Whether you’re setting up a site for yourself or one for a client, you should be installing analytics to track important key metrics. These metrics will help you make both future design and marketing decisions, as well as see how well your efforts are paying off.
A Google Analytics account is a free and easy way to do this. So as you work hard to build more traffic, leads, subscribers and customers, you will be able to see general data including traffic numbers, traffic sources, time on site, bounce rate and so on, as well as specific site goals.
With this checklist, our goal is to help you quickly and easily set-up Google Analytics tracking using Google Tag Manager.
Initial Account Set-Up Steps
Step 1: Determine the goal(s) of the website
Each website has it’s own goals so beyond just basic analytics you will regularly review, you will want to measure specific goals such as form fills, buttons clicked, videos watched, phone numbers clicked, etc. Make sure you are clear on what you want to track so you can set-up Google Analytics to actually track what you want.
Next we need to set-up Google Tag Manager so it’s loaded on the website and then we’ll set-up and connect Google Analytics.
Step 2: Create a Google Tag Manager account
Visit https://tagmanager.google.com/ to set-up an account. Enter the site’s name and set a preferred country. Next you’ll need to enter a container name. The website domain can be used for this.
Step 3: Install Google Tag Manager
After setting up the account you will need to install Google Tag Manager. After following the prompts you will automatically be presented with the code you will need to use.
Step 4: Create a New Tag
Name your tag then select the Tag Configuration (Google Analytics – Universal Analytics in this instance) and Triggering (for specific pages, user engagement or other custom events). You’ll select the Track Type “Page View and under Google Analytics Settings “New Variable.”
To see the full set-up process in action, watch this:
Step 5: Insert Google Analytics Settings Tracking ID
Now you’ll need to insert your tracking ID from your Google Analytics account. If you don’t have an account yet, go to https://analytics.google.com/ and follow the prompts to set-up a new property (website) and you will be shown your tracking ID (this ID is used to identify your site). You’ll simply need to click “Create Account,” fill in the details and then copy the tracking ID at the top of the screen on the next page.
If you already have the property set-up, click on the Admin icon in the bottom left hand corner of the screen to grab your existing tracking ID.
Once you have the tracking ID, paste it into the form inside Google Tag Manager.
Step 6: Publish the Container
When the above steps have been completed, from Workspace tab, click the blue “Submit” button in the upper right hand corner. Then insert a version name (such as Google Analytics) and click “Publish.”
The Downloadable Checklist
Now you have the steps you need to set up Google Analytics using Google Tag Manager for all your and your client websites! Download the checklist to use for each new site you create and get our list of helpful GTM resources.
Download the Google Analytics Set-Up Using Google Tag Manager Checklist
Follow the steps on the checklist for every site you create so you don’t miss a step! Plus, access some of our favorite GTM resources including:
” /> 80+ Supported Tag Template” /> A Free Google Tag Manager Fundamentals Course” /> 100+ GTM tips” /> 40+ Google Tag Manager Recipes” /> and more
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