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02ALL THINGS GOOGLE

Set up Google Analytics

LAST UPDATED — OCTOBER 2023

As a business owner, you should make data-driven decisions — especially about your website. From content and color scheme down to layout and structure, every element should be present with a purpose. Every time you add, remove, or modify something, it should be backed by data. If not, why would you do it, and how would you justify it?

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is Google’s free web analytics platform: it tracks and reports the traffic to your website. Whether you’re a plumbing business or an e-commerce portal, there’s a lot to learn from the data. Your website should reflect your customers’ needs, and Analytics gives you the insight to study consumer behavior and build a marketing strategy around it.

How to set up Google Analytics

  1. Sign in with a Google account for your business — ideally the same one connected to your Google Business Profile — and create an Analytics account.
  2. Give the account a name at the top level (usually your business name). You can add multiple websites under it, so if you run a chain with a site per location, name each property clearly: “CherHair Salon — Location 1”, and so on. Simple names keep things easy for everyone on the team.
  3. Add your website address, making sure the protocol matches your site (https with an SSL certificate).
  4. Pick an industry category so Google can show you benchmark data from similar businesses. If nothing fits perfectly, choose the most relevant option.
  5. Decide which data-sharing checkboxes to accept, then create the property and get your measurement code.
  6. Install the code. Most content management systems and site platforms have a built-in integration or plugin; alternatively paste the script into the head section of a file included on every page, before stylesheets and scripts, as Google recommends.
  7. Verify the integration by watching real-time data come in from a test visit.

Analytics is free, easy to set up, and provides data even Fortune 500 companies swear by. Every business should use some form of analytics platform, and Google Analytics remains one of the best options available.