If you’re new to the service, then you might find our How to use Google Analytics guide a useful read.
Visit the Apps Status Dashboard
Google has an official site where you can see if any of its various services are experiencing issues or downtime. This is called the App Status Dashboard and it should be the first port of call if you can’t access the Analytics site. The layout is somewhat basic, harking back to web design of yesteryear, but it does make ascertaining the current state of a service quite easy. In the left-hand column, marked Current Status, you’ll find the name of the services: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and whatnot. Scroll down and you should find Google Analytics.
To the left of each service there is a coloured dot. Usually this will be green, to let you know that everything is working as it should be. If you see an orange dot, this means that the service is suffering disruption of some sort. A pink dot is the one you don’t want, as it indicates that the service is down. You can also see how performance has been over the past few weeks by examining the columns to the right that are marked with dates.
If there appears a coloured dot in any of the date areas then this lets you know that something was wrong, and the severity of the problem. You can also click on the dots for a more detailed explanation of the issue.
Try an independent status checking website
Of course, you don’t have to take Google’s word for it. Those wanting a second opinion will find a variety of independent sites that can let you know the real-time status of a domain. These are all free of charge, and certainly worth bookmarking in your browser as they do come in handy. Our current favourites are Is It Down Right Now, Down Detector, and Is It Down or Just Me. Any of these will let you search for a site and then display not only its current status but also any known issues that have been affecting the service recently.
Check your internet connection
If you find that you can’t connect to Google Analytics, or any of the sites listed above, then there could be a problem with your internet connection. Try resetting your router, or toggling on and off the WiFi setting on your device to see if that clears the issue. Should problems persist, then it might be a good idea to contact your internet service provider to see if it knows of any disruptions to your service. There you have it. A few quick ways to see if Analytics is available. Don’t worry too much if the site is actually down. Google has an impressive track record of getting its services working again in rapid fashion. Maybe go for a short work, pop on the kettle, and hopefully Analytics will have magically reappeared once you return. Martyn has been involved with tech ever since the arrival of his ZX Spectrum back in the early 80s. He covers iOS, Android, Windows and macOS, writing tutorials, buying guides and reviews for Macworld and its sister site Tech Advisor.
