Once you have your website up and running, the next step is to track your website's traffic. That's where Google Analytics comes into play.

Google Analytics is a powerful product to check and analyze website traffic and visitors' behavior on your website. Google Analytics shows you the number of pages visited, traffic from referral sites, average onsite time, the bounce rate of every post/page of your blog, and much more.

Let’s see how Google Analytics works and how to set it up in your WordPress dashboard using the Site Kit plugin.

How Does Google Analytics Help You?

If you've recently started a blog, whether it's for personal or business use, setting up Google Analytics is the first thing you should do. Below is a list of just a few aspects that Google Analytics can help you get done:

  1. To check the number of visitors to your website.
  2. To find out the geographical locations of your visitors.
  3. To determine which pages on your website aren’t mobile-friendly.
  4. To filter out the referral websites sending huge traffic to your site.
  5. To increase traffic on your website and plan its growth.
  6. To improve the most popular pages on your website.
  7. To analyze and improve the speed of your site.
  8. To increase your website's engagement rate.

Now, let's take a look at how you can integrate Google Analytics with your website.

Installing Google Analytics on Your WordPress Website

Firstly, you’ll have to create an account in Google Analytics and then integrate it onto your website using the Site Kit plugin. Let’s discuss both steps separately.

Create an Account in Google Analytics

Follow the steps below to create a Google Analytics account.

1. To create an account, go to Google Analytics.

2. Click on Start Measuring.

Analytics Landing Page

3. To access your account, enter your username.

Google Analytics Account Setup First Page

4. Click Next.

5. Enter your property details in the property setup and click Next.

Setting Up Property For Google Analytics

6. In the About your business section, add your business details and click create.

Settings Page To Change Business Information For Google Analytics Account Setup

You'll see a pop-up window with Google's Terms and Services.

7. Read and Accept the Terms and Services.

This is how you can successfully create your account.

Pop Up Window Showing Terms And Services

Let’s discuss the second part, where you'll have to connect Google Analytics with Site Kit to integrate it in your WordPress dashboard.

Related: Best WordPress Speed Test Tools

Adding Google Analytics to Your Website

In order to add Google Analytics to Your WordPress Dashboard, you'll have to use the Site Kit by Google plugin. Let's discuss what this plugin is and how to set it up.

What Is the Site Kit by Google Plugin and How Does It Work?

Google Site Kit allows you to integrate both Google Analytics and Google Search Console into your WordPress Dashboard. Site Kit is a one-stop shop solution that facilitates the deployment, management, and analysis of critical Google services for making your website successful.

With its easy-to-understand stats and in-depth traffic analysis for each post, you can plan the future of your blog. It helps you analyze how people find and interact with your site.

Download: Site Kit by Google

Let’s see how you can set it up.

1. Log in to your WordPress Dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New.

WordPress Dashboard

2. Search for a plugin site kit by Google. Install and Activate.

Searching Plugin In WordPress Dashboard

The plugin is now activated on your website.

Set Up the Site Kit by Google Plugin

Let's take a quick look at how you can set up the plugin on your website.

1. To set up the plugin, click Start setup.

Plugin Startup In WordPress Dashboard

2. Sign in to your Google account.

Make sure you use the Google account that you've set up Analytics on.

Plugin Welcome Page

3. Click Allow and Proceed.

4. Once you've signed in with your Google account. Click Allow > Add Site.

Plugin Integration With Website

You have successfully set up the plugin.

Connect the Google Analytics Account

After setting up the plugin, the next step is to connect it with your website's existing Google Analytics account, so it starts fetching the data directly and showing it in your dashboard.

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard > Site Kit.

2. Sign in to your google account.

Singing In On Google With Plugin

Remember, sign in with the Gmail account you set Google Analytics up on. This way, Site Kit gets direct access to Google Analytics. If you use another account, you may have to make some tweaks to the source code.

3. Click Allow.

Access To Plugin And Search Console

Site Kit is now connected to Google Analytics and Google Search Console on your website. You will now be able to see Google analytics data immediately after the site kit is set up.

Plugin Showing Website Stats

How to Check the Performance Details

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to Site kit.

WordPress Dashboard

Everything that you can access in your Google Analytics and Search Console will now be available in your WordPress Dashboard once the plugin is set up.

To access Google Search Console, go to Site Kit > Search Console in your WordPress dashboard.

Search Console Option In Dashboard Menu

With Google Search Console, you can see your site's position in Google search results, the number of times people click your website link in Google, your website's number of appearances in Google search results, and the average position of your keywords—all from your WordPress Dashboard.

Showing Website Stats Through Google Search Console

Just like in a standard search console, you can quickly analyze the top queries that are bringing in most of the traffic on your website in WordPress dashboard.

Showing Ranking Keywords In Site Kit By Google Plugin

Lastly, if your website has more than one admin, all of them will have to connect to the Site Kit once with their Google account to access it in the WordPress dashboard. Additionally, all the emails used by those admins must have access to this property in the Search Console/Analytics.

Related: Is WordPress Still Worth Using in 2021?

Analytics Made Easy With Site Kit

Setting up the plugin is very straightforward. Non-techies with no coding experience can set up the plugin on their website easily.

With Site Kit, you can track the website's performance analytics in one place. Additionally, even if you log in to your dashboard to create a post, update a plugin, or manage any recent comment, you can see your stats instantly. So, if you see abnormal traffic behavior, you can do a timely, in-depth analysis.

By checking the visitor flow, demographics, and user behavior on Google Analytics, you can better choose affiliate offers for maximum conversions.