Complete Tracking Audit Checklist: GA4, GTM, Google Ads | Adslytics

When to Run a Tracking Audit

Run a tracking audit when you notice conversion count discrepancies, after major website changes, when onboarding a new analytics client, or as a quarterly hygiene check. A systematic audit catches silent failures that could be corrupting your data without any visible error.

GTM Audit Checklist

✓ Only one GA4 Configuration tag exists (not two or more)
✓ GA4 Configuration tag has correct Measurement ID (verify against GA4 Admin → Data Streams)
✓ Google Ads Conversion Linker tag fires on All Pages
✓ No conversion tags have "All Pages" as their trigger
✓ Purchase/conversion tags have specific triggers (Custom Event or URL-based), not broad triggers
✓ All Data Layer Variables have correct key names (test in Preview Mode)
✓ No duplicate tags exist (check for multiple versions of the same tag name)
✓ Tags that should be inactive are paused, not just "never triggered"
✓ Container has no JavaScript errors (check Preview Mode for red tags)
✓ Consent Mode default state is set before GTM snippet

GA4 Audit Checklist

✓ GA4 property is sending data (Events report shows recent events)
✓ Internal traffic filter is configured for office IP addresses
✓ Conversion events are correctly marked (Admin → Events → Conversions)
✓ Custom dimensions are registered for all custom event parameters
✓ GA4 is linked to Google Ads (Admin → Product Links)
✓ GA4 audiences are published to Google Ads destinations
✓ Data retention is set to 14 months (Admin → Data Settings → Data Retention)
✓ No PII is being sent to GA4 (check for email addresses or full names in custom parameters)
✓ Cross-domain tracking configured if site spans multiple domains

Ecommerce Tracking Checklist

✓ Purchase events fire only on order confirmation page (not other pages)
✓ Transaction ID is present and unique in all purchase events
✓ Revenue value is correct (includes/excludes tax consistently)
✓ Items array is populated (not empty) in purchase events
✓ ecommerce: null is pushed before each ecommerce event
✓ No duplicate purchase events (test by refreshing confirmation page)
✓ GA4 ecommerce reports show transactions with items (not 0-item purchases)

Google Ads Conversion Audit Checklist

✓ Conversion actions are "Recording" status (Tools → Conversions)
✓ Conversion window covers your typical consideration cycle
✓ Primary conversion actions are business outcomes (purchase/lead), not micro-events
✓ Enhanced Conversions is enabled and showing match rate > 0%
✓ Remarketing audiences are building (audience membership > minimum threshold)
✓ Campaign conversion counts are consistent with backend orders within ~15%

Summary

A tracking audit is not a one-time activity — schedule quarterly reviews. Use GTM Preview Mode for live verification of all checklist items. The most commonly failed checks are: conversion tags with overly broad triggers, duplicate configuration tags, missing transaction IDs in purchase events, and Enhanced Conversions match rate at 0%. Fixing even two or three items from this checklist typically produces measurable improvement in attribution accuracy and Smart Bidding performance.

See our Conversion Tracking Fix service for a complete professional audit.

Need a tracking audit conducted by experts? Contact Adslytics.