How is Google Analytics Set Up?

Google Analytics is one of the most powerful and widely used tools for monitoring and analysing website traffic. It allows you to track user behaviour, measure traffic sources, and gain insights into your website’s performance, which can help you make data-driven decisions for improving your digital marketing efforts. Setting up Google Analytics on your website can seem daunting if you’ve never done it before, but with the right steps and guidance, it becomes a manageable task.

This article will walk you through the step-by-step process of setting up Google Analytics on your website.

1. Create a Google Analytics Account

Before you can use Google Analytics, you first need to create an account. If you already have a Google account, you can use it to access Google Analytics.

Step-by-Step Process:

Step 1: Go to the Google Analytics website and click on the “Start for free” button.
Step 2: Sign in using your Google account. If you don’t have a Google account, you will need to create one.
Step 3: Once signed in, you will be prompted to set up your Google Analytics account. Click on “Set up for free” to begin the setup process.
Step 4: You’ll be asked to provide details such as your account name, website name, website URL, and the industry category of your site. This information helps Google Analytics organize and categorize your data.
Step 5: Select the appropriate data sharing settings for your account. You can enable or disable data sharing options, including sharing data with Google products and services.

2. Create a Property in Google Analytics

A property in Google Analytics represents the website or app you want to track. It acts as a container for the data you will collect from your website.

Steps to Create a Property:

Step 1: After setting up your account, you’ll be asked to create a property. Click on the “Create Property” button.
Step 2: You will be prompted to enter information about the property. This includes the property name (typically your website name), the website URL, the industry category, and the reporting time zone.
Step 3: Once you’ve entered all the necessary information, click on the “Create” button. This will create a new property in your Google Analytics account.

3. Get Your Tracking Code

Once you’ve set up a property, Google Analytics generates a tracking code that you need to install on your website. This tracking code is essential because it allows Google Analytics to collect and send data about your website visitors to your account.

Steps to Get Your Tracking Code:

Step 1: After creating your property, you will be taken to the “Tracking Info” section of your property settings.
Step 2: Click on “Tracking Code,” and you will see your Google Analytics tracking ID and the tracking snippet.
Step 3: Copy the global site tag (gtag.js) code provided by Google Analytics. This code needs to be placed in the <head> section of every page of your website.

4. Add Google Analytics Tracking Code to Your Website

Now that you have the tracking code, the next step is to add it to your website. The method of implementation will depend on how your website is built. Below are a few common scenarios:

Manual Installation (HTML Website):

If you’re working with a custom-built HTML website, you will need to add the tracking code manually.

Step 1: Open your website’s HTML files, and locate the <head> section of the page.
Step 2: Paste the tracking code just before the closing </head> tag.
Step 3: Save your changes and upload the updated file to your web server.
Step 4: Repeat this for all pages you want to track.

WordPress Installation:

If your website is built on WordPress, there are easier ways to add the Google Analytics tracking code.

Step 1: Install a Google Analytics plugin like “Monster Insights” or “GA Google Analytics.”
Step 2: After activating the plugin, go to the plugin settings and input your Google Analytics tracking ID.
Step 3: Save your changes, and the plugin will automatically add the tracking code to all pages of your WordPress website.

Using Google Tag Manager:

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is another option for adding tracking codes. GTM is a tag management system that allows you to manage multiple tracking tags in one place.

Step 1: Set up a Google Tag Manager account if you don’t already have one.
Step 2: Create a new container for your website.
Step 3: Add a new tag and select “Google Analytics: Universal Analytics” as the tag type.
Step 4: Enter your Google Analytics tracking ID and configure the tag to fire on all pages.
Step 5: Publish your changes, and Google Tag Manager will automatically inject the tracking code into your site.

5. Verify the Tracking Code Installation

Once you’ve added the tracking code to your website, it’s important to verify that it’s working correctly. Google Analytics has a few methods for confirming that your tracking code is properly installed.

Using Real-Time Reports:

Step 1: Go to your Google Analytics account and navigate to the “Real-Time” section under “Reports.”
Step 2: Open your website in a new tab and browse a few pages.
Step 3: If the tracking code is working, you should see your own activity reflected in the Real-Time reports.

Google Tag Assistant (Chrome Extension):

Google Tag Assistant is a Chrome extension that helps you troubleshoot and verify tracking tags on your website.

Step 1: Install the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension.
Step 2: Open your website and click on the Tag Assistant icon in the Chrome toolbar.
Step 3: The tool will show you a report indicating whether the Google Analytics tracking code is correctly installed.

6. Set Up Goals in Google Analytics

Goals are used to track conversions on your website, such as completed purchases, sign-ups, or any other action you want users to take. Setting up goals allows you to measure the effectiveness of your website in achieving business objectives.

Steps to Set Up Goals:

Step 1: In Google Analytics, go to the “Admin” section.
Step 2: Under the “View” column, click on “Goals.”
Step 3: Click on the “+New Goal” button to create a new goal.
Step 4: Select a template or create a custom goal based on the type of conversion you want to track (e.g., destination, duration, pages/screens per session, event).
Step 5: Enter the details of the goal, such as the URL of the page users visit after completing a purchase or a form.
Step 6: Click “Save” to activate the goal.

7. Link Google Analytics with Other Google Tools

To get more out of your Google Analytics data, consider linking it with other Google tools, such as Google Ads, Google Search Console, and Google Tag Manager.

Linking Google Ads:

Step 1: In Google Analytics, go to the “Admin” section and click on “Google Ads Linking” under the Property column.
Step 2: Select the Google Ads account you want to link and click “Continue.”
Step 3: Choose which views you want to link to Google Ads, and click “Link Accounts.”

Linking Google Search Console:

Step 1: In the Admin section, go to the “Property” column and click on “Property Settings.”
Step 2: Click on “Adjust Search Console” to link your Search Console account to Google Analytics.
Step 3: Follow the prompts to authenticate and link the accounts.

8. Set Up Enhanced Ecommerce (Optional)

If you run an ecommerce website, Google Analytics offers an enhanced ecommerce feature that provides in-depth insights into product performance, transactions, and user behaviour related to purchases.

Setting Up Enhanced Ecommerce:

Step 1: Enable enhanced ecommerce by going to the “Admin” section and clicking on “Ecommerce Settings” under the View column.
Step 2: Toggle on the “Enable Ecommerce” and “Enable Enhanced Ecommerce Reporting” options.
Step 3: You will also need to implement additional tracking code on your website to capture ecommerce interactions such as product views, add-to-cart events, and transactions.

9. Analyse Data in Google Analytics

After setting up Google Analytics and adding the tracking code to your website, it will begin collecting data. You can use the Google Analytics interface to view various reports and analyse your data.

Key Reports to Check:

Audience Reports: Understand your website visitors, including demographics, interests, location, and devices.
Acquisition Reports: See where your website traffic is coming from, whether it’s from organic search, social media, direct visits, or paid campaigns.
Behaviour Reports: Analyse user interactions on your website, including pageviews, bounce rates, and site content performance.
Conversions Reports: Track the performance of your goals, such as purchases or form submissions.

Conclusion

Setting up Google Analytics is a crucial step in gaining insights into how users interact with your website. By following the steps outlined above, you can successfully set up Google Analytics, implement tracking codes, and begin analysing the performance of your website. Whether you are running an ecommerce site or a blog, understanding the data provided by Google Analytics will help you make informed decisions to improve user experience, optimize marketing efforts, and ultimately achieve your business goals.