Half the money I spend on marketing is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half
Google Analytics enables you to understand what’s going on with your website, helping you answer questions like:
- How many people visit my website?
- Where do my visitors live?
- What websites send traffic to my website?
- What marketing tactics drive the most traffic to my website?
- Which pages on my website are the most popular?
Here’s how to easily setup Google Analytics on your website.
Set up Google Analytics
Sign up for a new Google Analytics account
Skip to the next section if you already have a Google Analytics account.
Start by signing up for a Google Analytics account at analytics.google.com. Click the Sign up button and follow the steps to create your Google Analytics account, and add your website. Accept the Terms of Service to complete the sign up process. You’ll be sent to the Tracking Code screen for your website.
Ignore the instructions about copying and pasting the code into your website – we’ll simplify that step with a handy plugin.
Add another website to an existing Google Analytics account
If you already have a Google Analytics account, you’ll want to add a new Property. In Google Analytics, a property represents a website. You can have multiple properties (websites) in your Google Analytics account.
Sign in to Google Analytics at analytics.google.com. Click Admin in the bottom left of the screen. Click Create Property and follow the instructions. At the end of the process you’ll be sent to the Tracking Code screen for your website.
Install Google Analytics tracking code with the PixelYourSite plugin
We recommend using the free PixelYourSite plugin to easily and correctly install Google Analytics on your website. While other plugins may have more features, PixelYourSite features a dead-simple setup, good privacy features and does not require you to register for intermediary accounts.
Proceed to Plugins → Add New and search for “PixelYourSite”. Install and activate the plugin.
Once activated, the plugin adds a PixelYourSite menu item to the dashboard menu on the left of your screen. Navigate to PixelYourSite → Dashboard. Paste the Tracking ID from the previous step into the Google Analytics field.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Save Settings.
Privacy settings
If you operate in a country where you must limit the personal data collected from your visitors, you should perform these additional steps.
Navigate to PixelYourSite → Google Analytics Settings and enable the Anonymize IP setting. Don’t forget to save settings.
Install and activate the Cookie Notice for GDPR & CCPA plugin. Navigate to PixelYourSite → GDPR and activate the Cookie Notice plugin integration.
Read more about how to get your website GDPR compliant
You’re done!
You have successfully completed the installation of Google Analytics on your website. All you have to do now is wait for enough data to be compiled. Check your analytics reports again after 24 hours to view collected data.
Get more out of PixelYourSite
We highly recommend learning about PixelYourSite’s Google Analytics features. Besides Google Analytics, it can also add tracking code for the Facebook Pixel, Pinterest tag, Google Ads and Bing UET.
The Pro version will give you powerful advanced features like multiple pixels, track any clicks and interactions, the ability to hide pixels on specific pages and more.
Other plugins
While we suggest the PixelYourSite plugin, there are other options available too. See: The 4 Best Google Analytics Plugins For WordPress.
Many of these plugins offer premium upgrades. If you are just starting out, the free version is sufficient. Later on, you may want to upgrade to Pro versions. Keep an eye out for promotions, especially during Cyber Mondays – you may be able to snag incredible deals on the Pro versions!
