The Annual Analytics Health Check: A Downloadable Checklist

Why Your Analytics Needs an Annual Check-Up

Websites change. Marketing teams change. Platforms update their tracking requirements. What was working correctly twelve months ago may be broken, duplicated, or non-compliant today. An annual analytics health check is the most reliable way to catch these issues before they silently corrupt months of data.

This checklist covers every layer of a modern tracking stack -- GA4, Google Ads, GTM, paid social pixels, and consent compliance. Work through it once a year, or after any major site migration, platform change, or team handover.

Section 1: Google Analytics 4

Property Configuration

• Data retention is set to 14 months (not the 2-month default)
• Internal IP addresses are excluded via a filter
• Spam referrals are excluded from reports
• Custom definitions for key dimensions and metrics are documented
• At least one conversion event is marked as a primary conversion

Data Quality

• Session counts match expectations (check for anomalous spikes from bot traffic)
• Bounce rate and engagement rate look realistic for your content type
• No duplicate hostname traffic (both www and non-www appearing)
• Direct traffic percentage is below 20% (higher may indicate cross-domain issues)
• Source/medium attribution covers at least 80% of sessions

Event Tracking

• Key conversion events (purchases, leads, sign-ups) are firing correctly
• eCommerce purchase events include accurate revenue values
• Form submission events capture the form type or page
• Scroll tracking is enabled and thresholds are appropriate

Section 2: Google Tag Manager

• Container is published to production (not just saved in draft)
• No unused or legacy tags firing on live pages
• Triggers are scoped correctly -- no All Pages triggers for conversion tags
• Variables are documented and naming conventions are consistent
• Preview mode has been used to verify tag firing order
• Version history shows who published what and when
• Consent Mode is implemented with correct default settings

Section 3: Google Ads Conversion Tracking

• Conversion actions are imported from GA4 (not using legacy UA goals)
• At least one conversion action is set to Primary for Smart Bidding
• Enhanced Conversions is enabled and passing hashed customer data
• Conversion window matches your typical sales cycle length
• Attribution model is reviewed and appropriate for your business type
• Auto-tagging is enabled on the account
• Cross-account conversion tracking is configured if running multiple accounts

Section 4: Paid Social Pixels

Meta (Facebook/Instagram)

• Pixel is firing on all key pages (confirmed in Meta Events Manager)
• Conversion API (CAPI) is set up as a server-side backup
• Events are deduplicated between browser pixel and CAPI
• Event Match Quality score is above 6.0 in Events Manager
• Standard events (Purchase, Lead, CompleteRegistration) are using correct parameters

Other Platforms

• LinkedIn Insight Tag is firing correctly if running LinkedIn ads
• TikTok Pixel is configured with Events API backup if applicable
• All pixel implementations are reflected in your privacy policy

Section 5: Consent and Compliance

• Cookie consent banner is present and functional on first visit
• Consent Mode v2 signals are being sent before any tags load
• Tag firing is correctly blocked when consent is rejected
• Consent records are stored and auditable
• Privacy policy accurately reflects all third-party tools in use
• Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) are in place with all analytics vendors

Section 6: Technical Health

• Page load speed is not impacted by tracking scripts (test with/without GTM)
• No JavaScript errors caused by tracking code (check browser console)
• Tags load in the correct order (consent before tracking)
• No broken dataLayer pushes (test with GTM Preview)
• Tracking behaves correctly on mobile devices

What to Do With Your Results

After completing this checklist, categorize your findings into three buckets: critical issues (fix immediately), medium-priority gaps (fix within 30 days), and future improvements (add to your roadmap).

Critical issues are anything that's causing data loss, double-counting, or legal non-compliance. These should never wait. Medium-priority gaps affect data quality but don't make your reporting completely unreliable. Future improvements are optimizations that will improve performance but aren't breaking anything today.

Run this health check every January, after every major website rebuild, and whenever you onboard a new marketing team member or agency. Your analytics stack is the foundation every business decision rests on -- it deserves the same maintenance attention as any other critical piece of infrastructure.