Why Does Google Analytics Show 0 Visits?

Seeing a flat line of zero visits in your Google Analytics account can be alarming, but it's often due to a simple setup issue rather than a complete absence of traffic. If you've just launched a new site or set up analytics, this is a surprisingly common problem. This guide will walk you through the most frequent reasons why Google Analytics might show no data and provide clear, step-by-step instructions to get your tracking back on course.

Is Your GA Tracking Code Correctly Installed?

The single most common reason for "0 visits" is related to the Google Analytics tracking code. This small snippet of JavaScript is what communicates with Google's servers, telling them every time someone visits a page on your site. If that code is missing, incorrect, or broken, Google Analytics has no way of knowing anyone is there.

Finding Your Google Analytics 4 Tag

First, let's make sure you have the correct code to begin with. In Google Analytics 4, this is managed through your "Measurement ID" and a script called gtag.js.

Here’s how to find it:

Log in to your Google Analytics account.
Click on Admin in the bottom-left corner (the gear icon).
In the Property column, make sure your correct property is selected.
Click on Data Streams.
Select the data stream for your website (it will usually be the only one there).
Under Tagging instructions, click on View tag instructions.
Select the Install manually tab. Here you will see the full JavaScript snippet.

Your Measurement ID looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX, and the full code snippet will look something like this:

How to Check If the Code Exists On Your Site

Now that you have your Measurement ID and snippet, you need to confirm it's actually present on your live website. Here are a few ways to check.

Method 1: View Page Source (The Quick Check)

This is the fastest way to get a yes-or-no answer. Go to your website, right-click anywhere on the page, and select "View Page Source." This will open a new tab with your website's HTML code. Once there, use your browser's find function (Ctrl+F on Windows, Cmd+F on Mac) and search for:

gtag.js
Your specific Measurement ID (e.g., G-XXXXXXXXXX)

If your search finds a match, the code is present. If not, it means the code hasn't been added to your site at all, and you've found your problem.

Method 2: Use Google Tag Assistant

For a more advanced and reliable check, use Google's own tool, Tag Assistant. This tool specifically shows you which Google tags (including Analytics, Google Ads, etc.) are firing on your site.

Go to https://tagassistant.google.com/
Click Add Domain and enter your full website URL (e.g., https://www.yourwebsite.com).
A new window of your website will open with a small debugger panel in the bottom right. Click through a few pages on your site.
Go back to the Tag Assistant tab. You should see your GA4 Measurement ID in the "Tags Found" section. If you see it and it has a green checkmark, your tag is installed and firing correctly!

If you don't see your tag in Tag Assistant, the code is either missing or has a critical error preventing it from running.

Common Installation Mistakes to Double-Check

Even if the tracking code is present, it might be installed incorrectly. Here are the most common slip-ups that can lead to zero reported traffic.

1. You Haven't Waited Long Enough

Did you just install the tracking code in the last hour? Or even today? If so, patience is your best friend. While the Realtime report should show activity within minutes, standard reports in Google Analytics can take 24 to 48 hours to fully process and display data. Panic-troubleshooting too early can be a waste of time. Check the Realtime report first and give the standard reports a day or two to catch up.

2. The Tracking Code is in the Wrong Place

Google officially recommends placing the gtag.js script in the <head> section of your website’s HTML. Placing it near the bottom of the <body> can sometimes work, but it's risky. If a visitor lands on a page and clicks away before the page fully loads, a script at the bottom may never get a chance to run, and the visit will be missed. By placing it high up in the <head>, it loads first, ensuring you capture as much traffic as possible.

3. Using a WordPress Plugin? Check the Settings

A huge number of websites are built on WordPress, and many rely on plugins like Google Site Kit, MonsterInsights, or similar tools to install the GA tracking code without touching any code directly. These tools are fantastic when they work, but they can be a point of failure.

Is the Plugin Active? Make sure the plugin is installed and activated.
Is the Measurement ID Correct? Go into the plugin's settings and double-check that you've copy-and-pasted the exact Measurement ID from your GA4 property. A single typo will break the connection.
Do You Have Multiple Analytics Plugins? Having two or more plugins trying to add the same tracking code can cause conflicts and result in neither working properly. Deactivate any redundant plugins.

Filters and Configurations That Might Hide Your Data

If you've confirmed your tag is installed perfectly, the issue might be inside your Google Analytics settings. A misconfigured filter can easily make it look like you have no visitors.

Are You Filtering Out ALL Traffic?

It's standard practice to filter out traffic from your own company's IP address. This prevents you and your team from inflating visitor counts while working on the website. However, if this filter is set up incorrectly, you might accidentally be telling GA to ignore everyone, not just internal staff.

To check this:

In Admin > Data Streams > Your Stream, click on Configure tag settings.
Click Show all, then Define internal traffic.
Review the IP addresses that are listed. An incorrectly configured filter might be set up too broadly (e.g., filtering a wide range of IPs instead of a specific one). If you're not sure, it can be safer to disable the filter temporarily to see if data starts appearing.

Are You Looking at the Right Date Range?

This one sounds too simple to be true, but it happens all the time. After installing the tracking code, you might be looking at a report with the date range set to "yesterday" or "last week" by default. Check the date-picker in the top right of your GA reports and make sure it includes the current day (select "Today" or a custom range) to see the most recent data.

Check Content Security Policy (CSP) Errors

If your website has a strict Content Security Policy (a security feature to prevent certain types of attacks), it may be actively blocking external scripts, including the ones from google-analytics.com and googletagmanager.com. This is more common on custom-built or highly secured websites.

The easiest way to check for this is to use the developer console in your browser. Right-click on your site, select "Inspect," and click on the "Console" tab. Reload the page. If you see errors that mention CSP blocking a script from loading, you may need to ask your developer to whitelist Google's domains in your policy.

Your Best Friend for Troubleshooting: The Realtime Report

The fastest way to confirm whether your tracking is working is to use the Realtime report. It provides almost instantaneous feedback, sidestepping the 24-48 hour delay of standard reports.

In your Google Analytics account, navigate to Reports > Realtime.
Next, open up your website in a new tab or, even better, on your phone using cellular data (this avoids any IP filters).
Flip back to your GA Realtime report. Within a minute, you should see "Users" jump from 0 to at least 1.

If a visitor appears on the map and in the cards, congratulations! Your tracking code is working perfectly. The reason your other reports are at zero is simply due to the data processing delay. If you've just installed the code, sit back and check your reports again tomorrow. If nobody appears, then you know for certain that the problem lies with your code installation, and you should re-check the steps in the first section.

Final Thoughts

Seeing zero visits in Google Analytics when you expect traffic is frustrating, but the fix is usually straightforward. The problem almost always comes down to the tracking snippet being missing, misplaced, or blocked by another piece of technology. By systematically checking your code's presence with "View Page Source," verifying it with Tag Assistant, and using the Realtime report as your final test, you can quickly diagnose the issue and start seeing your data flow in.

Once you solve the technical setup and data starts collecting, the next challenge is turning all of those numbers into useful business insights without spending all day building reports. We built Graphed because we believe analyzing your marketing and sales data shouldn't require complex tools or hours of manual work. You can connect Google Analytics, your ad platforms, and CRM in seconds, and then just ask for the dashboards you need in plain English. Instead of wrangling data, you can get instant answers and get back to growing your business.