How We Audit Your Tracking Infrastructure

What We Look For

• GTM container ID presence (GTM-XXXXXXX)
• Container loading correctly
• DataLayer initialization
• No duplicate containers
• Proper placement (head + body fallback)

Why It Matters

GTM is the foundation of modern tracking. Without it properly configured, all other marketing tags may fail to fire or fire incorrectly. Duplicate containers cause data inflation.

Pass Criteria

• Single GTM container detected
• Container loads without errors
• DataLayer present and initialized

Common Issues

• Multiple GTM containers (causes duplicate events)
• GTM blocked by consent before initialization
• Missing noscript fallback

What We Look For

• GA4 Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXX)
• Config requests to Google Analytics
• Enhanced measurement events
• Page view event firing
• Session parameters

Why It Matters

GA4 is the primary analytics platform for most businesses. Incorrect setup means missing visitor data, broken attribution, and flawed marketing decisions.

Pass Criteria

• Valid G- measurement ID detected
• Requests sent to analytics endpoint
• Page view event recorded

Common Issues

• Universal Analytics (UA-) still in use
• Duplicate measurement IDs
• Enhanced measurement disabled
• Cross-domain tracking not configured

What We Look For

• Google Ads Conversion ID (AW-XXXXXXX)
• Conversion linker tag
• Enhanced Conversions data (hashed emails)
• Remarketing tag
• Conversion action labels

Why It Matters

Without proper conversion tracking, Google Ads cannot optimize for actual business outcomes. Enhanced Conversions recovers 5-15% of lost conversion data.

Pass Criteria

• Google Ads tag detected and firing
• Conversion linker present
• Enhanced Conversions configured (if e-commerce)

Common Issues

• Enhanced Conversions not enabled
• Conversion tag without conversion linker
• Missing remarketing audience

What We Look For

• Consent Mode initialization
• Default consent state (denied/granted)
• ad_storage, analytics_storage parameters
• ad_user_data, ad_personalization (v2)
• Consent update after user interaction

Why It Matters

Consent Mode v2 is mandatory for EU advertisers since March 2024. Without it, you lose access to Google audiences and conversion modelling.

Pass Criteria

• Consent Mode detected in dataLayer
• All 4 consent signals present (v2)
• Default state set before GTM loads

Common Issues

• Consent Mode not implemented at all
• Missing v2 parameters (ad_user_data)
• Default state set after tags fire
• Consent never updates after banner interaction

What We Look For

• Meta Pixel ID detection
• PageView event firing
• Standard events (AddToCart, Purchase)
• Conversions API (CAPI) indicators
• Event deduplication setup

Why It Matters

Meta Pixel data loss can exceed 40% due to ad blockers and iOS restrictions. Without CAPI backup, your campaigns optimize on partial data.

Pass Criteria

• Pixel ID detected and firing
• Standard e-commerce events present
• CAPI evidence detected

Common Issues

• Only PageView event (no conversions)
• No Conversions API backup
• Pixel firing before consent
• Missing event deduplication

What We Look For

• LinkedIn Partner ID
• Insight Tag loading
• Conversion tracking setup
• Audience pixel configuration

Why It Matters

For B2B companies, LinkedIn is often the highest-value advertising channel. Without proper tracking, you cannot optimize for lead quality or attribute revenue.

Pass Criteria

• LinkedIn Insight Tag detected
• Tag firing after consent
• Conversion events configured (if applicable)

Common Issues

• Insight Tag not installed
• Only page views (no conversions)
• Tag blocked by consent management

What We Look For

• Consent Management Platform (CMP) detection
• Banner visibility and accessibility
• Pre-consent tag firing (violation)
• Consent signal propagation
• Cookie blocking effectiveness

Why It Matters

GDPR fines can reach 4% of global revenue. More importantly, a non-compliant banner means tracking fires illegally - data you collect may be unusable.

Pass Criteria

• CMP present and functional
• No tracking before consent
• Consent properly blocks/allows tags

Common Issues

• Tracking fires before consent given
• Banner present but doesn't block tags
• No "reject all" option visible
• Consent not communicated to GTM

What We Look For

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
• First Input Delay / Interaction to Next Paint
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
• Time to First Byte (TTFB)
• Total page load time

Why It Matters

Slow pages hurt conversion rates AND SEO rankings. Heavy tracking scripts often cause performance issues. We check if your tracking is slowing you down.

Pass Criteria

• LCP under 2.5 seconds
• CLS under 0.1
• INP under 200ms

Common Issues

• Tracking scripts blocking render
• Too many third-party tags
• Consent banner causing layout shift

What We Look For

• Server-side GTM container evidence
• First-party tracking endpoints
• Custom subdomain for tracking
• Server-side Meta CAPI
• Measurement Protocol usage

Why It Matters

Server-side tracking recovers 20-40% of data lost to ad blockers and browser restrictions. It's the future-proof solution for accurate marketing data.

Pass Criteria

• Server-side infrastructure detected
• First-party domain for tracking
• Proper proxy configuration

Common Issues

• No server-side tracking at all
• Client-side only (vulnerable to blockers)
• Server-side without first-party domain

What We Look For

• DataLayer object initialization
• E-commerce events (view_item, purchase)
• Product data structure
• User data for personalization
• Custom event implementation

Why It Matters

The data layer is how your website communicates with analytics. Without proper e-commerce data, you cannot attribute revenue to marketing channels.

Pass Criteria

• DataLayer initialized before GTM
• E-commerce schema followed (if applicable)
• Key events firing with correct data

Common Issues

• No data layer (GTM creates empty one)
• Wrong e-commerce event names
• Missing transaction values
• Currency not specified