How To Set up Google Analytics for Your Contract Service Company
Once you have gotten your contract service business website created, one of the next things you should do is set up the following Google Suite tools: Google My Business, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics.
If you have never set these tools up, it can feel intimidating. Fortunately, Google makes it fairly straightforward, and we have created articles that walk you through how to set each of them up.
In this article, we will walk you through how to set up your Google Analytics and how to get it connected to your website.
Step 1: Create a Google Analytics Account For Your Contract Service Business
To set up your Google Analytics account, start out by going to google.com/analytics and select “Start for free.”
Login with your company google email account (this would be the same email account you would use for Google My Business). If you reach this stage and don’t have a Google account yet, you can select “Create account” in the bottom left corner of the login screen.
Once logged in, press the blue “Set up for free” button in the middle of the screen. Type in an account name. This could be the name of your business or “[Business Name] Website.”
Keep the following pre-selected options for data sharing checked:
Google products & services
Benchmarking
Technical support
Account specialists
Once you click next, it will ask you if you want to measure a website, an application, or both. When setting this up for a contract service business website, you will want to go with “website.”
Step 2: Create a Google Analytics Property For Your Contract Service Website
Under Property details, it will ask you to type in your website name and URL. In this section, you can use the full URL for both of these fields.
After you have pasted in your URL, select an industry category that best fits your business. Choose your reporting time zone so that the reports are synced with your local time, then press “Create.”
When you press create, Google will provide a screen requesting that you agree to the terms for your country/ region. If not already pre-populated, select your country/region and then check both of the boxes saying you agree to the terms.
Once you have completed these steps, your Google Analytics should be working. However, you still will need to set up a Google Analytics property and get your website connected.
Step 3: Add Your Google Analytics To Your Contract Service Website To Begin Tracking
To collect data in Google Analytics on your website’s performance, you will need to install the tracking code on your website. There are a few different ways to do this depending on the type of website platform you are using.
Some will have a section you can paste your Google Analytics ID into. Others will require you to put it in the head of your website code. Others may require you to add a plugin to connect to Google Analytics.
The tracking information for your Google Analytics should appear within your Google Analytics account. If it does not appear within the main screen for you automatically, click the home button within Google Analytics and then press “Admin” in the bottom left, and then click on “Tracking info” and then “Tracking code.”
Example of How To Paste a Google Analytics ID Into Wix
If you are using a website builder like Wix, Weebly, Shopify, or SquareSpace you can copy the Tracking ID and put it into the Admin section of your website.
To add to Wix, go to the editing platform and select marketing integrations. Then locate the “Google Analytics” tab and press “Connect.” Then press “Connect Google Analytics” in the top right. When you click this, it will provide you with a screen to enter your Google Analytics ID. Paste your ID in and then press “Save.”
Example of Putting Google Analytics ID Into a Coded Website
While you most likely did not choose to code your website, if you did or if you happen to have a coded website without an easy and clear spot to put your Google Analytics ID in, we will discuss how to add Google Analytics to a coded website.
To add the code, start by copying the Global Site Tag code in Google Analytics and paste it below the opening <head> tag on your website’s code.
Example of Adding Google Analytics ID Into WordPress Site
If you are using WordPress, select “plugins” and then “add new.” Search “MonsterInsights” to locate the Google Analytics Dashboard Plugin for Wordpress by MonsterInsights and click “install now” and once finished installing, click “activate” then click “Launch the Wizard.”
Then select the category that best fits your website among the following:
Business Website
Publisher (blog)
Ecommerce
You will most likely want to select “Business Website.” Once you have selected your category, press “Connect MonsterInsights.” Login with your business Google account or the Google account linked to your website and then select “Allow.”
Leave the recommended settings as they are and then press “Save and continue” and then select “Finish Setup & Edit Wizard.”
Step 4: Confirm Google Analytics is Tracking Your Website Metrics
Once you get your Google Analytics set up, you will want to double check that it is working. To do this, you can open an incognito browser on your computer. To open an incognito browser on your website, click the three vertical dots in the top right corner of your browser:
In the menu, you should see the option to open a “New Incognito Window.” Open an incognito browser and then type in your website URL in the search bar at the top.
Refresh your Google Analytics browser and check to see if it is showing 1 active user on your website.
If it is showing 1 active user, that means it is seeing the traffic coming from your incognito browser and that it is properly connected.
Track Your Contract Service Website’s Traffic On Google Analytics
Once you have successfully set up your Google Analytics and have gotten it connected to your website, you will be able to start tracking the traffic your website receives.
Google Analytics provides common reports that you can add to your dashboard or you can customize your dashboard and reports to track even more specific details.
Have questions about getting Google Analytics set up? Contact us today. To keep learning about how you can optimize your contract service business website, subscribe to our newsletter below.
