How to Install Google Analytics
Last Updated on May 26, 2021 by Georgie Peru
Okay so you have a website that you are about to launch, you have created loads of awesome content, you have some of the best features that you can have for a website and you’re ready to roll. You know that your visitors are going to love your website because you spent aging crafting unique, high quality content that is focused on your target audience.
What you should always remember is that it is important to effectively measure any kind of marketing method, whether it is an email campaign being measured for click throughs, or how many visitors are viewing each page on your website. These are key measurements of how well your marketing is working.
Google Analytics is a hugely popular choice when it comes to tracking website usage, partly because it is so easy to use and partly because it is free.
If you’re new to using Google Analytics, then here are some simple steps you will need to take to get up and running:
– Visit https://www.google.com/analytics to sign up for a new account. If you already have a Google account, you can use that one so you don’t need to create another account.
You might also want to take a quick look at the demo video to give you a better understanding of how everything works.
– Once you have either created your new account or signed in with your existing Google account, the following screen will then be displayed:
– For the purposes of this article, we are looking at tracking website usage but you can also use Google Analytics to track mobile app usage. You will be given the following fields to select from:
– Select ‘Website’.
– Enter an account name for the website you want to track (if you want to track several websites then make sure you can differentiate between each one easily).
– Enter the website name and URL, followed by the type of business from the drop down list. Make sure that you select the correct time zone.
– The next section covers data sharing details which basically gives Google permission to access your data to provide analytical data and support, as well as using it for benchmarking. If you have any concerns about how your data will be used then read the privacy policy.
– Once you have selected your data sharing options, you can generate your tracking ID by clicking on the button at the bottom of the page:
– Read through the Terms of Service and if you are happy, click on the ‘I Accept’ button.
– You will then be presented with your unique tracking ID with the code that you will need to paste into any page on your website that you wish to track. The ID looks like UA-12345678-1 in terms of format.
– Familiarise yourself with some of the settings and if you want to monitor organic searches (where people have found you using a search engine), there is any area to add more than the default list of search engines.
At this point you will have successfully set up your account details ready to start using Google Analytics.
– You now have the choice between manually entering your code into your WordPress site or opt for one of the many plugins that will do it all for you.
A popular choice is the Google Analytics Dashboard for WP. So you need to go to Add New Plugin within your WordPress site and find the plugin that you want to add. Install your plugin as you normally would (you can get more advice on how to install a plugin) and you will get the following page:
– Because you have already set up your Google Analytics account details, all you need to get started is to click Get Access Code. Copy the code that you are given into the Access Code field and you are ready to go.
You will be able to see a Google Analytics section has been added to your dashboard and you can find all of your website usage information in here.
