Do you want to install Google Analytics in WordPress? Knowing how your audience interacts with your website is crucial for your success.
The best way to know your audience is through your traffic stats, and this is what Google Analytics provides for FREE.
In this article, we will share why Google Analytics is important, and how you can easily install Google Analytics in your WordPress website (step by step).
First, we will explain why Google Analytics is important and how it can help you grow your website.
After that, we will show you how to sign up for a Google Analytics account and different methods to install it on your WordPress site.
Finally, we will explain how to view your traffic reports in Google Analytics.
Here is a quick overview of what you’ll learn in this article.
- Why is Google Analytics Important
- How to Sign up with Google Analytics
- How to Install Google Analytics Using MonsterInsights (Recommended)
- How to Install Google Analytics Using Insert Headers & Footers Plugin
- How to Install Google Analytics in WordPress Theme (Advanced)
- Viewing Reports in Google Analytics
- Making the Most out of Google Analytics
Ready let’s get started.
Video Tutorial
If you don’t want to watch the video tutorial, then you can continue reading the text version below:
Why is Google Analytics Important for Bloggers?
Once you start a blog, your #1 goal is to get more traffic and subscribers. Google Analytics help you make data-driven decisions by showing you the stats that matter. You can see:
Who visits your website?
This part of analytics answers what is the geographical location of your audience, which browser did the user use to visit your site and other important information such as screen resolution, JavaScript support, Flash support, language and more.
This data is extremely useful, and it can help in numerous ways. When getting a custom design, you can use the user data to make sure that your site will be compatible with your audience.
If most of your users don’t have Flash support, then you should avoid adding the flash element in your site. If most of your users are on 1280 screen resolutions, then make sure that your design is compatible with that resolution or smaller.
What do people do when they are on your website?
You can track where the users are going on your website, how long do they stay on your website, and what is the bounce rate (the percent of users exit your site on the first visit).
By using this information, you can decrease the bounce rate and increase your pageviews.
You can also find your most popular articles, articles that are not doing so well, and what kind of content your users are looking for.
When do people visit your website?
By looking at the hottest hours in the day for your site, you can pick the time when you publish your post. If that time zone is not compatible with yours, then you can schedule your post to meet that hour.
How do people find your website?
This section of the analytics shows you where did the users come from (for example: Search Engines, Direct Links, Referral links from another site).
It also shows you what percentage of your visitors came from each of these sources. Google analytics gives you the breakdown of each of these categories. If it is the search engine category, then it shows you which search engine got you the most traffic, Google, Yahoo, Bing etc.
The breakdown of referral sources shows you which sites you need to work with the most. If your top referral source is Facebook, then you need to have exclusive Facebook content to make your Facebook audience feel special.
If your top referral source is an external website, then you might want to consider having a partnership with that website (guest post exchange or something else).
How do people interact with your content?
Google analytics shows how your users interact with your site’s content. It shows you what percent of the user clicked on which link on your site and much more.
You can run A/B split tests by creating content experiments in Google Analytics to understand what works best to meet your goals.
By seeing the user interactivity, you can work your content around your users. By seeing the answers to the questions above, you can focus on the strategies that work for your site and avoid strategies that don’t work.
Simply put, eliminate the guesswork and focus on stats that matter, so you can make data driven-decisions.
How to Signup with Google Analytics
Google Analytics is available for free and all you need is a Google or Gmail account to sign up. The sign up process is quite simple, follow the step by step instructions below to create your Google Analytics account.
Step 1: First you need to visit Google Analytics sign up.
You will be asked to login with your Google account. If you already have a Google or Gmail account, then you can use that to sign-in. Otherwise, you can go ahead and create a Google account for yourself.
Step 2: Once you sign-in with your Gmail account, you will be prompted to a screen like the one below. This is where you will signup for Google analytics with your Gmail account.
Step 3: On the next screen, you will be given choice to choose between a website or mobile app. Make sure you select website.
After that, you need to enter account name (It will be the Google Analytics profile name for this website), Website name, website’s URL, country, and the time zone.
