Undoubtedly, Google Analytics will remain a prominent web analytics solution in 2024. This tool offers valuable insights into website traffic, which can significantly influence your decision-making processes regarding your site. Are you seeking instructions on how to integrate Google Analytics with your WordPress website? This simple guide will assist you in configuring Google Analytics for your WordPress site, both with and without the use of a plugin, all in the context of the current year.
How to set up Google Analytics
Let’s explore how to initiate the process of setting up Google Analytics in 2024.
Procedure: Setting Up Google Analytics for Your Website
Step 1: Access the Google Analytics Sign-up Page
Navigate to the official Google Analytics website at https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/.
Step 2: Register for Google Analytics
Click on the “Sign Up” option displayed on the Sign-up screen. A form will become visible, prompting you to input your information. Upon completing the form, clicking the “Submit” button will lead you to the immediate retrieval of the tracking code intended for your specified website.
Step 3: Retrieve and Copy the Tracking Code
Copy the obtained Tracking Code, which typically begins with “Global site tag (gtag.js) – Google Analytics.”
With the help of these three straight steps, you now possess the Google Analytics Tracking Code necessary for monitoring your website’s performance. However, remember that this code must be integrated into your website before you can start tracking its activity. In the upcoming topics, we will dive into the methods for adding Google Analytics to a WordPress site, both with and without the use of plugins.
How To Add Google Analytics Manually to WordPress
Before we delve into this method, it’s crucial to emphasize the importance of creating a backup of your website. This manual process involves making alterations to your WordPress theme, and any inadvertent keystrokes could potentially disrupt your entire site. You can explore our latest review of the top WordPress Backup Plugins Of 2023 for assistance.
Given that we will be modifying your WordPress theme, it is highly recommended that you employ a child theme. Without a child theme, your tracking code may get overwritten each time you update your primary theme. This would necessitate repeating the process with every update. Utilizing a child theme will spare you from this inconvenience.
Follow these steps to manually incorporate Google Analytics into your WordPress site:
Step 1: Copy the Google Analytics Tracking Code from your Analytics Dashboard.
Step 2: Navigate to your WordPress Dashboard and click on “Appearances” >> “Theme Editor.”
Step 3: Locate the “header.php” file and click on it.
Step 4: Paste the tracking code just before the “</head>” tag.
Step 5: Ensure that you click on “Update File” to save the changes you’ve made.
By following these steps, you have successfully integrated Google Analytics with your WordPress website.
How to Incorporate Google Analytics into WordPress Using Plugins in 2024
Adding Google Analytics to your WordPress site through plugins offers numerous advantages. Firstly, it simplifies the process of including the tracking code, sparing you from having to tinker with the code manually. Secondly, most analytics plugins come with a user-friendly dashboard where you can monitor your website’s statistics. To acquaint yourself with the best CAOS analytics plugins for adding Google Analytics to WordPress, our comprehensive review can be a valuable resource.
A) Utilizing CAOS (Complete Analytics Optimization Suite)
The CAOS plugin, short for Complete Analytics Optimization Suite, can be located within the WordPress plugin repository by conducting a simple search for “CAOS.”
After installation, activate the plugin. To incorporate Google Analytics, navigate to the Basic Settings and paste your Google Analytics Tracking ID.
Once saved, the plugin will automatically retrieve the tracking code. You can determine its placement, whether in the header or footer, according to your preferences.
Moreover, this plugin seamlessly integrates with Monster Insights and Analytify. Advanced settings related to these integrations can be configured in the plugin’s Advanced Settings.
Why Choose This Plugin?
Have you ever evaluated your website’s speed using tools like Pingdom and GTmetrix? If you have, you might have come across the well-known “leverage browser cache warning.” If not, you can read this article to gain an understanding of the leverage browser cache warning and its impact on your website’s speed. These free tools can be employed to assess your website’s performance.
CAOS proves to be particularly beneficial in addressing the leverage browser cache warning by locally storing the Google Analytics JavaScript file. This contributes to an enhancement in site speed performance, resulting in an improved website performance score without encountering the leverage browser cache warning. This stands as a unique advantage of using this plugin.
