How to Set Up Google Analytics: A Step-by-Step Guide

ways to use Google Analytics to analyze your web traffic Skiptocontent WhyHootsuite WhyHootsuite Whatmakesustheindustryleader Wherewe'vebeenandwherewe'regoing Howwe’redifferent Ourcommitmenttoeducation,yourbusiness,andtheworld Hootsuiteinthenews Whatwe’reuptonow MeasuretheROIofyoursocialmedia Getstartedwithsocialcommerce 5stepstoelevateyourbrandwithsocialcustomercare WhatWeDo WhatWeDo Publishandschedule Planyourpostswithease Engagecustomers Manageincomingmessagesfrommultiplesocialchannels Monitoractivity Stayinformedaboutmarkettrendsandcompetitors Advertisecontent Promoteyourorganiccontentandmanagepaidads Analyzeresults Measureyourresultsacrossallsocialnetworks HowaSocialMediaMakeoverHelpedaSmallBusinessDrivea108%IncreaseinSales Readcasestudy Seeitinactionwithafree30-daytrial Signupnow Pricing Resources Resources Learn Academy Industry-leadingcoursesandcertificationstoadvanceyourskills. Blog Tipsandtricksfromtheworld’smostwidely-readsocialmediamarketingblog. ResourceLibrary Researchandinsightsthatwillhelpguideyoutosuccessonsocial. Connect Webinars Interactivesessionswiththebrightestmindsinsocial. Events New! JoinusforsomefunonlineandIRL. Support Helpcenter BrowsehelparticlesandFAQs ContactSales Gethelpfromourteamofexperts FAQ AnswerstoallyourquestionsaboutHootsuite 16SnapchatStatisticsThatMattertoMarketersin2022 ReadtheArticle Needhelp LogIn Signup KnowinghowtosetupGoogleAnalyticswillhelpyouaccessawealthofinformationaboutyourwebsite’svisitors. KnowinghowtosetupGoogleAnalyticsisthefirststeptounderstanding: Whoyourwebsite’svisitorsare Whatcontenttheywanttoseefromyourbusiness Howtheybehavewhenbrowsingyoursite Thebestpart?GoogleAnalyticsisabsolutelyfree. Andonceyouhaveitimplemented,GoogleAnalyticsallowsyoutotrackandmeasureyourbusiness’trafficgoalsandprovetheROIofyourwebandsocialmediapresence. However,settingupGoogleAnalyticscanbehard(toputitmildly).Luckilyforyou,wehaveastep-by-stepguidefordigitalmarketersofanyleveltoeasilyandpainlesslysetupGoogleAnalytics. Beforewejumpintohowexactlytodothat,let’stakealookatwhatmakesGoogleAnalyticssogreat. TableofContents WhyyouneedGoogleAnalytics HowtosetupGoogleAnalyticsin5simplesteps Whattodoafteryou’vesetupGoogleAnalytics 5waystouseGoogleAnalyticstoanalyzeyourwebtraffic Conclusion Bonus:Getafreesocialmediaanalyticsreporttemplate thatshowsyouthemostimportantmetricstotrackforeachnetwork. WhyyouneedGoogleAnalytics GoogleAnalyticsisarobustandpowerfultoolthatprovidesindispensableinformationaboutyourwebsiteandvisitors. Withmorethan56%ofallwebsitesusingGoogleAnalytics,it’salsooneofthemostpopulartoolsouttherefordigitalmarketers—andforgoodreason.Thetoolallowsyoutoaccessawealthofinformationregardingyoursite’svisitors. Here’sjustafewpiecesofdatayoucangetfromGoogleAnalytics: Amountoftrafficyoursitegetsoverall Thewebsitesyourtrafficcamefrom Individualpagetraffic Amountofleadsconverted Thewebsitesyourleadscameform Demographicinformationofvisitors(e.g.wheretheylive) Whetheryourtrafficcomesfrommobileordesktop Itdoesn’tmatterifyou’reafreelancerwithahumbleblogorifyou’reabigcompanywithamassivewebsite.AnyonecanbenefitfromtheinformationinGoogleAnalytics. Nowthatyouknowhowgreatitis,let’sjumpintoexactlyhowtosetupGoogleAnalyticsforyourownwebsite. HowtosetupGoogleAnalyticsin5simplesteps SettingupGoogleAnalyticscanbetricky.However,onceyouhaveitsetup,youstandtogainatonofinvaluableinformationveryquickly. Thisispure80/20—withasmallamountofworknowyoustandtogaindisproportionaterewardslater. TosetupGoogleAnalytics,yousimplyhavetofollowthesesteps: Step1:SetupGoogleTagManager Step2:CreateGoogleAnalyticsaccount Step3:SetupanalyticstagwithGoogleTagManager Step4:Setupgoals Step5:LinktoGoogleSearchConsole Let’sjumpin. Step1:SetupGoogleTagManager GoogleTagManagerisafreetagmanagementsystemfromGoogle. Thewayitworksissimple:GoogleTagManagertakesallthedataonyourwebsiteandsendsittootherplatformssuchasFacebookAnalyticsandGoogleAnalytics. ItalsoallowsyoutoeasilyupdateandaddtagstoyourGoogleAnalyticscodewithouthavingtomanuallywritecodeonthebackend—savingyoutimeandalotofheadachesdowntheroad. Let’ssayyouwanttobeabletotrackhowmanypeopleclickedonadownloadablePDFlink.WithoutGoogleTagManager,you’dhavetogoinandmanuallychangeallthedownloadlinkstodothis.However,ifyouhaveGoogleTagManager,youcanjustaddanewtagtoyourTagManagertotrackthedownloads. First,you’llhavetocreateanaccountontheGoogleTagManagerdashboard. Enterinanaccountnameandclickcontinue. You’llthensetupacontainer,whichisessentiallyabucketcontainingallofthe“macros,rules,andtags”foryourwebsite,accordingtoGoogle. Giveyourcontaineradescriptivenameandselectthetypeofcontentit’llbeassociatedwith(Web,iOS,Android,orAMP). Oncethat’sdone,clickcreate,reviewtheTermsofService,andagreetothoseterms.You’llthenbegiventhecontainer’sinstallationcodesnippet. Thisisthepieceofcodeyou’llbepastingintoyourwebsite’sbackendinordertomanageyourtags.Todothat,copyandpastethetwosnippetsofcodeontoeverypageofyourwebsite.Astheinstructionssay,you’llneedtothefirstoneintheheaderandthesecondaftertheopeningofthebody. Ifyou’reusingWordPress,youcaneasilydothisbypastingthetwopiecesofcodeintoyourWordPresstheme. Protip:YoucanmakethisprocesseveneasierbyinstallingandactivatingtheInsertHeadersandFooterspluginforWordPress(orequivalentforothertypesofwebsites).ThiswillallowyoutoaddanyscripttotheHeaderandFooterthroughoutyourentirewebsite,butyouonlyhavetocopyandpasteitonce. Source:WPBeginner Oncethat’sdone,youcanmoveontoStep2. Step2:SetupGoogleAnalytics LikeGoogleTagManager,you’regoingtowanttocreateaGoogleAnalyticsaccountbysigningupontheGApage. Enteryouraccountandwebsitename,aswellasthewebsite’sURL.Besuretoalsoselectyourwebsite’sindustrycategoryandthetimezoneyouwantthereportingtobein. Onceyoudoallthat,accepttheTermsandServicesinordertogetyourtrackingID. Source:Google ThetrackingIDisastringofnumbersthattellsGoogleAnalyticstosendanalyticsdatatoyou.It’sanumberthatlookslikeUA-000000-1.Thefirstsetofnumbers(000000)isyourpersonalaccountnumberandthesecondset(1)isthepropertynumberassociatedwithyouraccount. Thisisuniquetoyourwebsiteandyourpersonaldata—sodon’tsharethetrackingIDwithanyonepublicly. OnceyouhavethetrackingID,it’stimetomoveontothenextstep. Step3:SetupanalyticstagwithGoogleTagmanager Nowyou’lllearnhowtosetupspecificGoogleAnalyticstrackingtagsforyourwebsite. GotoyourGoogleTagManagerdashboardandclickontheAddanewtagbutton. Youwillbetakentoapagewhereyoucancreateyournewwebsitetag. Onit,you’llseethatyoucancustomizetwoareasofyourtag: Configuration.Wherethedatacollectedbythetagwillgo. Triggering.Whattypeofdatayouwanttocollect. ClickontheTagConfigurationbuttontochoosethetypeoftagyouwanttocreate. You’llwanttochoosethe“UniversalAnalytics”optioninordertocreateatagforGoogleAnalytics. Onceyouclickonthat,you’llbeabletochoosethetypeofdatayouwanttotrack.Dothatandthengoto“GoogleAnalyticsSetting”andchoose“NewVariable…”fromthedropdownmenu. You’llthenbetakentoanewwindowwhereyou’llbeabletoenterinyourGoogleAnalyticstrackingID.Thiswillsendyourwebsite’sdatastraightintoGoogleAnalyticswhereyou’llbeabletoseeitlater. Oncethisisdone,headtothe“Triggering”sectioninordertoselectthatdatayouwanttosendtoGoogleAnalytics. Aswiththe“Configuration,”clickontheTriggeringbuttoninordertobesenttothe“Chooseatrigger”page.Fromhere,clickonAllpagessoitsendsdatafromallyourwebpages. Whenallissaidanddone,yournewtagsetupshouldlooksomethinglikethis: Bonus:Getafreesocialmediaanalyticsreporttemplate thatshowsyouthemostimportantmetricstotrackforeachnetwork. Getthefreetemplatenow! NowsimplyclickonSaveandvoila!YouhaveanewGoogleTagtrackingandsendingdatatoyourGoogleAnalyticspageaboutyourwebsite! We’renotdoneyet,though.Youstillneedtosetupyourgoals—whichbringsusto… Step4:SetupGoogleAnalyticsgoals Whileyouprobablyknowthekeyperformanceindicatorsforyourwebsiteandbusiness,GoogleAnalyticsdoesn’t. That’swhyyouneedtotellGooglewhatsuccesslookslikeforyourwebsite. Inordertodothat,youneedtosetgoalsonyourGoogleAnalyticsdashboard. StartbyclickingontheAdminbuttononthebottomleftcorner. Onceyoudo,you’llbesenttoanotherwindowwhereyou’llbeabletofindthe“Goals”button. Clickonthatbuttonandyou’llthenbetakentothe“Goals”dashboardwhereyou’llbeabletocreateanewgoal. Fromhere,you’llbeabletolookthroughdifferentgoaltemplatestoseeifonematchesyourintendedgoal.You’llalsoneedtochoosethetypeofgoalyouwant.Theyinclude: Destination.e.g.ifyourgoalwasforyourusertoreachaspecificwebpage. Duration.e.g.ifyourgoalwasforuserstospendaspecificamountoftimeonyousite. Pages/Screenspersession.e.g.ifyourgoalwastohaveusersgotoaspecificamountofpages. Event.e.g.ifyourgoalwastogetuserstoplayavideoorclickonalink. Fromthere,youcangetevenmorespecificwithyourgoalslikechoosingexactlyhowlongusersneedtospendonyoursiteinordertoconsideritasuccess.Onceyou’redone,savethegoalandGoogleAnalyticswillstarttotrackitforyou! Remember:ThereisawidevarietyofdatayoucantrackusingbothGoogleTagManagerandGoogleAnalytics.It’seasytogetlostinallthemetricsyoucantrack.Ourrecommendationistostartsmallwiththemetricsthatmattermosttoyou. Step5:LinktoGoogleSearchConsole GoogleSearchConsoleisapowerfultooltohelpmarketersandwebmastersgaininvaluablesearchmetricsanddata. Withit,youcandothingslike: Checkyoursite’ssearchcrawlrate SeewhenGoogleanalyzesyourwebsite Findoutwhatinternalandexternalpageslinktoyourwebsite Lookatthekeywordqueriesyourankforinsearchengineresults Tosetitup,clickonthegeariconinthelowerlefthandcornerofthemaindashboard. ThenclickonPropertySettingsinthemiddlecolumn. ScrolldownandclickonAdjustsearchconsole. Hereyou’llbeabletostarttheprocessofaddingyourwebsitetoGoogleSearchConsole. ClickontheAddbuttonandyou’llberedirectedtothispage.Atthebottom,clickontheAddasitetoSearchConsolebutton. Fromhere,you’llbeabletoaddanewwebsitetoGoogleSearchConsole.Enterinyourwebsite’snameandclickAdd. FollowthedirectionstoaddtheHTMLcodetoyoursite.Onceyou’redonewiththat,clickon“Save”andyoushouldbetakenbacktoGoogleAnalytics! Yourdatawon’tappearrightaway—sobesuretocheckbacklatertoseeyourGoogleSearchConsoledata. Whattodoafteryou’vesetupGoogleAnalytics Now,thereareatonofdifferentthingsyoucandowithGoogleAnalytics.Theworldofdataanalysisandwebmarketingisliterallyatyourfingertips. Hereareafewsuggestionsofthingsyoucando: Grantaccesstoyourteam Ifyou’reworkingwithateam,grantpermissionstomakesureotherpeoplecanaccessthedataonGoogleAnalytics. Toaddusers,yousimplyhavetofollowthesesixstepsfromGoogle: ClickonthegeariconinthelowerlefthandcornertogototheAdmindashboard Inthefirstcolumn,clickontheUserManagementbutton. ClickAddnewusers