Once you have entered this information, click on the Get Tracking ID button. You will be presented with Google Analytics terms and service which you must agree to, so click on ‘I Agree’ button.
Step 4: Now you will be presented with your Google Analytics tracking code. You can copy this tracking code because you will need to enter it in your WordPress site depending on the method you use below.
We suggest leaving the analytics browser tab open as you may need to revisit it, once you have installed the code on your WordPress site.
Now that you have setup a Google Analytics account, lets take a look at how to install Google Analytics in WordPress.
How to Install Google Analytics in WordPress
There are a few different ways to setup Google Analytics in WordPress. We will show you three methods where the first option is the easiest and the last being the hardest.
You can choose the one that best suits your needs.
1. Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights is the most popular Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. Over 1 million websites use it including the likes of Bloomberg, PlayStation, Zillow, and more.
It is the easiest and by far the best way to add Google Analytics to WordPress (for all users beginners and experts alike).
MonsterInsights is available as both, a paid premium plugin, and a free version. In this tutorial, we will be using the MonsterInsights free version.
You can use the MonsterInsights Pro version if you want more advanced features like E-commerce tracking, Ads tracking, Author tracking, etc. The process of setting them up is the same.
Let’s get started.
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the MonsterInsights plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, the plugin will add a new menu item labeled ‘Insights’ to your WordPress admin menu. Clicking on it will bring the MonsterInsights setup wizard.
First, you will be asked to choose a category for your website (a business website, blog, or online store). Select one and then click on ‘Save and Continue’ button.
Next, you need to click on the ‘Connect MonsterInsights’ button.
This will bring up a popup which will take you Google accounts where you will be asked to sign in or select a Google account if you are already signed in.
Next, you will be asked to allow MonsterInsights to access your Google Analytics account.
Click on the ‘Allow’ button to continue.
The final step is to select the profile you want to track. You need to select your website here and then click on the ‘Complete authentication’ button to continue.
MonsterInsights will now install Google Analytics on your website. After that you will be asked to select the recommended settings for your website.
The default settings would work for most websites. If you use an affiliate link plugin, then you need to add the path you use to cloak affiliate links. This will allow you to track your affiliate links in Google Analytics.
Click on the Save and Continue button to save your settings.
Next, MonsterInsights will show you paid add-ons that you can access if you upgrade to PRO. You can simply click on the ‘Save and Continue’ button to skip this step.
After that, you will be asked to install WPForms plugin, which is the best WordPress contact form plugin. You can install it or simply click on ‘Skip this Step’
That’s all you have successfully installed and setup Google Analytics on your WordPress site. Remember, it will take Google Analytics sometime before showing your stats.
The best part about MonsterInsights is that you can view your Google Analytics reports inside your WordPress dashboard. Simply visit Insights &raqo; Reports page to check out a quick overview of your analytics data.
Note: MonsterInsights was formerly known as Google Analytics for WordPress by Yoast. WPBeginner’s founder, Syed Balkhi, acquired the plugin in 2016 and rebranded it to MonsterInsights. Now it is part of our family of premium WordPress plugins.
2. Insert Headers and Footers Plugin
This method is not as not as good as MonsterInsights because you will not be able to do advanced tracking configuration, and you will not be able to view Google Analytics data in your WordPress dashboard.
First, you need to install and activate the Insert Headers and Footers plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit Settings » Insert Headers and Footers page. Here you need to paste the Google Analytics code that you copied in step 4 into the headers section.
Don’t forget to click on the save changes button to store your settings.
That’s all, you have successfully installed Google Analytics on your site.
3. Install Google Analytics in WordPress Theme
This method is for advanced users who are familiar with the code. It is somewhat unreliable because your code will disappear if you switch or update the theme. We almost never recommend using this method.
If this is your first time adding code to your WordPress files, then you should check out our guide on how to copy paste code snippets in WordPress.
Add code in header.php file
Simply edit the header.php file in your WordPress theme and paste the code you copied in step 4 right after the <body> tag.
Don’t forget to save your changes and upload the file back to your server.
Add via Functions File
You can also add Google Analytics tracking code to WordPress functions file. It will then automatically add the tracking code to every page on your WordPress site.