B) Google Analytics Dashboard Plugin for WordPress
This plugin is the second most widely adopted in its category, boasting over 1 million installations. Previously known as GADWP, it offers comprehensive data analysis, going beyond the fundamental Google Analytics metrics. It furnishes detailed performance insights for every page and post on your website. The key feature is its seamless integration of Google Analytics with your WordPress Dashboard, enabling you to access analytics data directly within your WordPress admin area. Setting it up is straightforward, and it has been translated into 27 languages.
Highlighted Features:
– Real-Time Statistics
– Google Analytics Reports, including session data, page views, organic search traffic, traffic sources, device breakdown, browser usage, operating system distribution, and social media engagement.
– Universal Google Analytics Compatibility
– Cross-Domain Tracking Support
– Ecommerce Tracking
– Tracking of downloads, email links, outbound links, affiliate links, and page scrolling depth
– Custom Dimension Usage for tracking authors, publication year and month, categories, tags, and user engagement
– Compatibility with WordPress Multisite Installations
This plugin is a valuable addition to your WordPress toolkit, offering you the ability to harness Google Analytics data seamlessly within your website’s administrative interface and enhancing your understanding of your website’s performance and user engagement as of 2024.
C) ShareThis Google Analytics Plugin for WordPress
Integrating Google Analytics with ShareThis for WordPress
For including Google Analytics tracking code to your WordPress website, this plugin offers a convenient method without the need to modify any website files. The setup process is straightforward, requiring just a few clicks to get up and running.
As of 2024, this plugin is actively utilized on over 500,000 websites. One of its notable features is the seamless integration of your analytics reports into your WordPress dashboard. Additionally, it offers a unique functionality known as “Trending Content,” which highlights content that is performing notably better than the average. What’s even more impressive is that it can notify you via email when your content is gaining traction.
Key Features:
– Easy and straightforward setup
– Simple linking to your Google Analytics account
– Provides insights into visitor trends, including page views, pages per session, and bounce rate
– Tracks traffic sources effectively
– The “Trending Content” feature offers a historical view of high-performing content
– Capability to receive alerts about trending content
– Excludes administrators, moderators, and editors from analytics tracking, focusing on real visitor data
– Fully optimized for mobile responsiveness
– Regular updates and ongoing support
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve covered how to seamlessly integrate Google Analytics into your WordPress website, both with and without the assistance of plugins. We’ve walked you through the process of obtaining the tracking code and tracking ID by setting up a Google Analytics account. As of 2024, we trust that this article has provided you with the necessary guidance to get started with Google Analytics for your WordPress site. For more related articles on this topic, feel free to explore our other resources.
FAQs
What is Google Analytics, and why should I add it to my WordPress website?
Google Analytics is like a web analytics tool that offers valuable insights into your website’s performance and visitor behavior. By adding it to your WordPress site in 2024, you can track important data like visitor numbers, traffic sources, and user interactions, which is crucial for making better decisions and improving your website’s effectiveness.
How to make a Google Analytics account for my WordPress website?
To make a Google Analytics account for your WordPress site, you need to visit the Google Analytics website and sign-in with your Google account. After that follow the steps to create a new account and property. You will then get a unique tracking code to add to your WordPress site.
What’s the easiest way to add Google Analytics to my WordPress site in 2024?
The simplest method to insert Google Analytics to your WordPress site in 2024 is by using a WordPress plugin designed for this purpose. Several plugins are available that allow you to add your tracking code without having to manually edit your site’s code. This method simplifies the process for users of all technical levels.
Can I include Google Analytics in my WordPress site without using a plugin?
Yes, you can include Google Analytics in your WordPress site without using a plugin. However, it involves manually adding the tracking code to your website’s header or footer. This process requires more technical knowledge and can be less user-friendly for those not comfortable with editing code.
What can I track with Google Analytics once it’s added to my WordPress site?
Google Analytics lets you keep track a wide range of data, including:
– Visitor numbers and unique visitors
– Page views and the most visited pages
– Bounce rate (the percentage of visitors who leave without interacting)
– Traffic sources (organic, referral, direct, etc.)
– User demographics and interests
– Ecommerce tracking for online stores
– Event tracking for interactions like clicks and downloads
