Setting Up Google Analytics

Google Analytics can help you find lots of valuable insight from your website traffic. For example, it can show you how many users are on your site each day, how long they stay, which pages are most popular, and other useful info such as if they came from a referring website or directly, etc. 

Notes:

• Google Analytics only works for websites that have been launched onto a full domain name (ex: yourwebsite.com, as opposed to yourwebsite.realtyninja.com). So wait for your site to be fully launched before setting Google Analytics up.
• Google Analytics will only track data from the day it was initially set up on your website. You won't be able to see historical data before that point. Reports are shown with a 1 day delay by default. Check your Google Analytics reports at least 24 hours after you've initially set up the tracking code.

Sections:

• New Accounts: Setting up Google Analytics 4 (The new version of Google Analytics)
• Existing Accounts: Upgrading from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4
• Installing The Tracking Code On Your Website
• Accessing Your Google Analytics Account
• Changing the Protocol of Your Site from HTTP to HTTPS
• How To Setup Lead Tracking

New Accounts: Setting up Google Analytics 4 (The new version of Google Analytics)

Note: Google often changes their interface, so the screenshots below may be out of date but the steps should generally be the same.

1. Go to https://analytics.google.com/ and click "Start Measuring".

2. Use an existing google account (gmail, google workspace, etc) to log in or create a new one for this purpose.

3. Fill in the "Account Setup" form then click "Next".

4. Fill in the "Property Setup" form, then click "Next".

5. Fill in the "About Your Business" form, then click "Create".

6. Accept the terms presented.

7. Select "Web" under "Choose a platform".

8. Fill in the "Website URL" and "Stream Name" fields under "Set up your web stream", then click "Create Stream".

Note: 

• Reminder: You'll need to make sure your website is launched and working at a SSL secured full domain name first before setting this up. 
• Make sure to choose "https://" from the dropdown, then type in your website URL (such as www.realtyninjademo.com).

9. Scroll down to the "Tagging Instructions" section, and choose "Global Site Tag".

Optional/advanced: Choose "Google Tag Manager" then read this document on adding Google Analytics to Google Tag Manager.

10. Click the COPY icon.

11. Continue with the steps outlined in "Installing The Tracking Code On Your Website" below, using the "Custom Header Code" option. That's it!

Existing Accounts: Upgrading from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4

Use the GA4 Setup Assistant in your Google Analytics account to create and set up a new Google Analytics 4 property. Here are the steps:

1. Sign in to your Google Analytics account at www.google.com/analytics/

2. Click the Admin icon (bottom left).

3. Select GA4 Setup Assistant.

4. Click "Get Started" under "I want to create a new Google Analytics 4 property".

5. Click "Create property".

6. Click "See your GA4 property" under "Explore and set up your GA4 property".

7. Select "Tag installation".

8. Select your stream under "Data Streams".

9. Scroll down to the "Tagging Instructions" section, and choose "Global Site Tag".

Optional/advanced: Choose "Google Tag Manager" then read this document on adding Google Analytics to Google Tag Manager.

10. Click the COPY icon.

11. Continue with the steps outlined in "Installing The Tracking Code On Your Website" below, using the "Custom Header Code" option. That's it!

Installing The Tracking Code On Your Website

1. Login to your website (yourwebsite.com/login)

2. Click SETTINGS > Custom Code

3. Paste the Tracking Code into the appropriate "custom code" setting and save it. Read the instructions of the code snippet provided by Google. It will tell you where the snippet should be placed. For example:

• If it says "before the closing HEAD tag" (or in the HEAD tag) then paste it in the "Custom Header Code" field.
• If it says "after the opening BODY tag" then paste it in the "Custom Body Code" field.
• If it says "before the closing BODY tag" then paste it in the "Custom Footer Code" field.

Accessing Your Google Analytics Account

Check out this article for instructions on how to access and view your analytics:

• https://support.realtyninja.com/article/96-accessing-your-google-analytics-account

Changing the Protocol of Your Site from HTTP to HTTPS

If your website is currently set to the non-secure version (HTTP) in Google Analytics and you wish to set it to the secure version (HTTPS) please follow the steps below.

1. Go to https://analytics.google.com and go to the existing Google Analytics Property you’d like to change the protocol for to SSL/HTTPS.

2. Click on the "ADMIN" label on the main menu.

3. Click PROPERTY SETTINGS.

4. Under Default URL change the protocol from HTTP to HTTPS.

5. Click Save.

Note: Sometimes Google may tell you that your domain/tracking is not yet verified - if this happens, please wait 2-4 hours and check again, as this procedure may take some time.

How to setup lead tracking when the GA4 snippet is added directly to your site (as outlined in the above guide)

1. Instructions coming soon
2. Once setup you can use this help doc to learn how to view the lead information