Google Analytics
It tells you which pages bring customers and which ones they leave on. We can build the reporting and put the code in, but the property has to measure traffic at your domain — and only an account in your name can do that. We cannot create it for you.
READ THIS FIRST · THE MISTAKES THAT COST THE MOST
Where this goes wrong
- Do not create a second account because a walkthrough told you to. A business with two Analytics accounts reports to two different places and one of them is always wrong.
- If the left column says Universal Analytics, that is the old version. You want a Google Analytics property — the column should read Data streams, and if it does not, you are in the old one.
- The reports will look empty at first, and that is not a fault. Data does not start arriving the moment you press the button, so do not go changing settings because the numbers are quiet.
- Decide yoursite.com versus www.yoursite.com before you start. Google treats them as two different properties unless it is deliberately set up to cover both.
Before you start
If one of these is missing, get it sorted first. It is faster than stalling halfway through.
- A Google account. If you use Gmail you already have one. If the business has never had one, create it with the business email rather than a personal address.
- Your website's domain written down exactly as it will be typed, including whether it is yoursite.com or www.yoursite.com.
- Access to wherever your DNS records live — usually the registrar, or Cloudflare if DNS has been moved there.
Do it in this order
Open analytics.google.com and sign in with the Google account for the business. If it is your first time, press Start measuring. If Google tells you that you already have an Analytics account, use that one — do not make a second.
Name the account after the business. In the left column, choose Admin, then Create, then Account.
Add your first property: Create, then Property. Give it a name, pick the time zone your business actually works in, and choose the currency you price in — revenue is reported in that currency, and it is very hard to change later.
Choose your industry category, your business size, and how you intend to use Analytics. If what you want is more calls and booked jobs, choose the option about generating more leads — it changes which reports you are handed.
Now the data stream. Choose Web, type your website address without https:// , and leave enhanced measurement switched on. Press Create stream.
Under Stream details, copy the measurement ID. It starts with G- . That is the number we need.
Send us the measurement ID. Installing it on your site and confirming the property is verified is our half, not yours.