Google Analytics: Setup

Setting up Google Analytics is fairly simple but also very specific to your site. In other words, there is no "one size fits all" instruction for setting up a site. The information on this page will give you a very general overview of how to get a tracking code but may not have all of the information you need. Fortunately, there are many help pages in Google Analytics and across other forums that may be able to answer your questions or give you more options for tracking your site - just "Google" it!

 The following clip gives an overview of signing up for a Google Analytics account:

Setup

There are a few things to keep in mind before you start setting up Google Analytics:

1. You need to have access to your site's source code or know someone that does.
2. EXCEPTION: Some hosted blog sites, for example, will allow you to add a Google Analytics tracking code even though you cannot access their source code. Check your account settings on the site you would like to track to see if there is an option for this. There may also be external plugins which will allow you to track your site.
3. WordPress.com blogs do not support Google Analytics at this time.

The first step in setting up Google Analytics on your site is to create a tracking code.

1. Sign up for a Google Analytics account (you can use your Google account to do so).
2. If you are not already tracking a site, you will be taken to a new account setup page; otherwise, go to Admin and select "Create new account" under the Account dropdown.
3. On the New Account page, choose "Website" or "Mobile app" and fill out the form (account name, website name, and website URL are the only required fields for tracking a website).
4. Click "Get Tracking ID" and accept the terms of service.

The resulting page will give you a tracking ID and tracking code. Use the tracking ID if you have a blog that supports Google Analytics, for example; use the tracking code if you have access to the source code for your site.  The tracking code must be placed before the </head> tag of EVERY PAGE you want to track (for HTML setup). 

See Get started with Analytics for more information on setup, troubleshooting, and customizations.

• Check your web tracking code setup
• Verify site ownership
• Advanced configuration
• It can take up to 24 hours for Google Analytics servers to update with any changes you make to your tracking code.
• Your tracking starts when you add the tracking code to your site, so you will not be able to see any data prior to that time.

The following are help pages on setting up different types of websites that may require a different setup than normal.

Information for tracking embedded materials and other elements.