If You're Not Tracking, You're Guessing
Most beginners launch a website and have no idea who's visiting, how they found it, or what they do when they get there.
Google Analytics fixes that. It's free, powerful, and gives you data that can genuinely change how you make decisions about your website.
Here's how to set it up and what to pay attention to.
What Is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics (now GA4) is a free tool that tracks your website visitors. It tells you:
- How many people visit your site
- Where they come from (Google, social media, direct, email)
- Which pages they visit
- How long they stay
- What device they use
- Where in the world they are
This data helps you understand what's working and what's not.
Step 1: Create a Google Analytics Account
Go to analytics.google.com and sign in with your Google account. Click “Start measuring.”
Create an Account Name (your business or site name). Then create a Property. GA4 is the current version. Give your property a name and fill in your time zone and currency.
Next, set up a Data Stream. Choose Web. Enter your website URL and stream name. Click Create Stream.
Step 2: Install the Tracking Code
Google Analytics gives you a Measurement ID (it looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX) and a piece of tracking code. You need to install this on every page of your website.
The easiest methods:
- WordPress: Use a plugin like Site Kit by Google. It connects GA4, Search Console, and other Google tools in one place. Free and beginner-friendly.
- Wix: Go to Settings, Tracking and Analytics, and add your Measurement ID. Wix handles the rest.
- Squarespace: Go to Settings, Advanced, External Services. Paste your Measurement ID.
Once installed, visit your own site and check GA4. You should see yourself appear in the Realtime report within a minute or two.
$17/month
Key Features
Extensive collection of templates
App Market for adding extra functionality
Advanced design features like video backgrounds and animation
Why We Recommend It
Storage and Bandwidth:
From 500MB storage and 1GB bandwidth on the free plan to 50GB storage on higher plans
Extras and Inclusions:
Wix offers a wide range of customizable e-commerce templates
Built-in SEO tools to help your store rank better in search results
Multiple payment solutions and business apps through the Wix App Market
Pros & Cons
- Pros: Intuitive site builder with drag-and-drop features
- A wide variety of templates
- Competitive pricing
- Shopify is more scalable for large e-commerce operations
- E-commerce tools need to be more comprehensive
Step 3: Understand the Key Reports
GA4 has a lot of reports. As a beginner, focus on these three:
Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition
This shows where your visitors come from. Organic Search means Google. Direct means someone typed your URL. Social means social media. Referral means another website linked to you.
This tells you what's driving traffic so you can do more of what's working.
Reports > Engagement > Pages and Screens
This shows which pages people visit most and how long they spend on each one. High time on page usually means people are engaged with that content. Low time might mean the content isn't what they expected.
Realtime Report
Shows visitors on your site right now. Useful for checking that your tracking code is installed correctly and for monitoring spikes in traffic after sharing content.
Set Up Goals (Conversions)
The most valuable thing you can do in GA4 is track conversions. A conversion is an action that matters to your business, like filling in a contact form, clicking a phone number, or signing up for an email list.
In GA4, go to Configure, then Events, and mark your key events as Conversions. This allows you to see not just how many people visited, but how many took meaningful action.