Entertheemailaddressfortheuser’sGoogleaccount Selectthepermissionsyouwanttograntthem ClickAdd Andvoila!Youshouldnowbeabletogiveothersaccesstoyourbusiness’sGoogleAnalyticsdata. LinkGoogleAdswithGoogleAnalytics IfyourbusinessusesGoogleAds,youcannowlinkthattoyourGoogleAnalyticsaccountsoyoucansee“thefullcustomercycle,fromhowtheyinteractwithyourmarketer(e.g.seeingadimpressions,clickingads)tohowtheyfinallycompletethegoalsyou’vesetforthemonyoursite(e.g.makingpurchases,consumingcontent),”accordingtoGoogle. Tolinkthetwoaccounts,followthesevenstepsbelow: ClickonthegeariconinthelowerlefthandcornertogototheAdmindashboard Inthe“Property”column,clickonGoogleAdsLinking ClickonNewLinkGroup ClickontheGoogleAdsaccountsyouwanttolinkwithGoogleAnalytics ClickContinue MakesurethatlinkingisonforeachpropertyyouwanttoseedatafromGoogleAds ClickLinkaccounts Withyouraccountslink,you’llhaveevengreateraccesstoinformationyouneedtodetermineyouradcampaign’sROI. Setupviews GoogleAnalyticsallowsyoutosetupyourreportssoyouonlyseethedataandmetricsthatmattertoyouthrough“views.” Bydefault,GoogleAnalyticsgivesyouanunfilteredviewofeachwebsiteinyouraccount.Thatmeansifyouhave,say,threewebsitesassociatedwithyouGoogleAnalytics,it’llallbesenttoonepropertywherethedataisaggregated. However,youcansetitupsoyouonlygetthedatayouwanttosee.Forexample,youcouldhaveaviewthathelpsyouseeonlyorganicsearchtraffic.Ormaybeyouwanttoseeonlysocialmediatraffic.Oryouwanttoseeconversionsfromyoutargetmarket. Allcanbedonethroughviews. Toaddanewview,simplyfollowthestepsbelow: ClickonthegearinthelowerlefthandcornertogototheAdmindashboard Inthe“View”column,clickCreatenewview Select“WebSite”or“App” Enteranamefortheviewdescribingwhatit’sfilteringfor Choosethe“ReportingTimeZone” ClickCreateView Onceyoucreateyourview,you’llbeabletoedittheviewsettingstofilterexactlywhatyouwanttosee. 5waystouseGoogleAnalyticstoanalyzeyourwebtraffic Nowthatyou’vesuccessfullysetupGoogleAnalyticsandlookedatsomewaystooptimizeit,let’sexploresomewaysyoucananalyzeyourtraffic. Ontheleftsidebar,youcanfindfivereportingoptionsthatofferyoudifferentwaysoflookingatyourwebtraffic. Let’stakealookateachnowandbreakdownexactlywhatyoucanexpecttofindinthem. Real-Timeoverview TheReal-Timereportshowsyouanoverviewofvisitorstoyoursiteatthatverymoment. Thereportevenbreaksdownhowmanypageviewsyouaregettingeachminuteandsecond.You’llbeabletotakealookatwhereyouraudienceiscomingfrom,thetopkeywordsyou’rerankingfor,andhowmanyconversionsyou’regetting. Thoughthiscanbeveryhelpfulforlargersitesconsistentlybringinginseveralhundred,thousand,ormillionvisitorseachday,it’sreallynotashelpfulforsmallerwebsites. Infact,youmightnotseeverymuchdataonthisreportatallifyoursiteissmallerand/ornewer.You’dbebetterofflookingatsomeoftheotherreportsonthislist. Audienceoverview ThisisoneofthemostpowerfulpiecesofreportingyoucanaccessfromGoogleAnalytics.TheAudiencereportsgivesyouinformationaboutvisitorstoyoursitebasedonattributesrelevanttoyourbusinessandgoals. Thiscanbeanythingandeverythingfromkeydemographics(e.g.location,age),returningcustomers,andmore. Youcanevengetreallyintheweedsandtrackvery,veryspecifictypesofaudiences.Forexample,youcouldtrackvisitorswhovisitedacertainlandingpageforaproductonyourwebsiteandthenfourdayslaterreturnedtobuytheproduct. Thisinformationisincrediblybeneficialfordoingthingslikecreatingbuyerpersonas,choosingtopicsthatyourvisitorsmightbeinterestedinforblogposts,andtailoringyourbrand’slookandfeelforthem. Godeeper:Here’showyoucancreateaudiencesonGoogleAnalytics. Acquisitionoverview