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Why Google Tag Assistant Shows Errors for MonsterInsights (And How to Fix It)

15 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Monsterinsights

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If you're using Google Tag Assistant to check your MonsterInsights setup and seeing red errors like "No HTTP response detected" or "Missing analytics.js script," you're not alone. This is a common point of confusion that often has a simple explanation. This guide will walk you through why this happens and the most common fixes.

Why Am I Seeing These Errors?

The most frequent cause of these Tag Assistant errors is surprisingly simple: you are likely logged into your WordPress site as an administrator.

By default, MonsterInsights is configured to not output its tracking code for users with certain roles, such as Administrators and Editors. This is a deliberate feature to prevent your own site visits from skewing your analytics data. When you are logged in, the tracking code is suppressed. Tag Assistant then scans the page, can't find the expected code, and reports it as missing or erroneous.

How to Properly Test Your Tracking Code

Before you make any changes, you need to verify if there is a real problem. To get an accurate reading from Tag Assistant, you must view your site as a regular visitor would.

  1. Log out of your WordPress admin completely.
  2. Open your browser's incognito or private browsing mode.
  3. Navigate to your website and run the Tag Assistant again.

If the errors disappear and the tracking code is detected (usually with a blue or green status), then your MonsterInsights setup is working correctly. The initial errors were a false positive caused by being logged in.

What If The Errors Persist When Logged Out?

If you are logged out and still see errors, the issue is often related to caching. Caching plugins or server-level caching can serve old versions of your pages that do not include the newly added MonsterInsights tracking code.

Common caching plugins include:

  • WP Rocket
  • W3 Total Cache
  • WP Super Cache
  • WP Fastest Cache
  • Autoptimize

Common hosts with built-in caching:

  • SiteGround
  • WP Engine
  • Pagely

Solution: After installing or configuring MonsterInsights, you must clear all your caches. This means clearing your caching plugin's cache and any server-level cache provided by your host. After clearing the cache, test again in an incognito window.

Other Potential Causes

  • JavaScript Optimization: Some caching/optimization plugins have settings to combine or minify JavaScript files, which can sometimes move the tracking code from the <head> section to the footer. If Tag Assistant reports the code is "outside of the <head> tag," try disabling JS combination/minification settings in your optimization plugin.
  • Conflicting Tracking Code: Another plugin or theme might be adding a second, conflicting Google Analytics tag. The "Code present more times" error can indicate this. Deactivate other analytics plugins to resolve the conflict.
  • Cloudflare: As seen in one thread, a Cloudflare app was injecting tracking code. Check any external services like Cloudflare for analytics settings that might be duplicating the tag.

Summary and Next Steps

  1. First, always test logged out or in a private browser window.
  2. If issues persist, clear all caching on your site and hosting.
  3. Check for conflicts with optimization settings or other plugins that insert analytics code.

Following these steps will resolve the vast majority of "missing code" errors reported by Google Tag Assistant for MonsterInsights users.

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