WordPress Google Analytics is a popular integration that allows website owners to leverage the power of Google Analytics within their WordPress sites. By combining the capabilities of WordPress and Google Analytics, users can gain valuable insights into their website’s performance, audience behavior, and marketing efforts.
Benefits of Using Google Analytics for WordPress:
- Actionable Insights: Google Analytics provides a wealth of data on website visitors, such as their demographics, interests, and browsing patterns. This information helps website owners understand their audience better, identify popular content, and optimize marketing strategies.
- Performance Tracking: Tracking key performance metrics, including page views, bounce rate, session duration, and conversion rates, allows website owners to evaluate the success of their content and marketing efforts. Understanding which pages perform well and which need improvement aids in refining the user experience.
- Goal Setting and Conversion Tracking: Google Analytics allows setting up and tracking specific goals, such as form submissions, downloads, or e-commerce transactions. Monitoring these goals helps measure the effectiveness of different website elements and marketing campaigns.
- Improved User Experience: By analyzing user behavior through Google Analytics, website owners can identify pain points and optimize the user experience. This leads to higher engagement, longer sessions, and increased chances of achieving conversion goals.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Having data-driven insights facilitates strategic decision-making. Website owners can identify areas of improvement, develop content strategies, and allocate resources effectively based on data rather than assumptions.
- Regulatory Compliance: As data privacy regulations become more stringent, it is crucial to ensure compliance with privacy laws. By configuring Google Analytics to respect user privacy and providing opt-out options, website owners can maintain regulatory compliance.
- Easy Implementation: Integrating Google Analytics with WordPress is relatively straightforward. It can be done manually by adding the tracking code to the website’s header or through various plugins that simplify the process.
What all can you see in Google Analytics?
When you embark on blogging, your primary objective is to attract more traffic and subscribers. This is where Google Analytics becomes invaluable by providing you with the data that truly matters, enabling you to make informed decisions. With Google Analytics, you gain insights into:
Audience Insights: Who visits your website?
Analytics reveals the geographical location of your audience, their preferred browsers, screen resolutions, JavaScript and Flash support, language preferences, and more. This data is highly beneficial, allowing you to tailor your website design to be compatible with your audience’s preferences. For instance, if most users lack Flash support, you can avoid incorporating Flash elements. If the majority has a screen resolution of 1280, you can ensure your design is suitable for that resolution or smaller.
User Behavior: What do people do on your website?
You can track users’ navigation paths, the duration of their visits, and the bounce rate (the percentage of users who leave your site after the first visit). Utilizing this information, you can reduce the bounce rate and increase pageviews. Additionally, you can identify your most popular articles, underperforming content, and understand what type of content your users are seeking.
Timing: When do people visit your website?
By analyzing peak hours of activity on your site, you can determine the optimal time to publish your posts. If the peak hours align with a different time zone, you can schedule your content accordingly.
Traffic Sources: How do people find your website?
This section reveals the sources from which users discover your site, such as search engines, direct links, or referrals from other websites. It provides a breakdown of the percentage of visitors from each source. For search engine traffic, you can identify which search engines generate the most traffic (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.). Analyzing referral sources helps you prioritize collaborations with sites that drive the most traffic. For example, if Facebook is your top referral source, consider creating exclusive Facebook content to engage your Facebook audience. If an external website is a significant referral source, explore opportunities for partnerships like guest post exchanges.
Content Interaction: How do people engage with your content?
Google Analytics illustrates user interactions with your site’s content, including click-through rates on various links and more. You can conduct A/B split tests through content experiments within Google Analytics, enabling you to identify the most effective strategies for achieving your goals. By understanding user interactivity and analyzing the answers to the above questions, you can focus on strategies that work well for your site and discard those that don’t.
How to Sign Up with Google Analytics
Step 1: Visit the Google Analytics website and click the “Get started today” button.
Step 2: Sign in with your Google or Gmail account. If you don’t have an account, create one.
Step 3: On the welcome screen, click the “Start measuring” button. Following that, you’ll be prompted to enter an account name. This name will be used internally, so you can choose anything that represents your business, such as your business name.
Google Analytics will also present you with multiple account data sharing settings. These settings offer you control over the sharing of your Google Analytics data. You can opt to keep the default settings and proceed to the next step.
Step 4: Create a Google Analytics property. Choose between Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or Universal Analytics. Enter a property name, reporting time zone, and currency. Click “Next.”
Scroll down to the next section and indicate how you plan to utilize Google Analytics for your business. This may include measuring engagement, optimizing advertising costs, increasing conversions, and more.
You can select multiple options or choose all of the available options that align with your requirements. Once you have made your selections, simply click the ‘Create’ button. Specify your intended use for analytics.
