Good website tracking means five things are true: Google Analytics records visits, conversion tracking counts real sales or enquiries, the Meta Pixel sends the right information, your cookie banner controls all of it, and you can explain why your numbers differ. You can test most of this yourself in an hour or so.
What does website tracking actually do?
A tag is a small piece of code on your website that tells a service, such as Google Analytics, that something happened. Tags show which ads produce customers. Ad platforms also use that information to decide who sees your ads, so a broken tag can hurt results as well as reports.
How do I check Google Analytics is working?
- See yourself arrive. In Analytics, go to Reports, then Realtime. Visit your site on your phone, accept cookies and click around. Activity should appear within a minute or so. Google says a brand new set-up can take up to 24 hours.
- Check it’s installed once. Google warns that running both the Google tag and Tag Manager can overcount. Its free Tag Assistant tool shows what’s loading.
- Check the ID. The Measurement ID under Admin, then Data streams, should match the one on your site. A wrong ID is one reason reports stay empty.
- Check your key events. These are the actions that matter to your business, such as a purchase or enquiry. Go to Admin, then Data display, then Events, and open the Key events tab. An empty list means Analytics can’t tell you what’s working.
- Allow for delay. Standard reports can take 24 to 48 hours.
Is conversion tracking counting real sales?
Conversion tracking tells Google Ads that a click became a customer.
- Go to Goals, then Conversions, then Summary. Your main actions should say Active. Misconfigured means recording has stopped.
- Actions marked Primary should be real sales or enquiries, because Google uses them for bidding.
- Sales should be counted as Every and leads as One, which is Google’s own guidance.
- Under Admin, Account settings, Auto-tagging should be on. Without it, paid visits can show up in Analytics as something else.
- If you sell online, compare a few recent order values with what Google recorded.
Why is my Facebook Pixel not working?
The Facebook Pixel is now called the Meta Pixel. To test it, go to Events Manager, then Data sources, select your pixel or dataset and open Test events. Enter your web address, open the site and click around, keeping the test page open.
Meta also has a free Chrome and Edge extension called Meta Ads Data Advisor, which used to be Meta Pixel Helper. The usual causes of trouble are:
- You haven’t accepted cookies. If your banner works, the pixel should stay quiet until you do.
- An ad blocker is on. Switch it off for the test.
- The code is missing or misplaced. It belongs in the head section of every page you track.
- The code is on the page twice. Meta lists this among common set-up errors.
- Button clicks don’t appear. Data Advisor can miss them, so check Test events before assuming a fault.
- Reports are behind. Meta says data can take 30 minutes or more to appear.
Some sites also use the Conversions API, which sends events from your server. If the browser sends the same sale too, it needs deduplication, which stops it counting twice.
Does your cookie banner meet UK rules?
The rules sit in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). They cover cookies, tracking pixels and tags. The ICO finalised its guidance in April 2026, after the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 changed the law. This is our reading of it, and it isn’t legal advice.
Advertising tags need consent. The ICO says online advertising purposes need consent, with no exceptions, and that includes measuring ad performance. It also lists linking a visitor to a purchase to share with advertising partners. We read that as covering the Meta Pixel and Google Ads conversion tags, so they should wait until someone agrees. Server-side tags are covered too, wherever information is stored on or read from a device.
Analytics may not need it, but the exception is narrow. You can now run analytics without consent if it’s solely for statistics to improve your own site. The information must be aggregated so it can’t identify people, you must explain it clearly and offer an easy, free way to object, and any provider must only be helping you. It doesn’t cover tracking individuals, or linking a purchase journey to an ad someone clicked. If your Analytics feeds your advertising, assume you need consent, and ask your adviser.
Check your banner against the ICO’s expectations:
- Refusing is as easy as accepting.
- Non-exempt tags stay off until someone accepts. “By continuing to use this site” doesn’t count.
- You name the third parties you share data with.
- People can withdraw consent as easily as they gave it.
- You don’t treat browser settings alone as consent.
Then test it. Clear your cookies, load your site and press nothing. Data Advisor should show no Meta events. Press reject and nothing should change. Press accept and a PageView event should appear.
Google’s consent mode passes visitors’ choices to Google tags, but it doesn’t provide a banner. In basic mode, tags wait for a choice. In advanced mode, they load straight away and send cookieless signals if consent is refused, so take advice on that option. Google’s own policy also requires valid consent from UK visitors.
As the site owner, you hold primary responsibility. The ICO can now fine up to £17.5 million or 4% of global turnover under PECR, and says it will use those powers for the most serious cases.
What should I do when the numbers disagree?
Expect some gap, because each system counts differently. Attribution, meaning how a sale gets credited to an ad, is a big reason. Google says differences, often of up to 20%, are to be expected between Google Ads and tools like Analytics.
Start from your own sales records, which are the only source that knows who actually paid.
| What you see | Likely reason | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads and Analytics differ | Different attribution, and Google Ads reports conversions by click time | Compare over a full month, allowing 48 hours for processing |
| Meta and Google claim the same sale | Each credits itself, and Meta’s default can count people who only viewed an ad | Never add the figures together |
| More clicks than Analytics sessions | Different things are counted, or redirects and auto-tagging interfere | Check auto-tagging, then test your landing pages |
| Analytics shows fewer sales than your till | People refusing cookies, browser settings and offline orders | Accept a steady gap and track the trend |
| Reported sales are higher than real sales | A duplicate tag, the wrong count setting, or no deduplication | Check each one in turn |
| Everything drops suddenly | A website change or new banner broke a tag | Check statuses and retest the same day |
A steady gap you can explain is fine. A sudden change isn’t.
Questions people ask
Do I need cookie consent for Google Analytics in the UK?
Possibly not, if your set-up fits the ICO’s narrow statistics exception and visitors can object. Set-ups linked to advertising may not fit. Until an adviser confirms yours does, asking for consent is the safer choice.
Will a cookie banner lower my numbers?
Yes. People who refuse aren’t fully measured. Google can model some missing conversions if your tags collect enough data, but those are estimates, so keep your own sales records as the base.
How often should I check my tracking?
We’d check after every website change, new banner or checkout update, and have a quick look monthly.
What to do next
Work through the list, with your web developer if you have one. Our Tracking and measurement page sets out what we can do if you’d like help, and Goals may help you decide what’s worth tracking first. If you’d like your tracking looked at alongside your ads, our Ads health check is £425 for one ad account, with fixes in plain English and a 30-minute walkthrough. Other work starts from £85 an hour using credits, as our prices page explains. The legal wording on your banner stays with you and your advisers.
Related guides
- How to audit your ad account, step by step
- Which part of your marketing funnel isn’t working?
- Before you spend more on Facebook and Instagram ads, make these six checks
This guide is general information based on publicly available sources, correct when written in November 2026. It isn’t legal, financial or tax advice, and ad platforms change their rules and menus often, so check the latest guidance before you act.