Skip to Content
SupportTroubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Solutions to common issues with Ghost Metrics.

No Data Appearing

The most common issue — your dashboard shows no visitors or data.

Step 1: Verify Tracking Code Installation

Check that the tracking code is on your website:

  1. Open your website in a browser
  2. Right-click → View Page Source
  3. Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac)
  4. Search for ghostmetrics or _mtm
  5. Confirm the tracking code is present

If tracking code is missing:

  • Re-install following Installation Guide
  • Check if code was added to the correct template/location
  • Verify changes were published (especially for CMS platforms)

Step 2: Check for JavaScript Errors

  1. Open your website
  2. Press F12 to open Developer Tools
  3. Go to the Console tab
  4. Look for red error messages related to tracking

Common errors:

  • Script blocked by Content Security Policy → Update CSP settings
  • Script not found (404) → Check tracking code URL
  • JavaScript errors in your site code → May prevent tracking from loading

Step 3: Verify Network Requests

  1. Open Developer Tools (F12)
  2. Go to the Network tab
  3. Refresh your page
  4. Filter by your Ghost Metrics domain
  5. Check that the container script loads (status 200) and that tracking requests to matomo.php fire with status 200 or 204 — the tracking request is the real proof data is being sent

If requests are blocked or failing:

  • Check for ad blockers (disable temporarily to test)
  • Verify firewall isn’t blocking requests
  • Check Content Security Policy settings

Step 4: Test in Incognito Mode

Browser extensions and cached data can interfere:

  1. Open an incognito/private browser window
  2. Visit your website
  3. Check Ghost Metrics Real-time report
  4. You should see your visit within seconds

Step 5: Clear Caching

If your site uses caching:

  1. Clear your caching plugin’s cache
  2. Clear CDN cache (Cloudflare, etc.)
  3. Wait a few minutes
  4. Test again in incognito mode

Data Discrepancies

Your Ghost Metrics numbers don’t match other tools or expectations.

Ghost Metrics vs Google Analytics

Numbers will differ due to:

  • Different tracking methods — Each platform counts differently
  • Ad blockers — May block one platform but not another
  • Bot filtering — Different approaches to filtering bot traffic
  • Sampling and thresholding — GA4 samples exploration queries and withholds thresholded rows; Ghost Metrics reports are never sampled
  • Visit definitions — Both use a 30-minute timeout, but Ghost Metrics also starts a new visit when a visitor arrives via a new campaign and splits visits at midnight (site timezone)
  • Consent handling — Consent banners may gate the two tools differently

When both tools are configured correctly, differences of up to about 5–10% are expected. Consistently larger gaps usually indicate a configuration issue worth investigating — not “normal variance.”

Sudden Traffic Drops

If traffic suddenly decreased:

  1. Check tracking code — Was it accidentally removed?
  2. Website changes — Did a redesign or update affect tracking?
  3. Caching changes — New caching might be interfering
  4. Actual traffic change — Sometimes traffic legitimately drops

Sudden Traffic Spikes

If traffic suddenly increased:

  1. Bot traffic — Check visitor details for suspicious patterns
  2. New campaign — Expected traffic from marketing?
  3. Viral content — Content shared widely?
  4. Referral spam — Check referrer report for suspicious sources

Missing Recent Data

If very recent data isn’t appearing:

  1. Real-time reports and the Visits Log update within seconds — check there first
  2. Aggregated (standard) reports are processed on a schedule, so today’s totals can lag behind real time; this is normal
  3. Check if your date range includes today — most reports default to yesterday
  4. Verify timezone settings — reports use the website’s timezone, not your computer’s

Tracking Issues

Events Not Recording

If custom events aren’t appearing:

  1. Verify event code — Check syntax is correct
  2. Check trigger — Is the event trigger firing?
  3. Console logging — Add console.log() to verify code runs
  4. Tag Manager — If using TM, check tag is firing

Test event tracking from your browser’s console (on a page where tracking is loaded):

// Verify events work end to end
_paq.push(['trackEvent', 'Test', 'Test Action', 'Test Name']);
console.log('Event sent');

Then check Visitors → Visits Log (date set to today) for the test event on your visit.

