diff --git a/go/analysis/internal/checker/checker.go b/go/analysis/internal/checker/checker.go
index 1681570e..e70a5133 100644
--- a/go/analysis/internal/checker/checker.go
+++ b/go/analysis/internal/checker/checker.go
@@ -141,11 +141,11 @@ func load(patterns []string, allSyntax bool) ([]*packages.Package, error) {
 			err = fmt.Errorf("%d errors during loading", n)
 		} else if n == 1 {
 			err = fmt.Errorf("error during loading")
+		} else if len(initial) == 0 {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("%s matched no packages", strings.Join(patterns, " "))
 		}
 	}
-	if len(initial) == 0 {
-		err = fmt.Errorf("%s matched no packages", strings.Join(patterns, " "))
-	}
+
 	return initial, err
 }