Have you started creating posts for your blog yet? If yes, I bet you’re anxious to know if people are visiting your site. Aren’t you? Well, in this post, I’ll show you how to set up Google Analytics so that you can see the number of people visiting your site.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool created by Google.
It shows who is visiting your site, where they are from, and which pages they like the most. That’s great!
And that’s not all. You’ll also get it for free. For real!
And there is a lot more in store for you when you install Google analytics?
For instance, you’ll get to know:
- How many people are visiting your site.
- The social platform directing visitors to your site. Is it Facebook, Pinterest, Google, or Twitter?
- The duration your visitors spend on your site.
- Which pages your visitors resonate with the most.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through my affiliate link. Here is my policy disclosure information.
This information will help you know how well your blog is performing.
And what to change so that your blog gets more visitors.
It’s satisfying to see your first visitors trickle to your website. You should have seen how I was beaming when I saw the first visitors coming to my blog!
Okay, that said, let me show you how to set up Google analytics. Let’s dive in:
Table of Contents
- Create a Google Analytics account
- Create Google Analytics Property
- Set up the Google Analytics tracking code
- Get your tracking code
- Install the tracking code
- Confirm Google Analytics is working correctly
- Using Google Analytics to analyze your website Traffic
- Conclusion
Create a Google Analytics account
To set up Google Analytics, first, you’ll need to open a Google Analytics account by going to marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/ and clicking on start for free.
You’ll get a prompt asking you to enter your Google account.
It’s okay to use your existing Gmail account.
But I’ll recommend that you open a custom Gmail account dedicated to your blog business.
With your custom Gmail account, follow the given steps and set up your Google Analytics account.
You’ll need to provide a Google analytics account name.
Don’t let that hustle you.
For instance, you could use your blog’s name for this.
Create Google Analytics Property
Once you set up your Google Analytics account, it’s time to create the Google Analytics property.
Simply put, each property in your analytics account stands for a set of data you want to track.
Let me explain this better with an example.
Say you run a personal finance management business.
For which you have a website to market your services.
Besides that, you also have an online application to help your clients perform accounting processes in real-time.
So, you have two sets of data, right? One for the website and the other for your application.
Well, if you’re going to track data from these data sets separately, you’ll need a Google Analytics property for each one of them.
Woah! Don’t sweat it out. As a new blogger, a single analytics property is enough to track all the data for your blog.
Okay, from now on, you should know that there are two types of Google analytics properties; Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics.
The Universal Analytics property is a feature in an early version of analytics, designed to track data only from websites.
While the Google Analytics 4 (G4A) property is an upgrade of the Universal Analytics property.
It’s more robust and can track data from both websites and applications.
So, if you are a new blogger, it’ll be good to stick with the Google Analytics 4 property.
Finally, with your analytics properties set up, enter your business information and accept Google’s Terms of service. A pop-up message with the word “Success” will appear, and you’re good to go.
Set up the Google Analytics tracking code
Get your tracking code
All right, your Google Analytics (GA) account is set up.
Now, you can get your GA tracking code and install it on your website.
See, a tracking code is a Javascript piece connecting your website to GA and enabling it to send your website’s visitors’ activity information to Google.
It’s good to note that if you’re using the Google Analytics 4 property, your GA account will generate Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX), together with the tracking code.
While for Universal Analytics property, you’ll get a Tracking ID (UA-XXXXXX) together with tracking code.
Well, let’s stick with the G4A property since it’s an upgrade of Universal analytics. Though, either way, the installation process is the same.
To find your Measurement ID, start by clicking on “Admin” on your dashboard’s left sidebar.
Then follow up by clicking on the Data streams button, which is in the Create property column.
You need to note that data streams include all the data you’ll be tracking from your Website. For instance, the number of visitors, where the visitors are coming from, and so on.
Okay, while still on Data streams, go ahead and select the web option.
Finally, enter your Website URL and stream name to create your stream. That’s it! You now have your Measurement ID.
All right! Now you know where to find your Measurement ID when you need it.
Depending on the type of web builder you’re using, the Measurement ID, maybe all you need to start tracking your website data.
This works because some web builders have Google analytics integrated into them.
So, all you need is to paste the Measurement ID in your web builder’s Admin section.
Examples of web builders where you only need the Measurement ID are Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, and Shopify.
However, if you’ll be using other web builders-I recommend using WordPress.org-you may need to install your Google Analytics tracking code on your website.
Here’s how to find your tracking code. Click on “Add new on-page tag,” as shown below.