After clicking the ‘Create’ button, a popup window will appear displaying the Google Analytics terms of service agreement.
To proceed, please check the box for ‘I also accept the Data Processing Terms as required by GDPR’ and then click the ‘I Accept’ button.
Step 5: Select an industry category and business size. Specify how you plan to use Google Analytics for your business, such as measuring engagement or optimizing advertising costs. Click “Create.”
Step 6: Enter your website URL and stream name. Enable the Enhanced measurement option if desired. Click “Create stream.”
Step 7: View your Stream URL, name, and Measurement ID. Note down the tracking code provided or keep the browser tab open for future reference.
Within Google Analytics, you will find various methods to add the Google Analytics code to your WordPress website in the ‘Tagging Instructions’ section.
By selecting the ‘Global site tag (gtag.js)’ option, you will be presented with the Google Analytics tracking code. Details of tagging instructions
You can copy this tracking code as it will be required for entering it into your WordPress site, depending on the method you choose below. Alternatively, you can keep this browser tab open and easily switch back to copy the code when necessary.
Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights
“MonsterInsights stands out as the most popular plugin, trusted by over 3 million websites, including renowned brands like Bloomberg, PlayStation, Zillow.”
Whether you’re a beginner or an expert user, MonsterInsights offers the easiest and most effective way to integrate Google Analytics with WordPress. It even provides a Dual Tracking feature, enabling you to add both Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4 to your website without any coding required.
While MonsterInsights offers a premium version with advanced features like eCommerce tracking and ads tracking, we’ll be using the free version for this tutorial. The setup process remains the same for both versions.
Step 1: To begin, install and activate the MonsterInsights plugin. If you need guidance, refer to our comprehensive guide on installing WordPress plugins.
Once activated, you’ll notice a new ‘Insights’ menu item added to your WordPress admin menu, accompanied by a welcome screen. Click the ‘Launch the Wizard’ button to proceed. Initiate the setup wizard. Clicking the button will open the MonsterInsights setup wizard.
The first step is to select a category that best describes your website, whether it’s a business website, blog, or online store. Choose the appropriate category and click ‘Save and Continue.’
Step 2: Choose your website category. Next, establish the connection between MonsterInsights and your WordPress website.
Simply click the ‘Connect MonsterInsights’ button. Connect MonsterInsights to your website. This will redirect you to Google accounts, where you’ll be prompted to sign in or select your Google account if you’re already signed in. Choose your Google account or enter your email to sign in. Select your Google account for sign-in.
Next, grant MonsterInsights access to your Google Analytics account.
Click the ‘Allow’ button to proceed. Grant access to your Google account
Now, it’s time to select the profile you wish to track.
Choose your website from the list and click ‘Complete Connection’ to proceed. Connect Google Analytics with your website.
Once again, click the ‘Complete Connection’ button to finalize the process. MonsterInsights will now install Google Analytics on your website. Next, you’ll be presented with recommended settings for your website. Configure the recommended settings.
In most cases, the default settings will suffice. However, if you’re using an affiliate link plugin, you’ll need to add the path used to cloak affiliate links. This ensures tracking of affiliate links in Google Analytics.
Step 3: MonsterInsights will also inquire about who can access the reports. You can choose different WordPress user roles. Once you’ve made your selection, click ‘Save and Continue’ to save the settings. Select the appropriate audience for reports
MonsterInsights will then display a list of website tracking features that you can enable.
You can either continue by clicking ‘Continue’ or choose to skip for now by selecting the ‘Skip for Now’ option. Choose the tracking features to enable
On the following screen, MonsterInsights will confirm the successful setup of Google Analytics tracking.
You’ll see that Google Analytics is connected, the tracking code is installed, and data is being collected. Confirmation of successful tracking setup
Scrolling down, you’ll find a field to enter your license key.
For now, click the ‘Complete Setup without Upgrading’ option. Continue setup without upgrading.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully added Google Analytics to your WordPress website.
Step 4: Next, you’ll need to create a Measure Protocol API Secret to enable MonsterInsights to track events like eCommerce purchases and form conversions.
To begin, log in to your Google Analytics account and navigate to the ‘Admin’ settings page. Click on the ‘Data Streams’ option.
After entering a nickname for your API secret and clicking the ‘Create’ button, the API secret will be generated. Make sure to copy the API secret from the ‘Secret Value’ field.
To use the API secret in MonsterInsights, follow these steps: Access your WordPress admin panel and go to Insights » Settings.
Click on the ‘General’ tab.
Scroll down to the ‘Google Authentication’ section.
Locate the ‘Measurement Protocol API Secret’ field.
Paste the Secret Value that you copied earlier into the ‘Measurement Protocol API Secret’ field.
