Google analytics has become the de-facto method of measuring statistics for websites and blogs. To use Google Analytics with your site you will first need a google account with analytics enabled.

Assuming you have google analytics already set up, then you need to insert a special tracking code on all the pages of your site for it to track visits. Thankfully, there are plenty of wordpress plugins that will handle this for you. You can also view your google analytics data straight from the dashboard. When it comes to choosing a google analytics wordpress plugin, there is no shortage of options. I chose Google Analytics Dashboard for WP and have found it good so far on my websites.

 

Installing Google Analytics Dashboard for WP Plugin

You can install this by going to the Plugins section of your WordPress Dashboard and in ‘Add New’ enter “google analytics dashboard”. You can see the plugin on the right here. Click on the ‘Install Now’ button.

 

Once the plugin has finished installing use the ‘Activate Plugin’ link above to activate.

 

Authorizing the Plugin

Once the plugin is installed, you will see it listed with your other plugins. While it is active, it has not yet been configured for use with your google analytics account.

 

If you go to the Settings for the plugin you will see that the plugin needs to be authorized with your google analytics account. Just make sure you’re logged in to your google account and use the ‘Authorize Plugin’ button below.

 

On the next screen you’re asked for an access code. Just use the red ‘get access code’ link as instructed.

 

If you have more than one google account, select the one you want to use and then you will see a screen like this one. You need to allow the plugin to view your google analytics data.

 

You now get an access code from google analytics. Copy the entire string of code from here, and paste it into the Access Code box in the previous window.

 

 

Hit the ‘Save Access Code’ button and you should get a message saying that the plugin authorization has succeeded and showing the details of your website.

 

 

View your Google Analytics Data

Finally, go back to your wordpress dashboard and you will see a new widget showing your google analytics graph. (You can toggle visibility in the ‘Screen Options’ dropdown at the top of your dashboard.

 

You now have Google Analytics tracking your site.