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.
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.
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
Your a life saver, thanks for the post!
Hi, when I’m trying to Authenticate my Google Analytics account with MonsterInsights , it’s said “error, cannot connect to google”, where can be my mistake? thank you
Hi Polina,
Please try again in a few minutes. If you still see the error make sure you are signed in with the same Google account you use for Google Analytics.
When I tried entering the Google Analytics code, I got an error saying “Bad Google Code. Try Again.” I haven’t launched my blog yet (Feb 1st to be exact), so I don’t have any posts published. Is that why I would get that error?
Hi CeCe,
No, you can still add Google Analytics to your website. You need to carefully cope the authentication and paste it. Make sure you are signed in using the same Google Account you used to create Google Analytics.
awesome, you totally answered all my questions. Thank you!
Thank you so much for these directions.
These directions were spot on. Thank you so much!
Very helpful indeed. Thanks for helping us the novice users of WordPress.
Thanks so much. I lost my website like 2 years ago and i can’t remember how to get the google analytics plugin which previously was maintained by Yoast, now that i read this, i know it now goes with the name monsterinsight. Keep it up!
Thanks for the tutorial video I was able to install it on my site.
Hi,
I hope you can help me out. I’ve been trying to set up google analytics but ghostery and adblock might be preventing me to get the tracking id. I’ve already whitelisted and unblocked the site but to no avail. Thanks.
Hi Theresa,
You can use a different browser like Firefox or Opera without installing those addons, you can also uninstall those addons temporarily. Set up your Google Analytics and then start using your regular browser with these addons.
you’ll need to disable ghostery and adblock in order for the Google website to load properly.
The Monster insights plugin works! Other methods that I found online like inserting the code into the header.php file did not generate any results at all. Thank you for posting this.
This is exactly what I was looking for – thanks! The Monster Insights plugin works perfectly.
thank you very much that you share really useful gratitude teacher
hi , i just insert the google analytics in header.php , and it desapear , i guess i did it wrong , the think is my google map in my website aint working no more , so there is any way i can reverse that code or roll back to deleted it ?, thank you
Will there be any problem(s) if I don’t install the “Insert Headers and Footers Plugin” after installing and setting up Google Analytics on my site?
Hate WordPress, but loved the tutorial. Learned a lot and solved my problem (how to add Google Analytics code to my header) within minutes. Many thanks.
Hi, the article is really helpful, i used Monster Insight for my site as suggested and explained clearly.
Hey, great article! I used monster plugin but now I want to verify my google search console by my google analytics account and its not working. Can I verify google search console by syncing my GA account with my website only through monsterinsights?
Thanks!
Thanks for the simple and useful article. I was able to use this to setup Google analytics for my site
Thanks & Regards
I have just set up Monsterinsights on my WordPress website (I use .org). I use the theme Onepress Plus. Does this mean if I do a update of the theme my analytics will be gone from the code?
Hi Kelly,
If you are using MonsterInsights, then your Google Analytics settings will not change when you update or change your WordPress theme.