How to Add Google Analytics to WordPress—The EASY Way!
You might think it's not that important to do something so “techie” as to install Google Analytics on your blog. After all, WordPress does offer basic traffic reporting functions in its dashboard or via the Jetpack plugin.
BIG MISTAKE. You should definitely install Google Analytics from day one (or as soon as possible!). Google Analytics has unparalleled traffic reporting capabilities; you can really drill down to the nitty-gritty and find out things such as your audience demographics (their age and location for example) and the EXACT keywords people are searching to find your site.
On top of that, many ad and sponsorship networks will require access to your Google Analytics account to verify your traffic before you can join. If you don't have Google Analytics, you can't up your game and join big ad networks and sponsor networks!
Below, I'll show you how to add Google Analytics to your WordPress blog the EASY way—meaning no code involved!
Before You Add Google Analytics to Your WordPress Blog—Make Sure You Have a Google Analytics Account!
Do you already have a Google Analytics account set up? If yes, skip this section and go straight to the “How to Add Google Analytics to WordPress” section below.
If you do not yet have a Google Analytics account, it's easy and FREE to get! Here's how:
Step 1: Go to analytics.google.com and click “Sign Up”
Step 2: Enter Account Name
Step 3: Select “Web”
Step 4: Add website name
Step 5: Accept terms
How to Add Google Analytics to WordPress With the MonsterInsights FREE Plugin
Step 1: Install Google Analytics MonsterInsights plugin.
A) Log into your WordPress blog
B) Navigate to Plugins > Add New
C) Search “Google Analytics Monsterinsights”
D) Click “Install Now” button
Step 2: Activate plugin.
Click “Activate” button
Step 3: Connect Google Analytics via MonsterInsights plugin
A) Right after you click “Activate,” you'll get this popup trying to walk you through setup steps. You do NOT have to go through these steps. So just click “Exit Setup.”
B) After you exit the popup, go to Insights > Settings on the lefthand side of your WordPress dashboard. Then click “Connect MonsterInsights.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before you click “Connect MonsterInsights,” make sure you are logged into your Google Analytics account.
C) If you have multiple Google accounts like I do, you'll see this screen prompting you to select which account you want to connect to.
D) Next, MonsterInsights will ask you to select your Google Analytics property from the dropdown menu.
E) You'll have to wait a few seconds while it connects.
F) When the MonsterInsights plugin is done connecting to your Google Analytics account, you'll be redirected to this page on your WordPress dashboard. You should see “Active Profile” there.
Step 4. Verify that Google Analytics is properly installed.
Go to your Google Analytics dashboard and select Realtime > Overview.
IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW THESE STEPS EXACTLY:
To check if your Google Analytics code installed properly on your WordPress blog, open your blog in a NEW window where you are NOT logged into your WordPress dashboard. Easiest thing to do (if you're doing this all on your computer) is to visit your blog on your smartphone.
Next, open your Google Analytics dashboard and navigate to Realtime > Overview. If it installed correctly, you should see at least 1 active user.
Below, you'll see that there is 1 active user on mobile. That's because this was a brand new site where I installed Google Analytics and then opened my site up on my iPhone. So that's me visiting my own site. That proves Google Analytics is tracking visits and working properly!
Troubleshooting: If you see “0” on the Realtime Overview, then make sure:
- That you have the same blog where you installed Google Analytics open in a new window.
- That you are NOT LOGGED INTO WordPress when you open the blog in a new window.
- Wait a few minutes. Sometimes it takes a few minutes for Google Analytics to start working.
Congrats! You Just Added Google Analytics to Your WordPress Blog
Now, you'll have access to ALL sorts of juicy details about your blog's readers so you can continue to grow your blog and make more money. Go you!
