Google Analytics is an analytics tool used to track and analyze website traffic. Hosted by Google and completely free, Google Analytics is one of the best platforms available to help website owners monitor their web traffic, activity, and sales.
It’s easy to get started with Google Analytics and set it up on your website. Follow along with this Google Analytics Setup Guide, plus bonus tips for how to get the most out of the platform.
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics (GA) is a website analytics tool for tracking traffic, website activity, conversions, sales, and user demographics. GA reports on the sources of traffic to a website, how much traffic is coming in, where users interact with various pages on a website, and a range of insights that are valuable to website owners.
GA has gone through several iterations, including Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4; the current version). Google has made adjustments to its tracking capabilities and analytics dashboard over time, but the value remains the same in allowing website owners to better understand their website performance.
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Who is Google Analytics For?
Whether you run a blog, service business, ecommerce store, online magazine, or any other type of site, GA can be used to analyze and, potentially, grow your traffic. Anyone with a website can benefit from Google Analytics. And you don’t need an analytics background in order to use it!
Google Analytics can be used for:
- Blogs
- Online magazines
- News sites
- Service business websites
- Ecommerce stores
- Educational websites
- Portfolio websites
- Forums and communities
- Directories and listings
- Real estate websites
- Healthcare websites
Read more: Top Benefits of Google Analytics (GA) for Law Firms
How to Set Up Google Analytics
Ready to set up Google Analytics? This guide makes it easy to implement Google Analytics 4 on your own in just a few simple steps.
Step 1: Create a Google Account
To get started with Google Analytics 4, you’ll first need a Google account. If you don’t already have one, visit accounts.google.com and click on “Create account.”
A Google account is essential because it serves as the gateway to all Google services, including Analytics, Google Ads, and Search Console. You can choose between a personal or business account; it’s recommended to create a business account if you plan to use GA4 for professional purposes.
Complete your registration by entering your name, email address, and other required details.
Bonus Tip: If you already use Gmail, you can use that account for Analytics. However, consider creating a separate account dedicated to your business if you typically use your Gmail account for personal matters. This will allow for better organization and access control.
Step 2: Start a Google Analytics account
Once you have a Google account, go to analytics.google.com and sign in using your credentials.
There, you will land on the Google Analytics homepage. Click on the “Start Measuring” button to begin creating your new Google Analytics account.
Name your account – preferably something that reflects your business or website name.
You can also configure data-sharing settings here. These settings determine whether you share your data with Google for account support and technical service purposes.
Bonus Tip: While the data-sharing options are optional, enabling them can be beneficial for receiving tailored insights and support directly from Google.
Step 3: Create a GA4 Property
After setting up your account, the next step is to create a Property. A “Property” in Google Analytics represents your website or app.
Click on “Create Property,” and fill in the details, such as the website/app name, reporting time zone, and currency. These settings ensure that the data collected is tailored to your location and business operations.
Bonus Tip: Set your property’s time zone to match your primary business location, even if your website serves a global audience. This ensures consistency when analyzing your data.
Step 4: Configure your data sources
The next step is to configure your data stream. Data streams are the sources from which GA4 collects your website or app data. Each GA4 property can have up to 50 data streams
For a website, click on the “Web” option and enter your site’s URL and stream name. GA4 will generate a Measurement ID, which you’ll need to integrate with your website (more on this in the next section).
Bonus Tip: If your website uses multiple subdomains (e.g., shop.yourdomain.com and blog.yourdomain.com), configure the stream to track activity across all these subdomains.
Step 5: Add the GA4 tracking code to your website
A tracking code is needed in order to effectively capture data from your website. GA4 generates this code for you.
First, copy the Measurement ID generated during your data stream setup.
Next, paste this tracking code into your website’s global site tag (gtag.js) within your HTML code.
Bonus Tip: If you’re using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, you can use a plugin to simplify this process. Also, you can double-check your installation by using the GA Debugger Chrome extension, ensuring data is being sent to your GA4 property correctly.
Step 6: Set up conversion events
GA4 uses “events” to track user interactions on your website. By default, GA tracks basic events like page views, but you can set specific conversion events according to your needs. For example, you can set events for users completing a purchase or signing up for your email newsletter.
To create an event, navigate to the “Events” section in your GA4 dashboard and click “Create Event.” You will be prompted to customize your desired conversions based on the desired action, destination page, etc.
Bonus Tip: Use descriptive event names (e.g., “purchase_completed” or “form_submission”) for better clarity when analyzing your reports. Clarity is key!
Step 7: Connect GA4 to other Google tools
Google Analytics integrates with other Google-owned tools, like Google Ads, Google Search Console, and BigQuery. These integrations enable seamless data sharing and advanced reporting.
To link GA to these tools, navigate to the “Admin” section, select your property, and click on “Setup Assistant” under “Property Settings.” Follow the prompts to complete the integration process.
Step 8: Test and verify your setup
Once everything is set up, verify that GA4 is collecting accurate data.
Look at the “Real-time” report to monitor live user activity on your site.
Test key interactions like form submissions or purchases to confirm they are tracked correctly.
This step ensures that your configuration is working as intended and reporting accurate data.
Bonus Tip: Conduct regular audits of your GA4 setup to identify and fix any data discrepancies or tracking issues.
Google Analytics Setup Tips for Better Insights
Google Analytics has many amazing features and capabilities. While your baseline setup can be pretty simple, there are advanced settings you can apply to get even more out of the platform.
Customize Your Reports and Dashboards
GA4 provides several predefined reports, but customizing your dashboards ensures they align with your unique business needs. Go to the “Reports” section and click “Customize.” Add or remove widgets, adjust metrics, and set filters to focus on the data most relevant to your goals. Use the “Exploration” feature in GA4 to create detailed, ad hoc analyses for deeper insights into user behavior.
Create Custom Audience Segments
GA’s Audience Builder tool allows you to create custom segments based on users’ behaviors, acquisition sources, and demographics. Doing this can provide clarity on what types of users are engaging with your website and how their interactions relate to your business goals. For example, you can segment users who make a purchase as “high-value customers”, and then you can tailor your marketing campaigns to better serve this audience.
Connect GA to Google Ads
If you run Google Ads, connecting GA to your Google Ads account will allow you to track the performance of ad campaigns and how they influence behavior on your site. The integration imports data such as conversions, impressions, keyword targeting, and more. This makes it easier to assess your campaign ROI and refine your ads based on what’s working/what isn’t.
To set this up, go to “Admin” in GA, then “Product Links”, and then “Google Ads Linking.” Once linked, you can analyze metrics across Google Ads and GA.
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