Save the changes.
Access your WordPress admin panel and navigate to Insights » Settings. Click on the ‘General’ tab in the settings menu.
Locate the ‘Google Authentication’ section. Within this section, find the ‘Measurement Protocol API Secret’ field.
Enter the Secret Value into the designated field. Congratulations! You have now successfully configured the Measurement Protocol API Secret in MonsterInsights.
Method 2: WPCode Plugin
Please note that this method is not as comprehensive as using MonsterInsights, as it lacks advanced tracking configuration and the ability to view Google Analytics data within your WordPress dashboard.
To begin, copy the Google Analytics tracking code (Global site tag) that you obtained in Step 4 of the Google Analytics account setup. You can find it in the Web stream details under the ‘Tagging Instructions’ section.
Next, install and activate the WPCode plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once activated, go to the Code Snippets » Header & Footer page. Paste the Google Analytics tracking code into the ‘Header’ section.
Remember to save your changes by clicking the ‘Save Changes’ button.
That’s it! You have successfully installed Google Analytics on your website using the WPCode plugin.
- Install Google Analytics in WordPress Theme
Please note that this method is intended for advanced users who are familiar with code. It is not recommended for most users, as the code may disappear if you switch or update your theme.
If you are adding code to your WordPress files for the first time, refer to our guide on how to copy and paste code snippets in WordPress.
First, copy the Google Analytics tracking code obtained in Step 4 of the Google Analytics account setup. You can find it in the Web stream details section under the ‘Tagging Instructions’ section.
There are two common ways to add this code to your WordPress theme files.
Add via the Functions file:
php
add_action('wp_head', 'wpb_add_googleanalytics');
function wpb_add_googleanalytics() { ?>
// Paste your Google Analytics tracking code from Step 4 here
<?php } ?>Remember to save the changes after adding the code. Please be aware that this method may not be reliable, as your code can disappear if you switch or update your theme.
Viewing Reports on the Google Analytics Website
Google Analytics offers a wealth of data collected from your website’s stats. To access this data, visit your Google Analytics dashboard.
View Reports in Universal Analytics:
In the left column, you will find built-in Google Analytics reports. Each section is divided into different tabs, and clicking on a tab will expand it to display more options.
Here’s a breakdown of the different reports in Universal Analytics:
- Real-time report: Shows a real-time view of your website traffic.
- Audience tab: Provides reports to help you understand your users.
- Acquisition reports: Explore where your users came from.
- Behavior reports: Summarize what your users do after they arrive on your site.
- Conversion reports: Show how well you are performing against your goals.
View Reports in Google Analytics 4:
In the left column, you will see a dedicated “Reports” option for Google Analytics 4. The reports are grouped into two broad categories: Life Cycle and User.
Here’s an overview of the different reports in Google Analytics 4:
- Realtime report: Similar to Universal Analytics, it shows active users on your site in real time.
- Acquisition report: Displays the medium users use to find your website, such as organic, referral, email, and affiliate.
- Engagement report: Shows conversions and events that occur on your site.
- Monetization report: Consolidates eCommerce data and includes new reports like In-app purchases and Publisher ads.
- Retention report: Compares new and returning visitors, providing insights about user retention.
- Demographics: Offers information on website traffic from top countries, cities, gender breakdown, interest reports, and more.
- Tech report: Provides insights into device usage, browsers, operating systems, app versions, and screen sizes.
Google Analytics 4 introduces several changes and new metrics compared to Universal Analytics,
Conclusion:
Google Analytics in WordPress empowers website owners with the knowledge and tools to enhance user experience, optimize content, and drive overall website success. By leveraging this powerful analytics platform, WordPress users can make informed decisions to continuously improve their online presence and achieve their business objectives.
Learn about WordPress and latest developments here.
FAQs on Google Analytics for WordPress:
Can I use the same Google Analytics tracking code on multiple WordPress sites?
Yes, you can use the same Google Analytics tracking code on multiple WordPress sites. The tracking code is unique to your Google Analytics account and can be added to multiple websites to consolidate data in one place.
Can I track my WordPress site’s mobile app using Google Analytics?
Yes, you can track your WordPress site’s mobile app using Google Analytics. Google Analytics provides a separate tracking code specifically for mobile app tracking. You will need to integrate this code into your mobile app to collect data on user behavior and engagement.
Is it possible to track e-commerce transactions in Google Analytics for my WordPress online store?
Yes, Google Analytics offers e-commerce tracking capabilities. To track e-commerce transactions on your WordPress online store, you need to integrate your e-commerce platform (e.g., WooCommerce) with Google Analytics or use plugins specifically designed for this purpose, such as “MonsterInsights” with e-commerce add-ons.
