Google Analytics Audit Test #

142

Using Testing Environments

Why It Matters:

Critical to recording accurate data from your website and having functional reports.

Industries:

All

Checks For:

Utility

How powerful is your current implementation?

Insight Category:

Behavior

Can you tell what visitors are doing?

Google Analytics Audit logo

Background

A GA4 audit is essential for uncovering missing insights—key data points that organizations don't yet know and can act upon. A well-done audit evaluates both behavioral tracking and traffic attribution, ensuring each is accurate and useful. It also assesses whether the data collected truly supports business decisions and reporting.

Test Detail

This test checks whether Google Tag Manager (GTM) environments are being used to separate production from staging and development setups.

GTM Environments allow you to publish containers to different environments with unique GTM snippets, which is a best practice for:

  • Testing new tags and triggers without affecting live data
  • QA’ing event tracking in development before pushing to production
  • Preventing broken tags or bad data from leaking into your Google Analytics production property
  • Supporting reliable workflows across dev, staging, and prod teams

Check This Test for Free! Instantly.

Our free instant audit tool checks for 90 issues in 90 seconds.

Then gives you a prioritized list of items to tackle.

No cost, no sales call... just free goodness.
‍

Run a free instant audit
Google Analytics audit test results.

How to Conduct This Test

Basic Tests

  • In Google Tag Manager > Admin > Environments, check if additional environments (e.g., “Staging,” “Development”) are configured beyond the default “Live”
  • Look for:
    • Unique Google Tag Manager container snippets deployed for each environment
    • QA or preview processes aligned to these environments
  • In the site’s codebase, verify whether the GTM container snippet includes the correct environment parameters on staging/dev versions:
    https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-XXXXXX&gtm_auth=...&gtm_preview=...&gtm_cookies_win=x
  • In Google Analytics, examine DebugView while testing in staging—does data route to the correct property? Are test events isolated from production?
  • If Google Tag Manager is only configured in a single “Live” environment and used across all domains (dev, staging, prod), your analytics are likely being polluted with non-production data.

Automated, Free Audit

Want to check this automatically? Run our Instant Audit

Or hire a pro to implement a safe, scalable tag deployment strategy.

How To Fix

  • In Google Tag Manager:
    • Go to Admin > Environments, click New, and create “Staging” and/or “Development” environments
    • Publish container versions to those environments as needed
    • Use the generated custom GTM container snippets on your staging and dev sites
  • Adjust publishing workflow:
    • QA all changes in Staging before pushing Live
    • Use Google Tag Manager Preview Mode to test environment-specific behavior
  • Optionally, route dev/staging data to a separate GA4 property or data stream
  • Communicate with dev/marketing teams to avoid accidental deployment of tracking changes directly to production
  • Hire a pro to help you set up Google Tag Manager environments and build a reliable testing process that protects your live data and speeds up releases.

Tips from a Google Analytics Consultant

Focus on Insights

Every Google Analytics audit should result in a plan for more insights.

‍

An insight is:

  • something you don't know
  • and can act on to improve performance

The Goal

Identify and remove insight blockers. Don't get tempted to track things you can't act on!

Hire a Google Analytics Consultant
Google Analytics consultant