Don’t let the charts, graphs, and overwhelming options deter you. Don’t even let the coding throw you off (you just have to copy and paste it anyway). Here’s a quick guide to successfully setting up Google Analytics.
1. Go here. Sign up by clicking Access Google Analytics on the top right. From there you’ll see the big Sign Up button on the right.
2. It is going to take you to a screen where you can choose Universal or Classic. Stick with Classic for now and you can upgrade later once you get the hang of it, no need to overwhelm ourselves just yet.
3. Next you’re just going to fill in the info they ask you for. Account Name (just whatever you want to call this account), Name Your Website, Enter Your Url.
4. See the checkmarks at the bottom? Look them over and see how much you want to share and whether you want Google contacting you, it’s all optional.
5. Click Get Tracking ID and you’ll get a Terms of Service form. Accepting is half the battle.
6. You will be taken to a screen which has propagated a unique script for your site. First though, copy and paste that Tracking ID into Notepad. Title it “(name of your site) Google Analytics Tracking ID” and you might want to also write it down somewhere. If you lose the logins that should be automatically sent to you, this is the easiest way to get back into your account.
7. Now comes the scary part. Copy that paragraph of code (and you may want to save that somewhere just like you saved the Tracking ID).
8. If you have a custom website that you built yourself, then you know how to paste this above the header… or if you have a custom site built by someone else, make sure they do that for you. For custom sites this needs to be done on every page you want tracked.
9. If your site is a template locate your “Embed Code” options, also look for these things: <> that’s often how they will designate that option.
10. Either your template will take you to the coding of your site, which is a long list of seemingly random words and symbols or it will let you drag that option somewhere onto the page.
11. If it takes you to the actual coding find and paste the code right above it. Your template should automatically populate that on every page so you should be done, but check your other pages to be sure.
12. If it lets you drag the option where you want it, drag it above the title on the page. A box will open up allowing you to paste something there, and that is where you put it. If this is how your template works then it may not auto-populate and you may need to repeat those steps for each page.
13. Login to your account from the email where you had your account information sent, and you will see all of your tracking options for your website. You can now look at how people found your site, how many people are visiting, and all kinds of additional valuable information.
We are tracking all of this for you as well of course, and we are able to give you quite a bit more than Google’s analytics, especially when it comes to local results. But this is a great way to get even more information for yourself and to double-check our progress with your optimization.