Google Analytics is a very powerful tool for any business looking to perform well online. It is a resource that allows you to dig deeper into the performance and advanced information on your website. Having a website without google analytics is like shooting in the dark. You might hope that people are visiting your website but there is no way to know without some kind of analytics set in place.
Google Analytics allows us to:
- See how many visitors are finding our website
- Analyze the behavior of those on our website
- Find errors and issues that might be hidden under the scenes
- Optimize for conversions and higher search rankings
- Find out more information about who is entering our website and why
- Discover how people are finding our website whether it be from direct search, social media, or other referring outlets
- Etc.
These are all of the reasons that it is incredibly important to set up google analytics. Just how can we go about getting Analytics installed on our website. Each website platform has a different method required but they all work in a similar way.
Setting Up Your Analytics Account
The first thing that you will need to do will be to go to the Google Analytics home screen and log in to your Google Account. Then click “Admin” in the lower-left corner of the Analytics Dashboard.
Then click on to add “New Property” in the center column.
Click on Web, or the other options if those apply to your business.
From there add in your website name, URL category, and time zone.
After this, it will give you a specific code that you will need to add to your website. Once you have followed these steps simply copy the analytics code and we will apply this code to your website in the next step. What this code will do is allow Google to record and export the data found from your website into the Analytics Dashboard.
Adding the Code onto your website
No matter how you built your website you will need to add this Google Analytics code into your website header. This can sound complex but in most applications, there is a simple way to add the code without knowing any programming knowledge whatsoever.
WordPress
If you are using WordPress then you can simply download a plugin that will do this task for you. Our favorite plugin for easy Google Analytics installation is ExactMetrics. It makes it very simple to add in your Google Analytics code, simply paste it onto the plugin field and it will automatically add it into the correct section of your website.
If you want you can always insert the code yourself. Just be careful to make sure that you are placing it in the correct part of your WordPress code so that you do not break anything unintentionally.
Wix Website Builder
On Wix’s platform start by going to Marketing Integrations. From there go to Google Analytics and click “Connect”. At the top right of the screen click on Connect Google Analytics. From here you can paste your Analytics ID and then click Save. From here Google Analytics should start picking up your website data.
Godaddys Website Builder
In Godaddy website builder there is a fairly simple way to add the Analytics Code. Go into your website builder home and click on settings then go to Google Analytics. From there will need to place your code. This makes it very simple and easy to get set up with your analytics code.
Analyzing your Data
Once you have your code installed on your site the next step will be to analyze your website data. There are thousands of ways to use Google analytics to find what data matters most to you. Just remember that the more time you spend in the analytics dashboard the more that you will feel comfortable and expand your knowledge. Using this knowledge over time will help you to optimize your website for whatever end result you might be heading for.
We recommend digging through your analytics at least once a month to find out how your website is performing, where it is excelling, and where it is lacking. If you do more work on the digital side of your business then you should most likely read through your google analytics account once a week or more. Getting started with Google Analytics can be a difficult process but over time it will greatly make up for any time that you might have lost. If you need any assistance setting up your google analytics account or analyzing your data let us know and we would be happy to help in any way.