You’ll see a snippet of Javascript tracking code starting with, <!—Global site tag (gtag.js) – Google Analytics –>.
And ending with </script>.
Well, that’s the tracking code we’ve been mentioning.
Install the tracking code
There are a couple of ways of installing it on your website. If you’re the techy type, and you coded your website from scratch, this is how you do it.
Install by Paste the tracking code after the opening head tag
Copy your tracking code from Google analytics.
Then go to each of your blog pages and paste it after the opening head tag.
So, when someone visits your blog page, the tracking code will immediately kick start as the page loads.
Firing up the tracking code sends signals to short pieces of software called cookies, which are in your visitor’s computer or phone.
The signals tell the cookies to track your visitor’s activities. And Show how they are interacting with your website. The cookies then send this information back to your GA account, where it’s stored.
But you can easily see the information as a report. That’s pretty cool!
Hey, don’t worry! We can’t all be tech-savvy, can we?
Installing the tracking code using the Google Analytics plugin
Well, do you know there is a hustle free way of installing your tracking code on your website?
Yep! There is. If you’re using WordPress, all you need, is to install a Google Analytics plugin.
The plugin will do all the heavy lifting of connecting Google Analytics to your website.
Okay, to use a plugin, first install it to WordPress. Then go to its settings, and locate the place where you can add the Measurement ID.
It’s as simple as that!
Here is a list of 5 of the best Google analytics Plug-ins for WordPress:
- MonsterInsights- It has a free version
- Analytify
- Google Analytics Dashboard for WP
- Site Kit by Google- it’s free
- ExactMetrics – It’s free
Installing the tracking code using Google Tag Manager
Yep! You can also install the tracking code using Google Tag Manager (GTM).
Now, GTM is also a free tool by Google. That conveniently installs several tracking codes in one place.
For instance, a business can manage Google Analytics, Facebook Analytics, and Google Ads across several websites without writing any code.
That’s quite convenient, Right?
Though, for a first-time user, it may take you a while to get the hang of it.
So, GTM is ideal for businesses run by teams, needing to monitor multiple campaigns, sometimes across several websites.
So, if you don’t fall in this bracket, I’ll recommend you stick to using Plug-ins.
Confirm Google Analytics is working correctly
All right! It’s time for the exciting part.
After installing the GA tracking code to your website, you’ll want to know if it’s working.
To confirm that you have set up everything correctly, go back to your GA account. And then Click on the “Real-time” button on the left sidebar. Finally, click on the overview button.
You’ll now get a report that shows you a real-time picture of activities on your website.
Although, the downside is that real-time reports have a limited scope.
See, once Google Analytics collects data, it takes a while to process and compile all the reports.
So, if you want reports for data tracking all activities, it’s good to wait for about 24 hours or so.
Now, you can try something out. Open your website in a new window that’s in incognito mode.
Then go back to your Google analytics tab, and repeat the steps for checking for real-time activity.
You’ll see a real-time change showing one active user. Well, that’s Google analytics saying it’s seen you on your website.
Using Google Analytics to analyze your website Traffic
Okay, are you through checking that your GA tracking code is up and running? That’s great.
Now, you can use it to crunch numbers that will enable you to measure your website’s growth.
See, GA is robust, and it will give you tons of metrics helpful in monitoring your website’s performance.
But, the key metrics you can’t afford to miss are:
- Real-time. The Real-time report will give you a count of visitors’ who are now on your website. Therefore, this metric will make sense if your website receives many visitors daily. But if you’re starting with a small audience, you won’t gain much.
- Audience. The audience report tells you who’s visiting your website. For instance, the report can describe your audience using attributes like their age, gender, and location. This information is compelling. Because it will help you package your content to suit your readers, and this can explode your traffic.
- Acquisition. The Acquisition report will give you an overview of the source of your audience.
- Behavior. This report will show you the pages visitors spend the most time on. And also their movement as they interact with different pages. This info is super important because it quickly shows you the content resonating with your readers and helps you plan your future content.
- Conversion. Finally, the conversion report shows you how you are achieving your website goals. So, if you have a product to sell, you’ll know how many you’re selling it. Or the report will also show you how many readers are signing up for your email list.
Conclusion
Okay, let’s wrap up. It’s super important to know that you need to Install Google Analytics to monitor the performance of your website.
So, If you want to know the demographics or location of people visiting your site, Google Analytics is the tool for you.
Again, if you want to know the impact of your products’ marketing campaign, well Google Analytics will show how many people have purchased your products.
And the beauty of it is that Google Analytics is free. Give it a shot!