How to Setup Google Analytics for WordPress

How to Set Up Google Analytics for WordPress

If you’ve recently launched a website (or already have one) and you’re wondering whether anyone is actually visiting it, Google Analytics is the tool you need.

Google Analytics allows you to track website traffic, understand how visitors behave on your site, and gather the data needed to grow traffic and conversions. Best of all — it’s free.

This guide assumes you already have a website and are ready to install Google Analytics. If you don’t have hosting or need help getting your site set up, we can help.

The first step is to visit the Google Analytics website and sign in using your Google account.

Once signed in:

Create a new account
Enter an account name (this acts as an umbrella for all tracking related to your site)
Enter your website name
Add your website URL (use https if your site has an SSL certificate)
Choose your industry and time zone
Click Get Tracking ID

After that, you’ll need to accept Google’s Terms and Conditions.

Once completed, Google will provide you with either a Tracking ID or a tracking script. Which one you use depends on how you plan to install Google Analytics.

WordPress plugins usually only require the Tracking ID
Manual installations require the full tracking script

Adding Google Analytics to WordPress

For WordPress websites, one of the easiest ways to install Google Analytics is by using a plugin.

At the time of this guide, we used Google Analytics Dashboard for WP (GADWP).

After installing the plugin:

Go to the plugin settings
Click the authorization link to connect Google Analytics
Select the Google account associated with your Analytics property
Copy the access code provided
Paste the code into the plugin settings
Select the correct view (usually YourWebsite.com > All Web Site Data)
Save your settings

Once connected, the plugin automatically inserts the tracking script into your site — no manual coding required.

It may take a few days for data to start appearing, so don’t worry if reports aren’t visible immediately.

The Basics of Google Analytics

Once installed, Google Analytics will begin collecting data about:

Website visitors
Page views
Traffic sources
User behavior

This basic setup is enough for most site owners who simply want visibility into traffic and performance.

Google Analytics can also do much more, including:

Conversion tracking
Advanced reporting
Google Ads integration
Button and event tracking
Custom views and filters

Those features can be added later as your marketing strategy matures.

Why Use Google Analytics?

One major reason to use Google Analytics instead of platform-specific analytics tools is data ownership.

If you ever move your website away from WordPress to another platform, your analytics data stays intact. Tools like Jetpack or theme-based analytics are tied directly to WordPress, which means you lose that history if you migrate.

Google Analytics runs independently of your CMS, making it a long-term, future-proof solution.

Need Help?

If you need help with:

Website hosting
Website design
Marketing strategy
Analytics setup

Feel free to reach out and we’ll point you in the right direction.