TheAcquisitionreportshowsyouwhereyouraudienceiscomingfromintheworldaswellasonline. Ifyoufindthataspecificblogpostspikedintraffic,you’llbeabletofindexactlywhereonlinethevisitorstothatblogpostarecomingfrom.Forexample,aftersomedigging,youmightdiscoverthattheblogpostwaspostedinarelevantFacebookgroupthatreallyengagedwiththepost. TheAcquisitionreportisveryimportantandcanhelpyoudeterminetheROIofspecificmarketingcampaigns.Forexample,ifyourecentlystartedabigFacebookadvertisingcampaign,you’llbeabletoseehowmanyusersarecomingfromFacebooktoyourwebsite. ThisbetterinformshowyoushouldapproachsocialmediaandSEOmarketingcampaignsinthefuture. Behavioroverview TheBehaviorreportshowsyouhowyourusersmovethroughandinteractwithyourwebsite.Morebroadly,itshowsyouhowmanypageviewsyoursitegetstotal,aswellashowmanypageviewsindividualpagesonyoursitereceives. Thisbreakdowncanbeincrediblyvaluable.It’llshowyouexactlywhereyouraudiencespendsthebulkoftheirtimewhenthey’reonyourwebsite,rightdowntothewebpage.Divinginevenfurther,youcanseethe“BehaviorFlow”ofyourusers.Thisisavisualizationofthepathyourvisitorsmostoftentakeonyourwebsite. Thisfollowstheuserfromthefirstpagetheytypicallyvisitallthewaytothelastpagetheytypicallyvisitbeforetheyleave. Thiscanbeagoodwaytogutcheckyourassumptionsabouthowyourvisitorsapproachyoursite.Iftheyaren’ttakingadesiredpath(forexample,youwantthemtogotoaspecificlandingpageoraproductpagebutthey’renot),thenyoucanre-optimizeyourwebsitetohelpgetthemthere. TheBehavioroverviewalsogivesyouagoodbreakdownofeachpageindividually.Itshowcaseshowmanyviewsthosepagesaregetting,theaveragetimevisitorsspendonthosepages,aswellasuniquepageviews.Thiscanbeveryvaluableespeciallyifyou’releveragingSEOmarketingforyoursite. Conversionsoverview Thisiswhereyou’llbeabletoseetheimpactofallyourmarketingefforts.Itshowcaseshowmuchmoneyyou’reearningbyturningwebsitevisitorstocustomers. TherearethreedifferentreportsintheConversionstab: Goals:Thisisthesummaryofhowwellyourgoalsandconversionsareperforming.You’llbeabletoseethenumberofcompletionsalongwiththemonetaryvalueofeachone.ThisreportisalsocrucialbecauseyoucanuseittoquantifythevalueandROIofyourcampaigns. Ecommerce.Relevantifyouhaveanecommercestoreonyourwebsite.It’llshowyouyourproductsales,checkoutprocesses,aswellasinventory. Multi-ChannelFunnels.Givesyoualookathowdifferentmarketingchannelssuchassocialmedia,landingpages,andadvertisementsworkinconjunctiontoturnvisitorsintocustomers.Forexample,acustomermighthavepurchasedfromyouafterfindingyourwebsiteonasearchengine.However,theymighthavelearnedaboutyourbrandafterseeingyoumentionedonasocialmediafeed.Thisreporthelpsyoulearnthat. Thisisaveryimportantreportyoushouldbecomeveryfamiliarwithifyouwanttoimprovesalesoverall. Conclusion GoogleAnalyticsisamusthaveforanydigitalmarketer.It’llhelpyoutracktheperformanceofyourwebsitealongwithallyourdigitalmarketingcampaigns. Withityou’llbeabletodetermineROIandlearnmoreaboutyouraudience.Withoutit,you’llpracticallybesailingonanoceanwithoutacompassandamap(whichistosay,verylost). DrivemoretraffictoyourwebsitefromsocialmediausingHootsuite.Fromasingledashboardyoucanmanageallyoursocialmediaprofilesandmeasuresuccess.Tryitfreetoday. GetStarted ShowComments x Wellthisisawkward. WecouldhaveSWORNyouweresomeonewhowantedtogrowonsocialmediaandbeatyourcompetitors.Ourbad.We’lljustleavethis60-dayfreetrialhereforsomeoneelsethen… StartYourFree60-DayTrial Offerexpiresin04m 20s Cancelanytimewithin60days ThankYou