Everything you need to know about Google Analytics and Google Search Console

What is it, how to set it up and how to share access to your website developer

Google Analytics is a free web-based tool that allows businesses and website owners to track and analyse the performance of their website. When utilising Google Analytics, you can learn how visitors interact with your site, where they come from, and what they do while they’re on your site. This information can help you make data-driven decisions to improve the user experience and increase conversions on your website.

By tracking key metrics such as page views, bounce rate, and time spent on your site, you can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your website and its content. Google Analytics also allows you track the performance of your online advertising campaigns and see how they are contributing to your overall business goals.

What about Google Search Console?

Google Search Console is a free service offered by Google that helps website owners monitor and maintain their site’s presence in Google search results. It provides valuable insights and data about how Google crawls and indexes your website, as well as any issues that may be affecting your site’s visibility in search results. This information can help you improve your website’s performance and ranking in search results.

What are the benefits of using Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a powerful tool for business owners because it allows them to gain insights into how their website is performing and how visitors are interacting with it. With this information, business owners can make informed decisions about how to improve their website and ultimately drive more traffic and sales.

What are the benefits of Google Search Console?

Google Search Console offers similar benefits to Google Analytics, however data is focused more directly on the website itself rather than interaction trends and visitor conversions. It provides a place for you to submit your sitemap and individual URLs for crawling, which can help ensure that all of your site’s pages are being indexed by Google and included in search results. It also alerts you to any potential issues or errors on your website, such as crawl errors or security issues, so you can take action to fix them and maintain your site’s performance.

How is Google Search Console different from Google Analytics?

Google Search Console and Google Analytics are two different tools that serve different purposes for businesses. Google Search Console is specifically designed to help website owners monitor and maintain their site’s presence in Google search results. Google Analytics is a more general-purpose tool that provides website owners with detailed insights and data about their website’s traffic, user behaviour, interactions, conversions, and other metrics.

How do I set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console on my website?

To set up Google Analytics, you need to create a Google Analytics account and then add the tracking code to your website. Your website developer will generally do this as part of your website build and launch. Talk to them about whether the addition of Google Analytics is included and whether they can help you with the process.

If you are setting up Google Analytics yourself, here’s a general outline of the steps you need to follow:

1. Go to the Google Analytics website and click on the “Sign In” button in the top right corner.
2. If you don’t already have a Google account, click on the “Create” link next to the “Sign In” button and follow the instructions to create a new Google account.
3. Once you’re signed in to your Google account, click on the “Admin” button in the bottom left corner of the page.
4. In the “Property” column, click on the “Create Property” button.
5. Enter the name and URL of your website, select the “Website” option, and then click on the “Create” button.
6. Google Analytics will now generate a tracking code for your website. Click on the “Tracking Code” link in the middle column to view the code.
7. Copy the tracking code and paste it into the HTML code of your website, just before the closing </head> tag.
8. Save your changes and upload the updated version of your website to your web server.

Google Search Console setup follows similar steps to Google Analytics. You are able to use the same Google account to verify manage your Google Search Console. A basic outline:

1. Go to the Google Search Console and sign in with your Google account.
2. Click the “Add a Property” button and enter the URL of your website.
3. Select the “Alternate methods” option and then choose the “HTML tag” option.
4. Copy the HTML tag provided by Google Search Console and paste it into the <head> section of your website’s HTML code.
5. Go back to Google Search Console and click the “Verify” button to complete the setup process.

How do I share access to Google Analytics and Google Search Console to my website developer?

User permissions are managed in the Settings within your Google Search Console and Google Analytics platforms. To share access to Google Search Console with others, you can add them as users in your Google Search Console account. Here’s how to do it:

1. Sign in to your Google Search Console account.
2. In the top right corner, click on the Settings icon (the gear icon) and then select “Users and permissions” from the drop-down menu.
3. On the “Users and permissions” page, click on the “Add user” button.
4. Enter the email address of the user you want to add, and then select the level of access you want to grant them. You can choose from the following options:
   
   a.) Full: The user will have full access to all features and functions in Google Search Console.
   b.) Restricted: The user will only have access to specific features and functions in Google Search Console. You can customize their access by selecting the specific features and functions you want to grant them access to.
   c.) View only: The user will only have read-only access to Google Search Console. They won’t be able to make any changes or take any actions.

5. Click on the “Add” button to add the user to your account.

Google Analytics shared access is very similar. Here’s how to share access to your Google Analytics account:

1. Login to Google Analytics for your site’s property
2. Navigate to “admin” at the bottom part of the page.
3. Click on “account access management” to add the email address you want to share access to.
4. Click on the + icon on the top right corner of the page.
5. Enter the email address and select the level of access that you would like to grant the user. You can choose from the following options:
   
   a.) Administrator: The user will have full control over the analytics account
   b.) Editor: The user will be able to edit data and settings within the account however cannot manage user permissions.
   c.) Analyst: The user can create and edit shared dashboards for the account but are unable to make changes to data or role settings
   d.) Viewer: The user can view the dashboard and relevant data but have no editing capabilities.

If you are sharing your accounts with a website developer, they will inform you of the level of access they require. In most circumstances, especially if SEO is being performed, the website developer will require administration level access.

Up your game with data to keep you ahead

If you want to understand how visitors are interacting with your website and improve your website’s performance in search results, you need to install Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These powerful tools provide valuable insights into your website’s traffic, traffic sources, and search engine visibility. With this information, you can make data-driven decisions to optimise your website and improve its performance.

If you need help installing the tools on your website, talk to Jezweb today. Reach out on 1300 024 766 or email mail@jezweb.net.