You will need to add this code to your theme’s functions.php file.
<?php
add_action('wp_head', 'wpb_add_googleanalytics');
function wpb_add_googleanalytics() { ?>
// Paste your Google Analytics code from Step 4 here
<?php } ?>
Viewing Reports on Google Analytics Website
Google Analytics is capable of showing you a treasure of data collected from your stats. You can view this data by visiting your Google Analytics dashboard.
You will see the built-in Google Analytics reports in the left column. Each section is divided into different tabs and clicking on a tab will expand it to show more options.
- Real-time This report will show you a real time view of your traffic.
- Audience tab will show reports to help you understand your users.
- Acquisition reports explore where your users came from.
- Behavior reports summarize what your users do after they arrive on your site.
- Conversion reports show how well you’re doing against your goals.
Making the Most out of Google Analytics
Google Analytics is an incredibly powerful tool with tons of awesome features. Some of them are quite obvious and easy to use, others require some additional setup.
Here are some of the resources that will help you make the most out of Google Analytics reports.
- Track user engagement in WordPress with Google Analytics
- Track WooCommerce customers in Google Analytics
- Track outbound links in WordPress
Google Analytics works best with Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools). It allows you to see how your website is doing in search results. See our complete Google Search Console guide to learn how to use it to grow your website.
We hope this article helped you learn how to install Google Analytics in WordPress. You may also want to see our ultimate WordPress SEO guide for beginners.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
I could not pass this point
Connect MonsterInsights’
should i try another way????
It would depend on the issue you’re running into, if there is an error, reach out to MonsterInsight’s support and they will be able to assist
Thank you! This article made it easy and quick to get set up! Blessings to you!
Glad our article could be helpful
Well, unfortunately this plugin crashed my website and WP is asking for $185 to fix it. I cannot access my website to uninstall Google Analytics. Any suggestions? I am a true Beginner to all of this.
A developer may be asking for $185 but WordPress shouldn’t be requesting money to fix your site. If you believe the error is from this plugin you can disable it using the method in our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-deactivate-all-plugins-when-not-able-to-access-wp-admin/
Thanks for the article, it’s helpful
You’re welcome, glad you found our content helpful
Hi. In section 3 where you say to add the code immediately after the tag, shouldn’t that be immediately after the opening tag?
We recommend the location we do in the article as your site would load the scripts above it first to start displaying your site before loading Google Analytics rather than first waiting for Google Analytics tracking then displaying your content.
Thank you for yet another great article!
You’re welcome
Hi, yesterday I installed using Monster Insights and kept scrolling to read, then closed down for the evening. Today, I opened it back up, forgot that I’d already installed MI and used the header/footer method. Will they cancel each other out, or is it okay to leave it?
Thanks,
Becky
You would want to remove the header method and keep the MonsterInsights method if you want to keep using MonsterInsights. If you don’t remove the extra method then it would show incorrect information.
Thanks so helpful, and so easy to follow. I stuck with your header and footer plugin as analytics stop communicating with another plugin that I was using.
You’re welcome, glad our guide could be helpful
The insert header and footer plugin helped me a lot. I use Flatsome child plugin and dont know how it works with that system…
with the plugin it was easy going
Thanks a lot!
Cheers,
Patrick
Glad our plugin could be helpful
Thanks! This made the process so easy!
Glad our recommendations could help
great job it really helped.
Glad our article helped
Hi,
Thanks for this article, it’s very clear and easy to follow. I have successfully installed monsterInsights and have been tracking for a few days now.
However Analytics seems to track only normal pages and not post-type pages (posts, news, etc.) on my site. Any ideas how to fix this? Thanks!
If it’s not tracking your analytics correctly for your posts, if you reach out to MonsterInsights’ support they should be able to help you check for any errors with the plugin.
Your PHP code changes were rolled back due to an error on line 534 of file wp-content/themes/infinite/functions.php. Please fix and try saving again.
syntax error, unexpected ‘<'
That's the message I get :-/
It would depend on the method you were using to place the code for why that error is popping up. If you’re using the manual method you may want to try adding to your functions.php
Can I use Google Analytics with a Premium subscription in WP?
