How To Add Google Analytics To WordPress for Free In 10 Minutes Or Less
Setting up Google Analytics on your WordPress website is one of the most important steps for any website owner, and we’ll walk you through it. By connecting your site to Google Analytics, you gain insights into who is visiting, where they’re coming from, and how they’re engaging with your content. For optimal results, consider pairing your analytics setup with The Best WordPress SEO Plugin in 2024 to further boost your search visibility.
Why You Need Google Analytics on Your WordPress Site
Google Analytics is a free tool that provides insights into your website’s traffic and user behavior. By setting it up on your WordPress site, you can:
- Track where your visitors are coming from (e.g., search engines, social media).
- Measure your site’s performance over time.
- Identify popular content and user behavior.
- Make data-driven decisions to improve engagement and conversions.
Create a Google Analytics Account
To get started and add Google Analytics to WordPress, you’ll need an account and a property specifically for your website.
1. Go to Google Analytics and sign in with your Google account.
2. Create an Account and Property:
-
- Once signed in, click Start Measuring to begin setting up a new property.
- Choose an Account Name (e.g., “My Website Analytics”) and decide if you’d like to allow Google to access certain information. You can leave these unchecked if you prefer.
3. Set Up Property Details:
-
- Name your property (e.g., “My WordPress Site”) to help you identify it later.
- Select your time zone and currency. For example, if you’re in the U.S., choose Eastern Time and USD.
4. Enter Business Details:
-
- Google may ask about your business type and goals for tracking. Choose the categories that best represent your business. Once done, accept the terms and conditions.
5. Select Data Collection Type:
-
- Since we’re working with a website, select Web as your data collection type.
- Enter your site’s URL (e.g., yoursite.com) and name your data stream for easy identification (e.g., “Website Traffic”).
Note: The setup screen might prompt you with additional instructions, but we can actually skip these since we’ll be connecting Google Analytics directly through our chosen plugin. Close out of the installation instructions; our property is now created in Google Analytics. Now, let’s return to the WordPress website, where we’ll continue the process by installing and setting up the plugin to link our site with Google Analytics.
Install the MonsterInsights Plugin in WordPress
The easiest way to add Google Analytics to WordPress is by using the MonsterInsights plugin. MonsterInsights is a popular tool that allows you to view key analytics data directly in your WordPress dashboard.
1. Log in to WordPress:
-
- Go to your WordPress admin dashboard (usually yourwebsite.com/wp-admin).
2. Add the Plugin:
-
- Go to Plugins > Add New in the sidebar.
- In the search bar, type MonsterInsights. Once it appears, click Install Now and then Activate.
3. Launch the Setup Wizard:
- After activation, MonsterInsights will prompt you with a welcome screen. Click Launch the Wizard to start the guided setup process.
4. Select Your Website Type:
- The setup wizard will first ask about your website type (e.g., business site, blog). Choose the one that best matches your site.
5. Connect to Google Analytics:
- Click Connect MonsterInsights. You’ll be directed to log in with your Google account.
- Select the Google account associated with your Analytics property.
- Allow MonsterInsights to access your Google Analytics data by granting permissions.
6. Choose the Property:
- Select the property you created earlier (e.g., “My WordPress Site”).
- Click Complete Connection to finalize the link between Google Analytics and your site.
The next step in the setup wizard for how to add Google Analytics to WordPress lets us customize some optional settings, allowing us to turn on or off specific features. For example, you’ll see options for event tracking, enhanced link attribution, and file download tracking. You can leave these options off for now, as they don’t impact the core traffic tracking on your website. There’s also an option for affiliate link tracking, which you can skip initially.
Additionally, you’ll specify which WordPress user roles can view the Google Analytics reports directly within WordPress. Enabling the Install Updates Automatically option will keep the plugin updated without extra steps. You can also leave the Badge and Help Us Improve options unchecked. Once ready, click Save and Continue to move on.
Finally, you may see suggestions for recommended plugins. Since these plugins aren’t necessary for Google Analytics setup, it’s best to uncheck them, then click Continue to complete this step.
Once done, you’re one step closer to adding Google Analytics to WordPress! The final screen confirms that the Tracking and analytics are all set up.This message indicates that the plugin is successfully connected to Google Analytics, the tracking code is installed, and data collection has begun. The best part is that the setup is complete, and everything is functioning without requiring any paid upgrades.
After setup is complete, you’ll be directed back to your WordPress dashboard, where you may see an option to upgrade to the Pro version of Monster Insights. The Pro upgrade provides enhanced reporting features and additional insights. However, the Lite version covers all essential Google Analytics tracking needs, so you can access and use core analytics features entirely for free with Monster Insights Lite.
Clicking View Reports will take you to a dedicated report screen within WordPress, where you can view all your Google Analytics stats. This screen gives you direct access to essential data, including traffic, user behavior, and other key metrics, without needing to leave your WordPress dashboard.
To confirm that Google Analytics is properly installed on the website, you can go to your website and right-click, view the page source, and search for “Google” in the code. You’ll see a mention of the Google Analytics by Monster Insights plugin, along with the Google Tag Manager script that adds the analytics snippet. This confirms that the Google Analytics snippet is present on the site, meaning that any website visit will be tracked and visible in Google Analytics.
You can also log into Google Analytics, where you can access the site reports. At this point, since there’s no traffic on the site yet, you’ll be seeing zeros across the board. However, once the site starts receiving traffic, you’ll be able to view all the relevant reports, such as real-time data, user behavior, and conversion metrics. These reports will give me a comprehensive overview of how visitors are interacting with the site and how the site’s performance is evolving over time.
The last key point to highlight is the range of features available within MonsterInsights, which enhances the integration between your WordPress site and Google Analytics. MonsterInsights provides a variety of useful reporting tools directly within the WordPress dashboard, such as:
- Site Reports: These offer detailed insights into your website’s performance, including traffic trends, user demographics, and top-performing pages.
- Setup Checklists: These help ensure that your Google Analytics tracking is properly set up and optimized.
- Site Notes: A place to document key observations or changes made to your website for future reference.
- Popular Posts: A report on which posts or pages on your site are attracting the most traffic. If you need help creating a blog, check out this article our team created!
- User Journey: Visualize how users navigate your site, from landing page to final action (like a purchase or form submission), helping you understand user behavior.
One of the most valuable aspects of MonsterInsights is that it allows you to view and analyze your Google Analytics data directly within WordPress. This means you don’t have to log into Google Analytics separately, saving you time and streamlining your workflow. This seamless integration makes it easy to monitor your site’s performance, track user behavior, and make data-driven decisions, all from within the WordPress environment.
Conclusion
Setting up Google Analytics on your WordPress site is a crucial step for understanding your website’s performance and user behavior. We hope this guide has helped with how to add Google Analytics to WordPress by walking you through the entire process, from creating a Google Analytics property to installing and configuring the MonsterInsights plugin, which simplifies the integration. For even greater site performance, check out our guide on How to Speed Up a WordPress Site to ensure that your users have a fast, seamless experience. By using tools like MonsterInsights and implementing speed optimizations, you’ll have everything you need to track, analyze, and enhance your website’s performance.
The integration of Google Analytics within WordPress through MonsterInsights also saves time by eliminating the need to log into Google Analytics separately. With features like site reports, popular post tracking, user journey visualization, and more, MonsterInsights makes it easier to monitor and improve your website’s effectiveness.
Overall, the setup is quick and straightforward, and once completed, you’ll have all the tools needed to track, analyze, and optimize your website’s performance for free—making it an essential tool for any WordPress website owner.
