA Not Working Problems & How to Fix Them

If you've gone through the steps above and discovered a problem, it’s likely one of a few common issues. Here’s a quick troubleshooting guide.

1. Traffic Filters Are Blocking Your Activity

Google Analytics allows you to create filters to exclude certain traffic from your reports. The most common one is an IP address filter to block traffic from your own company so you aren't skewing the data. If you’ve set this up, your own visits in the Real-Time report won't appear because the filter is doing its job. Try checking from a different network (like your phone using mobile data) to confirm.

2. Two GA Tags Are Installed (Duplicate Tracking)

Sometimes, tracking code is added twice - perhaps once manually and a second time via a plugin or Google Tag Manager. While "more" might seem better, it causes serious data inflation. Each page view gets counted twice, effectively doubling your traffic numbers and making metrics like Bounce Rate meaningless. Tag Assistant is the best tool for spotting duplicate tags.

3. You’re Using the Wrong Measurement ID

This is a simple but common "copy and paste" error. If your site has GA code but data isn’t showing up in your account, double-check that the "G-" Measurement ID in your source code exactly matches the one shown in your GA4 property (Admin > Data Streams > Click your stream).

4. Caching Plugins or Consent Banners

Some website caching plugins can get in the way of scripts loading correctly. If you're confident the script is installed, try clearing your website's cache and your browser's cache. Similarly, cookie consent banners (for GDPR/CCPA compliance) are designed to block GA from firing until a user gives permission. Ensure that you've accepted cookies on your site's banner before you begin testing.

Final Thoughts

Making sure your Google Analytics is working correctly is the critical first step in making data-driven decisions. By using the Real-Time report for a quick check, viewing the source code for confirmation, and leveraging tools like Tag Assistant and DebugView for deeper troubleshooting, you can ensure your data is flowing accurately with just a few clicks.

Of course, once you confirm data is being collected, the real challenge begins: turning all that raw data into clear, actionable insights without spending your entire week cross-referencing reports. We faced this same friction, which is why we built Graphed. It lets you connect data sources like Google Analytics in seconds, then use plain English to build real-time dashboards and reports that instantly answer your most urgent questions about marketing performance, saving you from the tedious manual work of dashboard builders or spreadsheets.

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