Goals Not Converting

If goals aren’t recording conversions:

  1. Verify goal setup — Check configuration in Goals → Manage
  2. Test the trigger — Manually trigger the goal condition
  3. Check URL matching — For page-based goals, verify URL patterns
  4. Event matching — For event-based goals, verify event fires correctly

Campaign Parameters Not Showing

If campaign parameters aren’t appearing in reports:

  1. Verify URL format — Parameters must be properly formatted (mtm_campaign or utm_campaign is required for a campaign to register)
  2. Check for redirects — Redirects may strip parameters
  3. Parameter keys are lowercase — mtm_campaign works, MTM_CAMPAIGN doesn’t
  4. Values are normalized — campaign values are stored lowercase, so Facebook and facebook merge (this is expected)

Feature-Specific Issues

Heatmaps Not Loading

If heatmaps won’t display:

  1. A heatmap must exist first — data is only collected after you create a heatmap whose rules match the page
  2. Sample rate — at the default 5% rate, low-traffic pages fill slowly
  3. Page changes — if the page changed significantly, delete the stored screenshot so it recaptures
  4. Rendering issues — see the heatmap troubleshooting guide for CORS, CSS, and full-height-element fixes

Session Recordings Missing

If recordings aren’t appearing:

  1. A recording configuration must exist — sessions are only captured after you create a session recording
  2. Sample rate — below 100%, only that share of eligible sessions records
  3. Activity requirement — by default, sessions without a click and scroll aren’t recorded
  4. Sample limit reached — recordings end automatically at their configured session count
  5. Plan level — verify your plan includes Session Recordings

Form Analytics Empty

If form data isn’t appearing:

  1. Form identification — forms need a name or id attribute (or data-matomo-name); some embedded third-party forms need manual setup
  2. Sufficient data — need form interactions to show data
  3. Form changes — major form changes may affect tracking
  4. Plan level — verify your plan includes Form Analytics

Performance Issues

Dashboard Loading Slowly

If the dashboard is slow:

  1. Date range — Shorter date ranges load faster
  2. Browser — Try a different browser
  3. Internet connection — Test your connection speed
  4. Clear browser cache — May help with loading issues

Reports Timing Out

If reports take too long or time out:

  1. Reduce date range — Shorter periods process faster
  2. Simplify segments — Complex segments take longer
  3. Try later — Server load varies throughout the day
  4. Contact support — May indicate a larger issue

Access Issues

Can’t Log In

If you can’t access your account:

  1. Verify credentials — Check username and password
  2. Password reset — Use “Forgot password” link
  3. Account status — Contact your admin to verify account is active
  4. Browser issues — Try incognito mode or different browser
  5. Bookmarks — Ensure you’re using the correct URL

Can’t See a Website

If a website is missing from your list:

  1. Permissions — You may not have access to that website
  2. Contact admin — Request access if needed
  3. Correct account — Verify you’re logged into the right account

Can’t Edit Settings

If you can’t modify configurations:

  1. Role level — View role cannot edit anything
  2. Website permissions — You may not have edit access to this website
  3. Feature access — Some features require higher plan levels

Getting More Help

Before Contacting Support

Gather this information:

  1. Screenshot of the issue
  2. Browser and version you’re using
  3. Steps to reproduce the problem
  4. When it started happening
  5. What you’ve already tried
  6. Any error messages (exact text)

When to Contact Support

Contact support when:

  • You’ve tried troubleshooting steps without success
  • You see error messages you don’t understand
  • You need configuration help
  • You suspect a system issue

How to Contact Support

See Contact Support for:

  • Support hours
  • Response time expectations
  • Contact methods

Common Error Messages

”No data available for this date range”

  • Date range may be before tracking was installed
  • Website may not be receiving traffic
  • Tracking may not be properly configured

”You don’t have permission to access this”

  • Your user role doesn’t allow this action
  • Contact your admin for appropriate permissions

”Report could not be generated”

  • Try a shorter date range
  • Wait and try again
  • Contact support if persistent

Quick Fixes Checklist

Try these common fixes first:

  • Clear browser cache
  • Test in incognito mode
  • Disable ad blocker temporarily
  • Verify tracking code in page source
  • Check for JavaScript console errors
  • Verify correct date range selected
  • Confirm timezone settings
  • Try a different browser
Last updated on
FAQContact Support