How to add Google Analytics to your website
Adding Google Analytics takes seven steps. The main ones are to create a property in your own Google account, copy its Measurement ID, paste that ID into the field your website platform provides, and check that visits are being recorded. Google says many platforms have such a field, and that a site without one takes the Google tag as a piece of code instead.
Each sounding opens its section
- 01 1. Create the property in your own account 55 words
- 02 2. Find the Measurement ID 32 words
- 03 3. Add it to the website 81 words
- 04 4. Add it once 41 words
- 05 5. Confirm that data is arriving 42 words
- 06 6. Tell visitors 63 words
- 07 7. Give access properly 43 words
- 08 Questions people ask 124 words
- 09 Free competitor gap report 98 words
- 10 More guides 34 words
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- 613
- Site 366–1,117 · median 749.5
- Sections (H2)
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- Site 3–14 · median 9
- Internal links
- 9
- Site 1–36 · median 19
- File
- 70.9 kB
- HTML, uncompressed · of 83.6 kB budget · 0 scripts
1. Create the property in your own account
Sign in to Google Analytics with an account that belongs to the business, not to an employee or a supplier. Create a property for the website, and a web data stream for its address. The property holds the data, and whoever owns the account owns that record.
2. Find the Measurement ID
Google’s instructions are to open Admin, then Data streams, then the stream for the website. The Measurement ID is in the stream details. It begins with G-.
3. Add it to the website
Google says many website platforms have a field for the ID, and its advice is to paste the ID there. Look in the platform’s settings under analytics, marketing or integrations. On WordPress, Google publishes its own plugin, Site Kit, which makes the connection.
Where a platform has no such field, Google’s instructions are to paste the whole Google tag into the site using the platform’s custom code feature, so that it appears on every page.
4. Add it once
Two copies of the tag count every visit twice. Before adding the ID, check that an earlier setup, a plugin or a previous designer has not already installed one. View a page’s source and search for G-.
5. Confirm that data is arriving
Open the site in another tab, then open the Realtime report in Analytics. Your own visit should appear within minutes. Google says collection can take up to 30 minutes to begin after the tag is added.
6. Tell visitors
Analytics sets cookies. Privacy law in the UK and the EU has rules on telling visitors about cookies and on consent, and those rules have been changing, so read the current guidance from the regulator, which in the UK is the Information Commissioner’s Office. Website platforms provide a cookie banner for the purpose. Set it up before switching Analytics on.
7. Give access properly
Add colleagues, an agency or a developer as users with a role, and keep ownership. Our guide to sharing Search Console and Analytics access safely covers the roles. If the reports stay empty, see Google Analytics not showing data.
Questions people ask
Where do I find my Google Analytics Measurement ID?
In Analytics, open Admin, then Data streams under data collection, and select the website's stream. The Measurement ID is shown in the stream details and starts with G-.
How long does Google Analytics take to start working?
Google says data collection may take up to 30 minutes to begin. The Realtime report then shows visits within minutes, and the standard reports are processed over the following 24 to 48 hours.
Should Analytics be in my name or my web designer's?
Yours. Create the property in an account you own and add anyone else as a user, so that the record of your visitors stays with the business whoever works on the site.
Free competitor gap report
Analytics shows your own visitors and nothing about anyone else's. Name up to three competitors and we run their sites and yours through the same tests, then send you where each of them is ahead.
- Speed and technical health, side by side
- On-page SEO and site structure
- The content they are found for and you are not
- Who holds the searches that matter in your market
- A prioritised list of what to fix first
Request your free report by email
- Address
- contact@hadalmedusa.com
- Include
- your site; up to three competitors; where you compete