I’ve this doubt ’cause on the official subscription page they say that the Premium account doesn’t support Google Analytics.
If you’re on WordPress.com then they normally require the business plan, our tutorials are for WordPress.org sites
How I check google analytics is successfully installed on my website?
You would either use inspect element to see if your code was added to your site or you could wait the 14-48 hours to see if it starts collecting your site information.
When I try to set up google analytics it says my URL is invalid. I have checked it and triple- triple checked it. I’m not sure what im doing wrong.
any suggestions?
You may want to check that if your site is using https the url you have set in Google Analytics is also the same.
Hello, I have a free wordpress.com account and to use the MonsterInsights or headers/footers plugins, it is requiring me to upgrade to a premium business account. Is there a way to use Google Analytics without paying for a business account?
Thank you in advance.
Not for WordPress.com at the moment, for clarification our tutorials are for WordPress.org sites: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-free-wordpress-com-infograph/
Thank you so much for this tutorial! Step by step instructions were perfect!
Thank you, glad our article could help
Hi, I have tried following the steps in your tutorial, but when I try to connect to google analytics, I am constantly told that I google analytics is only available with a “g suite” email, not an email ending in gmail.com. But I see in your example where it says “allow monster insights to access your google account” that your sample email ends in gmail.com. How can I get past this to access google analytics for my site? Thanks.
You would want to ensure you are using the same email you used to create your Google Analytics account and if you continue to have that problem, if you reach out to the plugin’s support they should be able to assist.
Is it okay to have the Yoast SEO plug in AND monster Insights, or should I get rid of the plug in? (I was finding it difficult anyways and don’t think I have it set up properly)
You can use both plugins, MonsterInsights helps you see what Google Analytics is saying about your site while Yoast helps Google understand what your site is about
Is it OK to add the UA-XXXXXXXX code to BOTH the “Monster Insights” plugin – AND TO – the “All in One SEO ” plugin at the same time ?
You would want to only add it using one method to reduce the chance of issues
I am very much confused how to add google analytics to my site. If i donot want to use the pluggin which steps I should take?
If you do not want to use a plugin then you would want to create a child theme and use the third method in the article to add the code. For how to create a child theme you can take a look at: https://www.wpbeginner.com/glossary/child-theme/
Very good post. As a newbee in this field, I was able to install the Insert Headers and Footers Plugin and connect with Google Analytics. This was for my Photography website.
Besides this, I also have a business website where I want to install this plugin and have Google Analytics. How can I do this? When I signin with Google, I am always redirect to Google Analytics of my Photography website?
How can I have a new script for my business website?
I hope to get a clear answer as I’m a newbee
Hi Eric,
Google Analytics allows you to add multiple websites. It calls them properties. Under your Google Analytics account click on the “Admin” menu at the bottom left corner of the screen. After that you will see an option to Add Property.
I’m so grateful for this article! I have been banging my head trying to figure this out on my own. Thank you!
Glad our guide could help you
Thanks so so much.
Quite helpful and relieving.
Glad our article could be helpful
Hi, I already had the Headers and footers plugin, since I have installed Monstterinsights, can I now uninstall Headers and Footers? Thanks.
Hi Tiago,
If you were using Insert Headers and Footers plugin just for Google Analytics code, then you can uninstall it after setting up MonsterInsights.
Being a newbie at blogging, I see now that when I first set up my blog I used the Insert Headers and Footers for my Analytics code. A year later (not knowing what I was doing) managed to set up MonsterInsights with a new Google Analytics account. I have now realized that I have two Google Analytics accounts tracking the same blog- one through Insert Headers and Footers and the other through MonsterInsights. Interesting to note, Insert headers and footers shows more visitors a month (almost 5,000 more). Which one do you think is more accurate? Which one do you think I should keep? Are there any negatives if I stop using one of them? Thanks so much for this video and advice!
I can NOT seem to access the functions.php folder ANYWHERE!!!
