You cannot fix or improve something if you do not know that something is wrong. This rule works for all aspects of one’s life, whether it is work, family, hobbies, or business. The last thing on this list will be in our spotlight today. Everyone who starts an enterprise does it with the expectation of becoming successful and earning money. As in the second quarter of the 21st century, many businesses moved online, making problematic areas and potential issues less obvious. The customer data tracking became a decent solution, but to ensure that the information you get is up to date and as full as possible, you need to constantly audit and check your setup. How to do that? This question is the reason why we are here today. 

Different ways to audit the website tracking setup 

There is no single ideal tool or method to verify that your tracking setup is functioning correctly. A website scanner to check for tracking resources would have been great, but there are not many options available for now. We will share 4 most effective methods that, to our mind, will allow you to clearly understand the downsides of your tracking setup and start working on fixing them. Do not hesitate to combine several of them to get the best results. 

Use a third-party tracking checker 

Some third-party tools allow you to audit your website tracking setup and identify the weaknesses. All the titles we mention here may work in different ways, but the idea is the same: to provide you with hints on how to improve the tags firing, cookie usage, data gathering, etc. 

  1. Website tracking checker. Stape, a popular server GTM hosting company, has recently presented a free website checker for tracking resources. It checks your tracking configuration and provides you with recommendations on how to improve it. To start using it, you only need to paste the link for your website into the checker’s search field, and in a couple of minutes, you will see a detailed report on all the issues, some of which you may have never known about, and some advice on how to improve the situation. 
  1. ObservePoint. This platform specializes in auditing and validating digital analytics implementations across basically all platforms and devices where it can be implemented.  When used, it ensures that all tracking tags, pixels, and data collection processes are functioning correctly and that the data delivered to the analytical platform is reliable enough.  Unlike Stape’s website tracking checker, it only identifies problems and does not suggest potential solutions or ways to improve your tracking setup. However, it identifies the problems pretty decently. 
  1. Tag inspector. This tool focuses on reviewing whether all the tags on your website are firing correctly. It provides detailed reports when a tag that works incorrectly is found, and by incorrectly, it considers missing or misfiring. One of its most prominent features is that it performs the audit in real-time, while the website operates in its normal mode. 

We cannot give any one-sided recommendation on which tool to use; if you have a chance, you can use all three one by one, as they do not conflict with each other. No audit is too much audit, we would say. 

Inspect the tags manually 

Checking all the tags running on a website manually is probably the messiest, but the easiest way to check if your tracking setup operates properly: 

  • it is free (unless you hire someone to do that for you); 
  • although it is not very simple and requires certain proficiency in the matter, it involves a minimal amount of side resources, and thus, may be the most reliable; 
  • it provides direct and immediate feedback. 

To use this method, you mainly need a browser. Open a page and inspect its code. Tags are usually located in the header, so focus all your attention on the top part of the code. Be aware that the more complex your setup is, the more time you will spend checking it, and the higher the possibility of mistakes will be.  

Use the Google Tag Manager preview mode 

GTM preview mode is a feature designed specifically for real-time diagnostics of all your tags, even before launching them live. When activated, you can observe the tags firing and interacting with your website. This allows you to determine if the correct tags are triggered for specific user actions and whether any elements are missing from your setup. In addition to that, you can also view the detailed information about triggers, data layers, and variables used for all the events on the chosen page.  

Using the preview mode allows you to inspect and identify where the problems are, rather than guessing what might have gone wrong in your setup. This not only reduces the time needed for the audit but also increases its quality as you get a chance to test your setup “in the field” without actually having to launch it live. Thus, it does not affect your traffic and your customers’ user experience. 

However, its advantages are also disadvantages. It is always great to be able to test long-term, but the preview mode works only for the current session, meaning that when you begin a new one, you will start debugging from scratch. Nevertheless, it is an excellent tool for the development and QA stages. 

Using validation tools 

Validation tools are quite a vast notion, which in our case mainly includes tag validation tools and server-side tracking validation.  

  1. Tag validation tools are used to verify that all tags are firing as expected and are implemented correctly. Popular representatives of this category are Google Tag Assistant, Facebook Pixel Helper, and Tag Manager Injector. They provide you with detailed information on how the tag behaves and fires, and alert you if any inconsistencies are noticed. 
  1. Server-side tracking validation refers to the process of ensuring that data is delivered to the platform without loss or interference. Considering that more and more companies are switching to server-side tracking, server logs and inbuilt server-side GTM debugging tools faithfully serve this goal. 

Depending on the configuration of your setup, you can stick to the first or the second category. Validation tools are easy to use and provide you with clear information on your setup. Thus, depending on whether you use client- or server-side tracking, use one type or the other to gain a deeper insight into the effectiveness of your tracking build. 

Conclusion  

Never neglect your tracking setup audit, as only by reviewing all the tags and configurations will you know whether everything is fine or what problems you have. Some tools, like the GTM preview mode, are great for checking the setup during one session. Others, like Stape’s website tracking checker or tag inspector, are perfect for analyzing the effectiveness of the configuration more globally. Our final word would be to use several ones, compare the results, and take the best recommendations from all the sources. All methods are great if you want to improve the tracking results and make your business more successful, aren’t they?