Firstly, there are many ways to add Google Analytics to your WordPress website. The basic premise is that you are adding a tracking code to the head of every page of the website and that code sends the data to your account in Google Analytics. There are many WordPress plugins available that will automatically apply this code to every page and will continue to add it to any new pages as you create them – making life very easy (phew!)
We will be using a plugin from Monster Insights as it is favoured by some of our web developer partners, it works and it is easy to use. Yes, it costs money but the security of having support available and regular updates that you get with a paid plugin protect against potential data loss or inaccurate reporting. There are, of course, other plugins available that can be found by simply searching “Google Analytics” in the WordPress plugin store.
1. It may seem obvious but if you want to add Google Analytics to your WordPress website, you’re gonna need a website to begin with.
2. Go to analytics.google.com and log in with a Google account.
3. If you haven’t got an Analytics account already, click sign up.
4. You should now have the new account set up page.
5. Under “Account Name” – enter the name of the website you want to track, i.e. “Business Name”.
6. Under website name, you can enter the business name again if you intend on only having one website. Alternatively, if you will have multiple sites in the future, let’s say for different regions it could be “My Business Name – UK website” – allowing you to later add “My Business Name – US website” and so on. For most people, they are only going to be concerned with one website so you can just name it “My Business Name”.
7. Copy your URL into the URL. Be sure to select the correct HTTP type (http / https – you can check this by simply opening your website in a new tab and seeing what appears the URL bar.
8. Next, select an appropriate industry category and time zone.
9. In terms of data sharing options, we would recommend leaving them all checked.
10. Now click “Get Tracking ID” – this is the unique code for your GA account. It will look something like UA-12345678-1.
11. Now go into the backend of your WordPress website, usually www.mywebsite.com/wp-admin/
12. On the LH side, go Plugins > Add New.
13. Search for Google Analytics by Monster Insights and select Install Now.
14. Once installed, on the LH sidebar there should be a new menu item called “Insights” – click here.
15. You can then authenticate your analytics profile using your Google account.
16. Once this is done, you can then select your Analytics profile in the drop down. Then click save.
17. This should now implement your tracking code throughout the website.
So, there you have it! How to add Google Analytics to your WordPress website. Google Analytics is a very powerful tool for understanding how users are interacting with your website so if you’d like some more help with this, why not take a look at our Google Analytics Training and Consultancy services?