How to Tell if a Site Has Google Analytics

Ever wondered if your competitors are using Google Analytics to track their website performance? It's easier to find out than you might think. This guide will walk you through four simple methods to see if a website has Google Analytics installed, ranging from non-technical, one-click solutions to quick code checks for those who don’t mind looking under the hood.

Method 1: Check the Page Source Code

The most direct way to check for Google Analytics is to look at the website's source code. You're not changing anything, just peeking at the HTML blueprint of the page. Think of it as looking at the ingredients list on a food package - we're just searching for the Google Analytics "ingredient."

How to View the Source Code:

In most web browsers, you can simply right-click anywhere on the webpage and select "View Page Source". This will open a new tab showing all the code that builds the page you're looking at.

Chrome: Right-click → "View Page Source" (or Ctrl + U / Cmd + Option + U)
Firefox: Right-click → "View Page Source" (or Ctrl + U / Cmd + U)
Safari: You might need to enable developer features first. Go to Safari → Preferences → Advanced and check "Show Develop menu in menu bar." Then right-click → "Show Page Source" (or Option + Cmd + U).

Once you have the source code open, press Ctrl+F (on Windows) or Cmd+F (on a Mac) to open a search box. Then, look for the following keywords or code snippets.

What to Look For (from Newest to Oldest)

1. "gtag.js" – The Current Standard (Google Analytics 4)

This is the most common script you'll find today, used for Google Analytics 4. It’s Google’s modern, unified tracking tag. Search for gtag.js or your tracking ID, which for a GA4 property will start with "G-".

You’ll likely find a snippet that looks like this:

If you see that code, you've found it!

2. "analytics.js" – Universal Analytics (The Previous Generation)

Before GA4, Universal Analytics (UA) was the standard for nearly a decade. While Google has officially sunsetted UA, you'll still find many sites with this code active. Search for analytics.js or a tracking ID that starts with "UA-".

The code will often look like this:

3. Google Tag Manager snippet

Sometimes, websites use Google Tag Manager (GTM) to manage their tracking scripts, including Google Analytics. If GTM is present, the GA code might not be directly in the source code. Instead, GTM loads it. To check for GTM, search for gtm.js. The snippet usually contains an ID in the format "GTM-XXXXXXX". If you find this, it’s highly likely GA is running on the site, but this method alone isn’t a 100% guarantee.

Method 2: Use Your Browser's Developer Tools

Browser developer tools offer a more dynamic way to see what's happening. Instead of just viewing the static source code, you can see the network requests a website makes as it loads. For GA to work, the site must send tracking data to Google's servers. We can watch for that signal.

To open developer tools, right-click on the page and click "Inspect". Or you can use a keyboard shortcut:

Chrome/Firefox/Edge: F12 (or Ctrl+Shift+I / Command+Option+I on Mac)
Safari: Option + Cmd + I

Check the 'Network' Tab

Once Developer Tools are open, click the "Network" tab.
In the filter or search box within the Network tab, type: google-analytics
Refresh the webpage (press F5 or Ctrl/Cmd + R).

As the page reloads, you’ll see any files and data requests exchanged between the website and Google’s analytics servers. If you see requests being made to a URL that contains google-analytics.com/collect, that's a positive confirmation. It means tracking data is actively being sent.

Check the 'Console' Tab

This is a slightly more technical trick. GA adds specific JavaScript objects to a webpage that you can check for.

With Developer Tools open, click the "Console" tab.
Type window.ga or window.dataLayer and press Enter.

If Google Analytics (or Google Tag Manager) is loaded, the console will return something — an object or a function. If it’s not present, it will typically return an undefined message. An affirmative response is a strong sign that a tracking script is active on the page.

Method 3: Use a Simple Browser Extension

If digging through code sounds tedious, don't worry. This is by far the easiest and fastest method. Several fantastic browser extensions automatically scan the websites you visit and show you the technologies they use with a single click.

Simply install one of these from your browser’s extension marketplace (like the Chrome Web Store), and an icon will appear in your toolbar. When you visit a website, the icon will often light up or display a number, indicating the technologies it has detected.

Recommended Extensions

Wappalyzer: This is an incredibly popular tool that detects everything from content management systems (like WordPress) and programming languages to, of course, analytics tools. If Google Analytics is on a site, Wappalyzer will show you its icon under the "Analytics" category when you click it.
BuiltWith Technology Profiler: Similar to Wappalyzer, BuiltWith provides a comprehensive list of all the detectable third-party technologies on a website. Click its icon in your toolbar, and it will neatly categorize scripts like Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.
Google Tag Assistant Legacy: This is Google's own tool specifically designed for troubleshooting its own marketing and analytics tags (including Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Tag Manager). It shows you every Google tag found on a page and uses color codes (green, blue, yellow, red) to tell you if they are installed and firing correctly. A green or blue tag is a firm confirmation.

Method 4: Use an Online Tool to Check Websites

If you don't even want to visit the website or install any software, you can use a standalone online tool. These work by having their own bots "crawl" a URL you provide and report back on the technologies they find.

The website BuiltWith.com is excellent for this. Just go to their homepage, enter the website address you want to check, and it will generate a detailed technology profile, including any and all analytics scripts it can detect. This method is great for quickly checking multiple sites without having to navigate to them one by one.

Why Check if a Site Uses Google Analytics?

You might be wondering why you'd even want to know this information. It can be surprisingly helpful for a few key reasons:

Competitor Analysis: Gaining insight into a competitor's marketing stack can tell you how seriously they take data-driven decision-making. If they're using GA, they are likely tracking customer behavior, marketing campaigns, and conversion rates just like you are (or should be).
Sales & Marketing Prospecting: If you sell marketing software, analytics consulting, or web development services, knowing that a prospect is already invested in Google Analytics can be a great conversation starter. It signals they value data, which could make them a lead with higher intent.
Web Development & Auditing: As a developer or marketer, checking a new client's or your own website for duplicate GA scripts or legacy code is a critical first step in any audit. It helps you quickly identify setup issues that could be skewing their data.
Simple Curiosity: Let's be honest, sometimes you just want to know how your favorite e-commerce store or blog is powered!

Final Thoughts

Discovering whether a website uses Google Analytics is a simple process once you know where to look. Whether you're a marketer or a developer, you have options that range from diving into the source code to just installing a handy one-click browser extension.

Of course, once you’ve confirmed that all your properties and marketing channels are collecting data, the real challenge begins: pulling it all together for meaningful insights. Instead of manually exporting reports from Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, Shopify, and your CRM, we built a way to streamline everything. With Graphed, you can connect your data sources in seconds and use simple, natural language to instantly build live dashboards and get answers to your most pressing questions about performance.