Create Google Account and Install your Tracking Codes

Creating a Google Account is the first step in the process of signing up for Google Analytics. To create your Google Analytics account you need to provide a valid e-mail address and password, type the verification word from the graphic provided, read the Terms of Service and click "I accept. Create my account." You will then be provided with a piece of code that you need to paste into your Web pages, but you won't be able to view your reporting data immediately after you create the account.

It takes about 24 hours (sometimes even longer) for the reports to be ready for view.

5 simple steps to create a Google Account:

Ø  #1 Navigate to www.google.com/accounts in your browser or just click on the link if you want to create a Google Account

Ø  #2 Click on Create an account now (then the Google Accounts Create page appears)

Ø  #3 Fill in the required information.

Ø  #4 Read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Ø  #5 Click I accept. Create My Account.

Following these simple 5 steps you have successfully created your Google account.

Ø  #1 Navigate to www.google.com/analytics in your browser or just click on the link if you want to log in using your new Google account  

Ø  #2 Click Sign Up Now under Access Analytics in the right corner of the page (The Google New Account Sign Up page will appear)

Ø  #3  Enter the URL, account name (the name that you assign to your web site inside Google Analytics), time zone and the country of the web site that you would like to track

Ø  #4 Click Continue.

Ø  #5 Fill in the required information and accept the user agreement.

Following these 5 simple steps you have successfully added your first web site profile in Google Analytics.

You can track multiple sites with Google Analytics by adding additional Web site profiles or simply web sites. When you log in to your Google Analytics account, you will find a drop-down menu listing all your profiles. Some books on SEO and Google Analytics say that there is no limit to the amount of web sites you can track, but Wikipedia article on the topic claims that you can track up to 50 sites or profiles.

If you decide so, you can grant additional users the ability to view your profiles in Google Analytics. You can do this by entering the Access Manager (on the initial Setting page) and clicking Add User. To add a user, you must enter a valid e-mail address of this user (note that the person has to have a Google account) and the user's name.

You may want to limit the additional user by activating a view-reports-only setting or you may grant the user full administrative abilities, which is done by selecting an account type.

How to install your Google Analytics Tracking Code

The tracking code for Google Analytics tracks the behavior of visitors for every single visit to your site, therefore, it is very important to make sure that your tracking code is correctly placed on every single page of your web site. Remember, after you add your Google Analytics tracking code to your site, it will take a few days for Google to gather enough data to give you a complete view of your site performance.

Where can you find your Google Analytics Tracking Code?

You can find your Google Analytics Tracking Code at any time inside your Analytics Profile Settings Page. The code is presented inside a text box so that you can simply highlight the code and copy it to the Clipboard.

Where should you install or copy your Google Analytics code?

There are two ways of installing the code (depending on web design):

1) If you have your own web sites that are not template based, you have to insert the tracking into each page manually - the ideal place for the Google Analytics tracking code is just before the </head> tag on each page.

2) If you have a web design which is based on templates, you need to copy and paste the code only once to your template file.

If you are a member of the Hubpages community and wondering where to paste your code – it is very easy:

go to my account – click on earnings – go to the reporting settings (right under affiliate settings) and click configure to paste your Google Analytics tracking code.

Follow these 5 simple steps:

• #1 Log in into your Google Analytics Account
• #2 Click EDIT under the SETTINGS column for the profile you want to track (The Google Analytics profile setting page will appear)
• #3 Click CHECK STATUS in the upper-right corner of the page (The GA tracking code will appear)
• #4 highlight and copy your tracking code from the text box in the Tracking Code page
• #5 Paste the code into your web site (for details, please check the text under How to copy and paste the Google Analytics tracking code?above)

There is a simple tool inside Google Analytics that can help you check whether you installed your tracking code properly – Check status link. Once you have entered the Google Analytics home page, click ENTER under the SETTINGS column of the profile you want to check. Once you have entered that site's SETTINGS page, click on CHECK STATUS link in the upper-right corner. You will be taken to a page displaying information on whether you have successfully installed your code. If you find the response "RECEIVING DATA" that means the Google Analytics code has been installed successfully.

The reports based on the Google Analytics code will take effect within 24 hours-28 hours (after the first log in). They are usually updated every 24 hours. To achieve ideal search engine optimization results, you must learn what Google Analytics is and how to use it in detail.

Did you find this hub helpful? If so, vote up, leave a comment or question.