How to Know If Your Tracking Is Broken: Symptoms and Checks
Diagnostics and decisions · 4 min read · by Anna Viggeborn
You rarely get an error message when tracking breaks. You get a number that looks slightly wrong, and a team that argues about it.
Symptoms worth investigating
- Conversions fall in Meta while your own sales stay stable.
- GA4 revenue changes sharply right after a tag release.
- Purchase events rise without more orders.
- The gap between platform and store widens beyond its normal range.
- Performance changes the same day as a consent or checkout release.
- Reported ROAS moves with no visible change in the business.
A weekly ten minute routine
Write the two gaps down as percentages each week. A stable gap is fine. A moving gap is the earliest warning you will get.
When to escalate
If a gap moves more than ten points in a week without an explanation, stop making budget decisions on that channel until you know why.
Not sure whether you have a performance problem or a signal problem?
Your performance may be fine. Your signals aren't.
Run a free Milestic Signal AuditContinue the diagnostic path
Why did my ROAS suddenly drop?
Six checks that separate a real drop from a measurement drop.
GA4 vs Meta discrepancy
They measure different things. Learn when the gap is still a warning.
What are marketing signals?
The foundation. The chain from customer action to growth, and why signal quality decides how much you can trust your reporting.