For whatever reason when I click on “Appearance” in the sidebar all I see is “Themes, customize, widgets, menus, header, background, theme options, amp, and Mobile” Where is Editor?? What is going on??
Hi Tyler,
functions.php is a file not a folder. You can also access it using FTP, simply connect to your website and go to wp-content/themes/your-theme-folder/ inside you will see your theme’s functions.php file which you can then edit using a plain text editor like notepad.
Well, i thought you were kidding. Many Tutorials make it so complicated and you got it done in 3 minutes!
Thank you so much for that!
which one is best plugin one or directly adding code to header…which one make page slow or website slow as compare to other
It is awesome thanks for the guidance!!!!!!!!
Hi,
I was using last method previously. I recently upadated theme. I was adding code in header.php and was adding code below tag. Because now I am unable to track and also unable to see code in view source Does mosterinsights show on analytics.google.com.
Am I correct.
I don’t know what’s wrong but my Analytics only detects AMP view so I tried to add new GA account and followed all these steps. Hope my stats back to normal. Thank you.
Hi…
Is it posaible to add two websites to a single google analytic account?
If yes, how can I do that?
Hi Gabriel,
Yes, you can add multiple websites to Google Analytics using the same Google account. Simply go to Google Analytics dashboard and click on the ‘Admin’ button. On the next screen, you can click on ‘Create New Account’ button and add another website.
Hi guys!
Long time fan and customer (Love my WPForms!).
Question regarding this great post:
Are there any negative effects if I add BOTH plugins?
Thanks for your great work,
Speaker Tim White
Hello Tim,
Yes, there are negative effects if you used both plugins. They will both be loading Google Analytics which would affect reporting. We recommend using MonsterInsights, because it will give you access to beautiful reports and advanced features.
Great description! I’m a WordPress-beginner and found it incredibly useful. I set it up in just a few minutes thanks to your detailed step-by-step-instructions!
Thank you so much! This was incredibly helpful! The video made it so easy.
Thank you guys
Hey dude,
This is really complete. However, I rather to know that is it better to install GA later when a new site reaches a certain decent traffic
thank you
I’m not sure I agree with this. I don’t think it’s ever too early to setup GA. in fact it’s one of the first things I setup. Almost no fun if you can’t see what kind of traction your blog is getting.
when i’m clicking on monsterinsight install. nthng is happening and install button is not accessible to me.
Simply edit the header.php file in your WordPress theme and paste the code you copied in step 4 right after the tag.
Is it really true ” right after the tag.” ?
I run a marketplace website that enables content owners sell their products. So I want each owner to be able to see, in real time, the analytics of each product they own, like number of items sold, how much was made, customer location, etc. when they login to their portal. Is this feature available with MonsterInsights?
Hi Dave,
It is actually done by your eCommerce software. Please see our guide on how to create an online marketplace using WordPress.
Excellent. Brilliant. Very clear explanation. Easy to follow. I used Monster Insights and it was exactly as you said. Many, Many, Thanks, Paul
Hi. I already have a google analytics account and just want to transfer or sync it with my wordpress blog. How can I do that without starting a whole new account and starting over?
Hi Darlene,
If it is for the same website, then you can follow the instructions above to install Google Analytics.
Will it work in a free plan?
Hi Troy,
Yes it would.
Thanks a lot for sharing this tutorial. It seems that it went faster than I expected. I have used Monster Insights plugin.
Great post!
Just one doubt: Can I use this on WordPress.com Premium plan?
Cheers!
Hi Diogo,
You can only install plugins on WordPress.com Business plans. Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Thank you so much for all the information, I understand this all much better than what any other person taught me.
Great instructions, so clear and works perfectly, thanks a lot guys !
I just installed and activated this plugin but I do not have the Dashboard option listed. Under Insights on my WordPress Dashboard I have Reports, Settings, Tools, and Addons. Is the Insights Dashboard a paid feature? I am using version 7.0.0 of MonsterInsights by Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights. Thanks.
Hi Charlene,
No you are seeing it correctly. The Reports page is the plugins overview page as well as dashboard where you can see your Google Analytics reports.
Awesome
I have followed same procedure and it worked quite well
Thanks