Setting up Google Analytics, which allows you to track the key metrics related to visitors and conversions on your website, can seem like a daunting task to people with no coding or web knowledge. It’s actually quite easy.

1. Create a Google Analytics account.

Visit http://www.google.com/analytics/ to sign up for a new account. Click the Access Google Analytics button in the top right-hand corner and follow the on-screen instructions.

2. Obtain the tracking code snippet for your property.

A “tracking code snippet” is a few lines of code provided by Google that you will add to your website in order to properly track data. Sign into your Google Analytics account, and click Admin in the top menu bar. From the Account and Property columns, select the property (website) you’re working with. Click Tracking Info / Tracking Code (it’s the .js icon, see below).

3. Copy the tracking code snippet.

In the Tracking Info / Tracking Code interface you are seeing, you’ll see a box with a snippet of code. It starts with <script> and ends with </script>. Do not edit the code of snippet, simply make sure that you have the code highlighted and then press CTRL + C. This will copy the code.

4. Paste the code into your website.

This is the part that can be tricky. On some websites, like websites utilizing a WordPress theme, often there will be a place in your admin or “theme options” dashboard where you can easily paste the code (CTRL + V) into a spot that a says something along the lines of “paste your Google Analytics Code here”. If you are not familiar with the back-end of your website, or are not comfortable working in the back-end of your site, it’s a good idea to get in touch with whoever built your website and email them the tracking code. This is a very easy task for a skilled developer.

You will want to request that your developer: “Paste the tracking code immediately before the closing </head> tag.”

5. Check to make sure that you set up the code properly.

There are a few ways to do this. One of the easiest ways, and the method that I use, is to install the “Tag Assistant” application into your Google Chrome Browser. Then you simply need to go to your website and click the tag icon in the top right-hand corner of your Chrome Brower to check whether or not the code is installed properly. Also, if you are not seeing any visitor data in your Google Analytics Dashboard after 24-48 hours, you got a step wrong. I advise starting from the beginning and generating/adding new code if this happens.

Voila! You are now tracking key data for your website. I recommend checking this data often, creating a few custom reports based on the data that is most valuable to you, and staying on top of the digital marketing channels and websites that are driving traffic and leads through your website!

Now that you have Google Analytics set up, why not have someone drive traffic to your site?