Can I Put Google Analytics Code in Footer?

Putting the Google Analytics tracking code in your website's footer is a popular move to speed up page load times, but is it the right decision? The short answer is yes, you absolutely can put the code in the footer, but it comes with a tradeoff. This article will walk you through exactly where Google recommends placing the code, the pros and cons of moving it to the footer, and how to make the best choice for your site's performance and data accuracy.

What is the Google Analytics Tracking Code?

The Google Analytics tracking code is a special little snippet of JavaScript that you add to your website. When a visitor loads a page on your site, their browser runs this script. The script then anonymously collects information about that visitor and their session — like their device type, location, and which pages they viewed — and sends it back to your Google Analytics account.

It's the essential connection that allows Google to watch what's happening on your site and turn it into the helpful reports you see in your dashboard.

For Google Analytics 4, the code snippet, known as the Google tag (gtag.js), looks something like this:

The "G-XXXXXXXXXX" part is your unique Measurement ID, which tells the script which GA4 property to send the data to.

The Official Recommendation: Where Google Says to Put the Code

According to Google's official documentation, the best place to install the Google Analytics snippet is inside the head section of your site's HTML, right after the opening <head> tag. You should place it on every single page you want to track.

Why the Head Section?

The reasoning behind this recommendation is all about data accuracy. Your website's HTML is read by a browser from top to bottom. By placing the script high up in the <head>, you ensure it loads and runs as early as possible in the page-loading process.

This is critical for capturing accurate data, especially for visitors who "bounce" — those who land on a page and leave almost immediately. If your tracking code is at the very bottom of your page (in the footer), a quick-bouncing user might navigate away before the browser ever gets to the script. If the script doesn't run, their visit is never recorded, and you're left with incomplete data.

Essentially, Google’s recommendation prioritizes tracking every visit, no matter how short.

The Footer Method: Why It's a Popular Alternative

If Google recommends the <head>, why does everyone talk about putting code in the footer?

The reason is simple: page speed.

When a browser loads a web page, it goes through the HTML line by line. If it encounters a JavaScript file in the <head>, it may pause the rendering of the visual elements on the page while it fetches and executes that script. This is known as "render-blocking JavaScript." It can lead to a blank white screen for a second or two before your content appears, harming the user experience and your Core Web Vitals scores.

By moving scripts like Google Analytics to the footer (just before the closing </body> tag), you allow the browser to load all of the visible content first — like your logo, text, and images. The page appears to the user almost instantly, and the tracking scripts load afterward in the background. This improves the perceived load time and can boost scores on performance tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.

Head vs. Footer: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Choosing where to place the script involves weighing data accuracy against page performance. Let's break down the pros and cons of each method.

Placing the Code in the `<head>` (Google's Method)

Pro: Highest Data Accuracy. This is the biggest advantage. You will capture virtually every pageview, including those from visitors who leave your site within a second or two.
Pro: Official Best Practice. You’re following Google’s explicit instructions, which means you're less likely to run into unexpected issues with reporting or future features.
Mitigating Factor: Modern Scripts are Efficient. The latest Google Analytics script (gtag.js) includes an async attribute. This attribute tells the browser to download the script in the background without pausing the rendering of the page. This significantly reduces its render-blocking potential, making the speed impact much less dramatic than it used to be.
Con: Potential (Slight) Impact on Speed Metrics. Even with async, some performance tools might still flag the script as a resource that slightly slows down the initial page render. The actual impact on the user is often negligible, but it can affect your raw scores.

Placing the Code in the `<footer>` (The Speed Method)

Pro: Improved Page Load Speed. Its main benefit is clearing the way for your visible content to load first. This directly contributes to better First Contentful Paint (FCP) scores and a faster perceived experience for the user.
Pro: Frees Up the Critical Rendering Path. For sites with many other scripts loaded in the head, moving GA to the footer can help unclog a potential bottleneck.
Con: Risk of Data Loss. This is the major downside. If a visitor bounces or has a slow connection, they might close the page before the browser reaches the footer script. This results in under-reported traffic and an artificially low bounce rate, as a percentage of your quick bounces won't be recorded at all.
Con: Could Interfere with Advanced Features. In some rare cases, advanced A/B testing or personalization tools that rely on Google Analytics data being available very early might not function correctly if the script loads last.

