Google Analytics is a powerful free analytics tool that collects vital information about your web performance. It gives you detailed insights about your website to enable data-driven decisions for you.
This article will walk you through the best way to integrate Google Analytics into your WordPress. It is best for beginners as it doesn’t involve extracting or adding codes at the backend level.
So let’s get started.
Why add Google Analytics to WordPress?
It’s essential to understand how a WordPress website performs once it has been launched. The best way to do this is to use Google Analytics. This robust tool helps you identify the users landing on your website as well as how they interact with you at each phase as they move down the conversion funnel.
Let’s see how Google Analytics can help you track and improve your website performance.
- It helps you identify the source of your traffic by finding out where your visitors are located and what channel brought them here (social media, paid or organic search)
- It gives you an insight into your audience, including their preferences and interests, by tracking their interactions, time spent on a page, what pages they visited the most and what resources they downloaded.
- It helps you better understand your content by identifying which pages bring the most traffic.
- If you are an e-commerce store, you can also track the number of leads and conversions on your website. It can also follow the revenue generated in real-time.
- The data collected by the analytics can also be used to improve your website’s UX.
Different Ways to Add Google Analytics to WordPress
There are several methods to connect your WordPress with Google Analytics to track your users’ data. These include:
- Use plugins for WordPress that integrate Google Analytics.
- Use a code to connect WordPress with Google Analytics manually.
- Add Google Analytics and WordPress to Google Tag Manager.
- Perform a local synchronization of Google Analytics to improve performance.
A plugin is the best way to add Google Analytics to your WordPress account. The code is automatically inserted, so you don’t have to find the code, insert it, or worry about how to edit your website’s backend.
Read the step-by-step guide on integrating analytics on your website using a plugin.
How to Add Google Analytics to WordPress via Plugin?
If you don’t want to disturb the existing theme of your WordPress, you can use a plugin to facilitate the integration.
Several third-party integrations are available for the job, like MonsterInsights, GA Google Analytics plugin, and Site Kit by Google. You can choose a free or paid plugin depending on your requirements.
Follow the steps one by one to add Google Analytics to your WordPress website.
1. Sign up for Google Analytics Account
You need to sign up for Google Analytics before you can add it to WordPress. However, it’s a simple process that just needs your Google account.
To sign up for Google Analytics, follow these steps:
- First, log in to your Google account. (Visit the registration page if you don’t have a Google account or haven’t logged in yet)
- To set up Google Analytics for free, go to Google Analytics and click on the Set up for Free button.
- Create your account by entering your name, checking the box for Account Data Sharing, and clicking Next.
- Select the measurement method you wish to use in the next section. Go to the next page after selecting the Web option.
- Provide your website’s details, including your business name, main URL, type of industry, and the time zone you are in. Hit Create to complete the process.
- You will then see the Terms of Service for using Google Analytics. Check all the boxes and click I Accept.
- You are ready to use your Google Analytics account now!
2. Install and Activate The Plugin
As mentioned above, you can choose any third-party plugin. For this guide, we will be explaining how to install Google Analytics using MonsterInsights free version.
- To install the MonsterInsights free version, go to your WordPress admin dashboard and select Plugins » Add New.
- Look for the plugin by typing the name MonsterInsights in the search bar.
- Once you see the plugin in the list below, click the button Install Now.
- You will now see the plugin installed by WordPress. Following this, you will see that the Install Now button has changed into the Activate button. Click this button to activate your plugin.
- You’ll see a welcome screen as soon as the plugin is activated, as well as a new menu item titled Insights. Select the Launch the Wizard button.
- Choose a category for your website (a business website, a blog, or an online store). Once you choose the type, click Save and continue.
3. Connect Plugin with Your Account
The next step is to connect MonsterInsights with your Google and WordPress accounts. To do this:
- Select the Connect MonsterInsights button on the plugin window.
- The link will take you to Google accounts, where you can sign into your existing profile. (the one that was created in step 1).
- Log in with your email address/ Google account.
- Afterward, MonsterInsights will ask for access to your Google Analytics account.
- Continue by clicking the Allow button.
- Select the website you would like to track next to finish the connection.
- Enter your website here and click the Complete Connection button to finish the connection process.
4. Choose the Recommended Settings
In the next section, you’ll be prompted to choose the recommended settings for tracking your website.
Most websites would be okay with the default settings. You will also need to add the path of the affiliate link plugin you use to conceal affiliate links. That way, your affiliate links can be tracked in Google Analytics.
You can also specify who can see the reports in MonsterInsights. There are various WordPress roles available. To save your settings, click the Save and Continue button.
After that, MonsterInsights will present a list of features you can enable to track your website.
Either click on the Continue button or the Skip for now option.
6. Start Tracking Your Results
MonsterInsights will show you that tracking has been set up successfully on the next screen.
This will display the text validating that your WordPress is now connected to Google Analytics, your Tracking code is installed, and your data is currently being tracked.
Next, you’ll see the license key field.
Click the button Complete Setup without Upgrading for using the free version.
Congratulations on successfully adding Google Analytics to your WordPress website!
Key Takeaway
Integrating Google Analytics into your website can be a troublesome task, especially if you don’t know the basics of coding language.
However, with a third-party plugin, you can seamlessly do the job and start tracking your website performance right away.
Read these similar articles to learn more about optimizing your website:
Bing SEO Tips: 10 Tips to Rank Higher FAST
Google Alerts: Why You Need to Set It Up
How SEO and AdWords Work Together: A Complete Guide
![Do 301 Redirects Hurt SEO? [The Right Guide]](https://outburstmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Untitled-1024-×-647-px-1024-×-647-px-6.jpg)
![Best Dallas SEO Training Courses [2023 Guide]](https://outburstmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ssssssss.jpg)
![Best Denver SEO Courses [What You Need to Know]](https://outburstmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Untitled-1024-×-647-px-1024-×-647-px-4-2.jpg)
![Should You Buy Backlinks in 2023 [Everything You Need to Know]](https://outburstmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/backlinks1.png)
Does SEO Increase Sales Amount? – Outburst Marketing
[…] Best Way to Add Google Analytics to WordPress […]
Adobe Analytics vs Google Analytics: Which Is Best? – Outburst Marketing
[…] Best Way to Add Google Analytics to WordPress […]