April 11, 2019
Why is my Google Analytics tag in GTM displayed as “still running”?
Over the course of the last several days, this issue became more popular than ever, therefore, I decided to write a quick blog post. So here’s the problem: you enable Google Tag Manager Preview and Debug mode and see that a certain (or maybe multiple) Universal Analytics tag is displayed as “still running”.
You refresh the page but the tag is “still running”.
You open your Google Analytics real-time reports to check whether the hit has reached its destination but no luck. The event (pageview or something else) was not received.
So where’s the problem?
I’m not sure about what are ALL the possible causes of this problem but I can definitely tell you the most common one. Check where you have inserted Google Analytics Settings Variable in your Universal Analytics tag.
When you create a Universal Analytics Tag, you need to set the destination GA property which will receive those events/pageviews/hits. There are two options how to do that in GTM:
- You can enter the tracking ID (UA-XXXXXX-XX) in the Tracking ID field
- Or you can set that ID in the Google Analytics Settings Variable and then pick that variable in the designated field within Universal Analytics Tag.
Both options are correct and will work fine. However, some people tend to mix them and, therefore, break the tracking implementation. Usually, they insert a Google Analytics Settings Variable in the Tracking ID field and that will never work.
Tracking ID field supports only values of the following structure: UA-XXXXXXX-XX. However, GA Settings Variable is an object that contains multiple data points and settings (custom dimensions, GA tracking ID, cookie settings, cross-domain tracking configuration, etc.).
Google Analytics Settings Variable must be inserted ONLY in the GA Settings drop-down. No other field in the Universal Analytics tag template will support it, especially Tracking ID.
So go back to the Google Tag Manager interface, open the tag that is always “still running” and check where have you inserted the GA settings variable.
UPDATE: if this blog post did not help
If your case is different and “still running” is caused by another issue (not GA Settings Variable), Simo Ahava has published this guide. Maybe you’ll find the answer there.
Final words on this “still running” issue
I totally agree with Simo Ahava that this issue should be fixed by the GTM team. There should be some sort of validation in place that checks where GA Settings variable is allowed to be inserted. That could prevent many people from wasting their time asking for help or googling.
Honestly, I have already lost the count of how many people have contacted me (or asked for help in GTM communities) regarding this issue.
Let’s hope that this will be eventually fixed from Google Tag Manager’s end. But in the meantime, I hope that you found this blog post useful. If not, please let me know in the comments and I’ll see what I can help you with.
11 COMMENTS
I have encountered the Still Running issue. In my case it was an old Optimize tag that broke some GA tags. Suggestion if you read this post: review all tags in your GTM and pause the ones that you no longer use.
Thanks Raphael, mine was also the Optimize tag!
Thanks so much for the help (and the advice in the comments)! So glad I found your page.
This isn't entirely true. You don't have to manually input the GA property ID in the "Tracking ID" field in "UA-XXXXXXX-XX" format. You can use a custom variable for your GA property ID in the Tracking ID field as long as the variable is set up as a "Constant" and not set up as a "Google Analytics Setting Variable". :)
https://www.simoahava.com/analytics/google-analytics-settings-variable-in-gtm/
But the constant variable will still output the UA-XXXXXXX-XX in that field, therefore I'm not wrong :)
I didn't mean you were wrong, it's just the way it's explained here could be confusing to some people new to GTM/Google Products if they don't yet know to make the connection that a "Variable" like {{GA Property ID}} will send a set "Value" like "UA-XXXXXX-XX" to Google Analytics.
I bring this up coming from the perspective of someone who learned GTM with 99% of my info from sites like yours and Simo Ahava's (thank you both). Learning how to use products on the Google platform can be soul-crushingly confusing with the endless number of terms we have to learn. It's easy for experienced users to jump from term to term (rightfully so) and skip out on seemingly obvious pieces of information when offering great info like this. Just lookin' out for my n00b GTM brothers and sisters in the trenches just starting out.
Thanks for all you do! Seriously you have been a life saver when I was on the brink of tears (on several occasions) a few years ago learning GTM for the first time. <3
I have an issue with Floodlights Tag = Still running
For both Page View event and Click event. The tag info is 100% correct.
The client has a bunch of tags in the GTM and hardcoded on their page. Where could the problem be? And does "Still running" for the Floodlight mean that it is not firing?
Sorry, don't know the reasons for doubleclick tags not working. Still running means that the tag is not fired.
Most likely it is related to your tag's settings. Try tweaking them and see which field is causing issues.
Hi thanks for this, it solved my problem big time!
I was wondering if you could put out the steps for adding the Vimeo Video views as a goal? I can't seem to make it work! What would the Category, Label, and Action be? I matched it to the GTM tag but get no results!
I already did something similar https://www.analyticsmania.com/post/google-analytics-goals-not-working/
Hi thanks! I actually figured it out by reading some other blogs (that don't tell you directly either). I found the trick to know how to setup Goals in Google Analytics that work 100%!
Just sharing what I found to work:
After setting up the GTM to work as Event in GA go to Real-time view and execute the Event on the website. Watch how the Real-time view logs the Event Category and Event Action as you trigger the event on the website. Whatever it says in Event Category and Event Action, use those as the Goals setup!
This saved me from a very bad day. Thanks for your help!