In this guide
- Audit in this order: inventory, consent, key journeys, platforms, server container, performance, documentation.
- Use a real order and a real lead as your test cases.
- Finish with a one-page report: what you found, what you fixed and what to do next.
A tracking audit tells you whether the numbers on your dashboards can be trusted. It is different from an SEO audit: it checks what the site sends, to whom, with what consent and with what quality. This page is a method you can follow in an afternoon for a small site and a few days for a large one. It complements Google Tag Manager audit and data validation techniques.
1. Inventory what is on the site
Connected in minutes
Add your domain, install the pixel, connect your ad platforms and watch the first events land.
2. Consent
3. Key journeys
Follow the real journeys: a product purchase, a lead form, a newsletter sign-up, a login. At each step, note the events that fire and the data they carry.
| Journey | Events to see | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | view_item, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, purchase | Value, currency, ID, items; fires once |
| Lead | generate_lead | Lead ID, source, fires once |
| Sign-up | sign_up | Consent recorded |
| Login | login | User ID, no personal data |
Watch events arrive, live
A sample feed. In Open Tracked you see the same stream for your own store.
4. Ad and analytics platforms
5. Server container
6. Performance
7. Documentation
A report template
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Summary | Three sentences: overall state, biggest risk, biggest win |
| Findings | A table of issues with severity |
| Fixes made | What changed and when |
| Remaining work | Prioritised list with owners |
| Numbers | Platform versus store before and after, if you have them |
Runs on your domain, anywhere
Your tracking runs on your own domain, so a visit from any country is handled the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What is a website tracking audit?
A check of every tag, cookie, event and platform connection on a site, covering consent, quality and performance.
How long does it take?
An afternoon for a small site and a few days for a large one.
What should I test with?
A real order and a real lead, in a clean browser profile.
What should the report include?
A summary, findings with severity, fixes made, remaining work and before and after numbers.
How often should I audit?
At least once a year and after major changes.
Do I need spreadsheets to read my results?
No. Once tracking is live, the Open Tracked analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit, and you can ask Ari, the built-in AI assistant, questions about your own numbers in plain words. Ari's allowance depends on your analytics plan.
Is Open Tracked different from Open Track or Open Space Track?
No. Open Tracked is the official name of our server-side tracking platform, and the website is opentracked.io. Many people search for it as Open Track, OpenTrack or Open Space Track. All of them lead to the same product: server-side Google Tag Manager hosting, first-party analytics and a CRM pipeline.
Fix your tracking at the source
Open Tracked hosts your server-side Tag Manager, keeps first-party cookies alive and shows what each ad is really worth.
The Open Tracked team
We build Open Tracked: server-side tracking hosting, analytics and the tools around them, for stores that spend on ads. Questions about this guide, or an idea for the next one?
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