Short answer: Go to analytics.google.com, create an account and a property with your time zone and currency, and add a Web data stream with your site’s address. Then copy the measurement ID, which usually starts with “G-”, into your website builder, or paste the Google tag right after the <head> of every page. On WordPress, Google’s free Site Kit plugin does it for you. Data can take up to 30 minutes to start, and the Realtime report shows whether it arrives.
What you need before you start
- A Google Account. You sign in with it to create the Analytics account and the property.
- Your site’s address, the one visitors type, such as example.com.
- Access to your website builder or its HTML, to add the tag. If you can’t edit the HTML, Google’s help says to ask your web developer.
From Google Analytics Help, “Set up Analytics for a website and/or app”, read November 2, 2026.
How to create your Google Analytics 4 account and property
- Go to analytics.google.com. If it’s your first time, click Start measuring.
- Give the account a name and choose its data-sharing settings, which control what data you share with Google. Click Next.
- Name the property, for example “My Business website”, and pick the reporting time zone and currency.
- Click Next, choose your industry category and business size, and then how you plan to use Analytics.
- Click Create and accept the Analytics Terms of Service and the Data Processing Amendment.
- Choose Web, enter your website’s address and a name for the stream, leave enhanced measurement on and click Create stream.
The time zone decides on which day each visit is counted, and changing it later only affects data from then on. What you choose for how you’ll use Analytics changes the default reports: Google’s example is “Generate more leads”, which adds lead reports.
From Google Analytics Help, “Set up Analytics for a website and/or app”.
How to add Google Analytics to your website
Your property needs a tag on every page of your site to collect data. There are three ways, depending on how your site is built:
- Website builders with an Analytics field. Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, GoDaddy, HubSpot and others only ask for your measurement ID. In Analytics, go to Admin and click Data streams: Google’s help puts it under Data collection and modification, or under Property settings. Click your stream, copy the Measurement ID under Stream details and paste it in the field your builder provides.
- Any other site. In the same stream, under Google tag, click View tag instructions and choose Install manually. Paste the whole tag, from <!-- Google tag (gtag.js) --> to </script>, immediately after the <head> of each page.
- Google Tag Manager. If your site already uses it, add the Google tag there with your measurement ID.
From Google Analytics Help, “Set up Analytics for a website and/or app” and “Find your Google tag ID”.
How to add Google Analytics to WordPress
Google built an official WordPress plugin, Site Kit, that is free to use. Your site has to be publicly accessible, not in maintenance mode or behind a password. With your Analytics property already created:
- In WordPress, go to Plugins, click Add New, search for “Site Kit” and click Install Now, then Activate.
- Click Site Kit in the menu, check Connect Google Analytics as part of your setup and click Sign in with Google.
- Choose the Google Account that has your property, click Proceed to verify you own the site and Allow to grant access.
- Click Set up Google Analytics, choose your property and click Complete Setup.
Along the way Site Kit also offers to add your site to Search Console. Google’s help lists the MonsterInsights plugin as another way to connect WordPress.
From Google Analytics Help, “Site Kit plugin (WordPress): Set up your Google tag” and “Set up Analytics for a website and/or app”.
Check that it works
Google says data collection may take up to 30 minutes to begin. Then open the Realtime report: its “Active users in last 30 minutes” card shows everyone on your site in that window. Visit your site from your phone and look for your own visit there.
From Google Analytics Help, “Set up Analytics for a website and/or app” and “Realtime report”.
What Google Analytics 4 measures on its own
With enhanced measurement on, the tag records these events without any code change:
| What it records | Event | When |
|---|---|---|
| Page views | page_view | Each time a page loads. You can’t turn it off |
| Scrolls | scroll | The first time a visitor reaches the bottom of a page (90% of its height) |
| Outbound clicks | click | Each click on a link to another website |
| Site search | view_search_results | Each time a visitor sees your search results page |
| File downloads | file_download | Each click on a link to a file, such as a PDF |
| Form interactions | form_start, form_submit | The first time a visitor uses a form in a visit, and when they send it |
Google also measures how visitors play YouTube videos embedded on your pages, when the embed has JS API support enabled. You can turn off any option except page views in the stream settings, and Google requires that no personally identifiable information is collected.
From Google Analytics Help, “Enhanced measurement events”.
Mark your leads as key events
A visit is not a customer. Mark the events that matter to your business as key events, so your reports count them apart: for a local business, usually a contact form sent or a call button pressed. In Admin, under Data display, click Events, find the event and click the star next to it. A standard property can mark up to 30 events as key events.
If you run ads, the next step is to use those key events there. Our guides cover Google Ads conversion tracking and the Meta Pixel and Conversions API.
From Google Analytics Help, “Mark events as key events” and “About key events”.
Before you trust the numbers
- The property uses your business’s time zone and currency.
- The tag is on every page, not only the home page.
- The Realtime report shows your own visit from your phone.
- Enhanced measurement is on, with the options you want.
- Your contact form or call button is marked as a key event.
- No form sends names, emails or phone numbers to Analytics.
RememberCreate the account, the property and a Web stream at analytics.google.com. Add the “G-” ID to your builder, the tag after <head>, or Site Kit on WordPress, and check the Realtime report. Then mark your leads as key events.
If you want us to set up your measurement, our automation service starts with it.
Quick answers about setting up Google Analytics 4
Is Google Analytics 4 free?
Yes. Google presents it as a way to get insights on your website or app at no cost. There is also Analytics 360, with higher limits: its properties can mark 50 events as key events, against 30 in a standard property.
How long does Google Analytics take to show data?
Google says data collection may take up to 30 minutes to begin after you add the tag. The Realtime report shows the users on your site in the last 30 minutes, so it is the quickest way to check that the setup works.
Where do I find my Google Analytics measurement ID?
In Admin, click Data streams and then your web stream. Under Stream details, copy the Measurement ID. It usually starts with “G-”, and it is the number most website builders ask for when you connect Google Analytics.
How do I add Google Analytics to WordPress without code?
With Google’s free Site Kit plugin. Install and activate it from Plugins and check “Connect Google Analytics as part of your setup”. Then sign in with Google and follow the steps to verify your site and pick your Analytics property. Google’s help also lists the MonsterInsights plugin.
What is a key event in Google Analytics?
An event that matters to your business, like a contact form sent or a call button pressed, that you mark with a star in Admin, under Data display, Events. Reports then count key events separately. A standard property can mark up to 30.
Sources
All read on November 2, 2026. Google Analytics Help: Set up Analytics for a website and/or app, Site Kit plugin (WordPress): Set up your Google tag and Find your Google tag ID. Also Realtime report, Enhanced measurement events, Mark events as key events and About key events.