The Most Practical Solution: Google Tag Manager

Thankfully, you don't have to get stuck in the head vs. footer debate. The modern, recommended solution that gives you the best of both worlds is Google Tag Manager (GTM).

GTM is a free tool that acts as a container for all your third-party scripts, including Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and more. Here’s how it works:

You install the GTM code snippet on your website (part in the <head> and part in the <body>, as instructed). This is the only code you have to touch.
Inside your GTM dashboard (a separate website), you add your Google Analytics tracking tag.
GTM then intelligently deploys the GA tag on your site. The GTM script itself is highly optimized and loads asynchronously, so it has minimal impact on page speed while still ensuring your tags fire reliably.

Using GTM is the industry standard and best practice. It not only manages loading performance efficiently, but it also keeps your website's code clean and makes it incredibly easy to add or remove new marketing and analytics tags without ever needing a developer.

Step-by-Step: Adding Google Analytics to Your Website

If you're ready to get started, here are the most common ways to install the tracking code.

Method 1: Using a Plugin (The Simplest Way)

If you're using a CMS like WordPress, the easiest route is to use a plugin that handles the placement for you. These plugins follow best practices and make setup effortless.

Google Site Kit: Google's official plugin for WordPress. It connects your site to Analytics, Search Console, and more with a few clicks. It handles the code placement for you.
MonsterInsights or ExactMetrics: Popular, dedicated Google Analytics plugins that add the tracking code correctly and provide helpful reporting dashboards right inside WordPress.
WPCode - Insert Headers and Footers: A general-purpose plugin that allows you to safely add any code snippet to your site's header or footer. Choose the "Header" option to follow Google's recommendation.

Method 2: Using Google Tag Manager (The Recommended Way)

This is the most scalable approach for any business.

Create a GTM Account: Go to tagmanager.google.com and set up a free account and a container for your website.
Install the GTM Snippet: GTM will give you two small pieces of code. Follow the instructions to place the first piece in your site's <head> and the second right after the opening <body> tag. You only need to do this once.
Add a GA4 Tag: Inside your GTM container, go to "Tags" → "New." Choose the "Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration" tag type.
Enter Your Measurement ID: Paste your "G-XXXXXXXXXX" ID into the configuration settings and set the tag to fire on "All Pages."
Publish Your Changes: Save the tag and hit the "Submit" and "Publish" buttons in GTM. Your Google Analytics tracking is now live!

Method 3: Placing the Code Manually (The Direct Way)

If you prefer to add the code directly to your site’s HTML files:

Find Your Google Tag: In Google Analytics, go to Admin → Data Streams → select your web stream → View tag instructions. Copy the entire JavaScript snippet.
Edit Your Website Files: Access your website's HTML, either through a theme editor or by editing the template files directly (e.g., header.php in a classic WordPress theme).
To add it to the header (recommended): Paste the code on a new line immediately after the opening <head> tag.
To add it to the footer (if you accept the risk): Paste the code on a new line just before the closing </body> tag.
Save and Upload: Save your changes and upload the file back to your server.

How to Verify That It's Working

No matter which method you use, always check that your tracking is active. The easiest way is to log in to your Google Analytics account and look at the "Realtime" report. Open your own website in a separate tab, and you should see yourself appear as one active user within a minute or two.

Final Thoughts

So, can you put the Google Analytics code in the footer? Yes. It's an established technique for prioritizing page render speed. However, for most websites, the extremely slight performance gain isn't worth the risk of missing valuable data from your quickest visitors. Sticking with Google's recommendation of placing it in the <head>, or even better, using Google Tag Manager, remains the safest and most reliable approach.

Properly setting up your tracking is just the first step. The real goal is to turn that raw data into clear, actionable insights about your business. That's precisely why we built Graphed. After connecting data sources like Google Analytics, you can simply ask questions in plain English — like "show me my top traffic sources that lead to conversions" or "create a dashboard comparing traffic and user engagement by country" — and get instant reports. It eliminates the manual work of sorting through data, so you can focus on making decisions that actually grow your business.