Create an Analytics account
Your first step is to set up an Analytics account, unless you already have one. Skip to creating a property unless you want to create a separate account for this website and/or app. For example, you might want to create another account if this website and/or app belong(s) to a separate business.
- Go to https://analytics.google.com.
- If this is your first time using Google Analytics, click Start Measuring. If you already have an account set up, go to step 2.
- In Admin, click Create, then select Account.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector. You must be a Viewer or above at the account level to create an Analytics account.
- Provide an account name. Configure the data-sharing settings to control which data you share with Google.
- Click Next to add the first property to the account.
Get insights on your website or app, at no cost
Get insights on your website or app, at no costUse Google Analytics to understand the full customer journey, from first visit to purchase.
Create a new Google Analytics 4 property
You need the Editor role to add properties to a Google Analytics account. If you created this account, you automatically have the Editor role.
To create a property:
- Are you continuing from "Create an Analytics account", above? If so, skip to step 2. Otherwise, in Admin, click Create, then select Property.
- Enter a name for the property (e.g. "My Business, Inc website") and select the reporting time zone and currency. If a visitor comes to your website on a Tuesday in their time zone, but it's Monday in your time zone, the visit is recorded as having occurred on Monday.
- If you choose a time zone that honors Daylight Savings Time, Analytics automatically adjusts for time changes. Use Greenwich Mean Time if you don't want to adjust for Daylight Savings Time.
- Changing the time zone only affects data going forward. If you change the time zone for an existing property, you may see a flat spot or a spike in your data, caused by the time shift forwards or backwards, respectively. Report data may refer to the old time zone for a short period after you update your settings, until Analytics servers have processed the change.
- We recommend that you change the time zone for a property no more than once per day so Analytics can process the change.
- Click Next. Select your industry category and business size.
- Click Next. Select how you intend to use Google Analytics.
- Google Analytics tailors the set of default reports based on the information you provide about how you intend to use Analytics. For example, if you choose "Generate more leads," you will see a collection of reports to help you measure lead generation. Learn more about the business objectives reports collection.
- Click Create and (if you are setting up a new account) accept the Analytics Terms of Service and the Data Processing Amendment.
- Continue to Add a data stream to start collecting data.
Add a data stream
- Are you continuing from "Create a property", above? If so, skip to step 2. Otherwise,
- In Admin, under Data collection and modification, click Data Streams.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector. You must be an Editor or above at the property level to add a data stream.
- Click Add stream.
- In Admin, under Data collection and modification, click Data Streams.
- Click iOS app, Android app, or Web.
When you add an app data stream, Analytics creates a corresponding Firebase project and app data stream, and automatically links the Firebase project to your property if your project and property are not already linked.
- Enter the iOS bundle ID or Android package name, the app name, and for iOS, the App Store ID, then click Register app.
- Click Next and follow the instructions to download the config file for your app.
- Click Next and follow the instructions to add the Google Analytics for Firebase SDK to your app.
- Click Next.
- Run your app to verify installation of the SDK and that the app is communicating with Google servers.
- Click Finish. (Alternatively, click Skip this step if you want to complete app setup at a later time.)
- Enter the URL of your primary website, e.g., "example.com", and a Stream name, e.g. "Example, Inc. (web stream)".
- You have the option to enable or disable enhanced measurement. Enhanced measurement automatically collects page views and other events. Once the data stream has been created, you can always go back and individually disable the enhanced measurement events you don’t want to collect. So, we recommend that you enable enhanced measurement now.
- Click Create stream.
For subtitles in your language, turn on YouTube captions. Select the settings icon at the bottom of the video player, then select "Subtitles/CC" and choose your language.
Set up data collection
To begin seeing data in your new Google Analytics 4 property, you'll need to do one of the following:
Add the tag to a website builder or CMS-hosted website (e.g., HubSpot, Shopify, etc.)See if your CMS lets you enter just your Google tag ID
Many CMSs have native integrations with Google Analytics 4. If you're using one of the CMSs listed below, follow the instructions to find your Google tag ID and paste it into the Google Analytics field that your CMS provides.
To find your Google tag ("ignored") ID:
- In Admin, under Data collection and modification, click Data streams.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector.You must be an Editor or above at the property level to create.
- Click the data stream for which you need the ID.
- Under Stream Details, copy the Measurement ID (starts with "ignored" or "AW-")
Enter your Google tag ID into the field that your CMS provides:
- Blogger instructions
- Drupal instructions
- Duda instructions
- GoDaddy instructions
- Google Sites instructions
- HubSpot instructions
- Magento instructions
- MonsterInsights plugin (WordPress) instructions
- One.com instructions
- Shopify instructions
- Site Kit (WordPress plugin) instructions
- Squarespace instructions
- Typo3 instructions
- Wix instructions
- WooCommerce instructions
All other website builders
If you are using a CMS or website builder that doesn't provide a field to enter your Google tag ID, you'll need to paste your Google tag into your website using your CMS's custom HTML feature.
- In Admin, under Data collection and modification, click Data streams.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector.You must be an Editor or above at the property level to create.
- Click Web.
- Click the data stream for your website.
- Under Google tag, click View tag instructions.
- On the Installation instructions page, select Install manually:
- On the screen, you’ll see the JavaScript snippet for your account's Google tag. Your Google tag is the entire section of code that appears, beginning with:
<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->
and ending with
</script>
- On the screen, you’ll see the JavaScript snippet for your account's Google tag. Your Google tag is the entire section of code that appears, beginning with:
Paste your Google tag to your website using your CMS's custom HTML feature. Follow your CMS's instructions on how to do this below:
- Cart.com: Contact Cart.com support for instructions.
- PrestaShop: Contact PrestaShop support for instructions.
- Salesforce (Demandware): Contact Salesforce support for instructions.
- VTEX: Contact VTEX support for instructions.
- Weebly instructions
Data collection may take up to 30 minutes to begin. You can then use the Realtime report to verify that you're receiving data.
You need access to the HTML for your web pages. Ask your web developer to perform these steps if you're unable to complete the steps yourself.
- In Admin, under Data collection and modification, click Data streams.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector.You must be an Editor or above at the property level to create.
- Click Web.
- Click the data stream for your website.
- Under Google tag, click View tag instructions.
- On the Installation instructions page, select Install manually:
- On the screen, you’ll see the JavaScript snippet for your account's Google tag. Your Google tag is the entire section of code that appears, beginning with:
<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->
and ending with
</script>
- On the screen, you’ll see the JavaScript snippet for your account's Google tag. Your Google tag is the entire section of code that appears, beginning with:
Paste your Google tag immediately after the <head> on each page of your website.
Data collection may take up to 30 minutes to begin. You can then use the Realtime report to verify that you're receiving data.
For basic data collection, follow the Google Tag Manager help center instructions to add the Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration tag.
To set up data collection for an app, read these instructions.
Next steps
After you have set up data collection, complete additional configurations to get more useful data out of Analytics. Review the checklist to learn which configurations are right for you to collect more data, filter unwanted data, and power advertising.