Having trouble seeing yourself in Real-Time reports?
In this guide, we’ll help you troubleshoot the most common reasons why you might not see yourself in your real-time view within Google Analytics.
Below are steps for users who have a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property or a Universal Analytics (UA) property, as indicated. If you’re not sure what kind of property you have, check out our guide to understand the differences between GA4 and UA.
Note: You can track into both a UA and GA4 property through ExactMetrics’ Dual Tracking feature. Learn How to Set Up Dual Tracking
ExactMetrics Doesn’t Track Admins and Editors by Default
If you’re logged-in while viewing your WordPress site, you’re currently not being tracked. This is a feature of ExactMetrics to avoid tracking logged-in Administrator or Editor users of your WordPress site.
You can log out and try again or use an incognito window to view your website.
User ID enabled views (UA only)
Real-Time reports are not compatible with User ID enabled view.
Mobile Users Tracking
Mobile device hits are usually batched to converse phone battery. This means Google Analytics will typically receive hit information every few minutes rather than instantaneously.
Additionally, hits are sometimes not sent to Google Analytics for up to 6 hours. Certain mobile devices throttle sending hits to this extent to converse battery life.
Caching Plugin
Are you using any of these plugin-based or server-based caching on your WordPress site?
- WP SuperCache
- WP Total Cache
- WP Rocket
- Pagely
- WP Engine
- Siteground
Once you’ve authenticated into ExactMetrics, you’ll need to make sure you’ve cleared your website cache.
Filter Issues (UA only)
Are you seeing a drop in traffic after setting up reporting-view filters?
We usually recommend that our customers use alternative methods such as segments to view reports.
When you set up a view, sometimes data can be filtered out accidentally. Check that your filters are configured properly within Admin » View Settings.
The ExactMetrics Performance Addon
Are you using the ExactMetrics Performance Addon? This is a great tool for high-traffic sites that are close to hitting the Google Analytics data cap, but it can have the side effect of hiding you from your real-time reports.
For example, if this was enabled and left at 50%, you’d see a 50% drop in reported traffic. As a result, if you were to test your site in real-time, you wouldn’t be able to see yourself if you happened to be part of the unreported 50%.
Campaign Attribution Error (UA only)
There is a possibility that during your single session, Analytics stopped recognizing your visit as coming from a certain campaign and instead you’re being counted as a direct referral. This tends to happen only with Real-Time reports, while other reports are attributed correctly.
This is caused by a change in the way Universal Analytics sends and stores campaign information for Real-Time reporting.
Cookie Plugin
If you’ve activated the EU Compliance addon to integrate with a cookie or consent plugin such as the CookieBot plugin, the Cookie Notice plugin, the CookieYes plugin, or Complianz, then any Google Analytics tracking will only work after you’ve consented to tracking, normally done by clicking the Accept button on the banner that appears when visiting your website.
You did it! Now you know how to troubleshoot why you’re not appearing in your Real-Time reporting views.
What’s next? Learn more in-depth about Real-Time Reports in Google Analytics here: Beginner’s Guide to Real-Time Reports in Google Analytics.