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How to Activate Google Analytics

Cody Schneider••9 min read

Using Google Analytics is essential for understanding if your SEO efforts are actually working, especially if you’re a business focused on the London market. This guide will walk you through exactly how to activate Google Analytics 4, connect it to other critical SEO tools, and start analyzing the data to get more local customers.

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Activating Google Analytics 4: A Step-by-Step Setup Guide

First things first, you need to get the basic Google Analytics tracking in place. Universal Analytics is gone, so all new setups will use Google Analytics 4. If you already have GA4 installed, you can skip to the next section.

1. Create Your Google Analytics Account and Property

If you don't already have one, the first step is to create a free Google Analytics account.

  • Go to the Google Analytics website and sign in with your Google account.
  • Once you're in, you'll be prompted to create an Account. Your Account name is typically your business or organization name (e.g., "London Creative Agency").
  • Next, you'll create a Property. Your Property is your website or app. Name it something clear, like "mywebsite.co.uk". Here, you'll need to set the reporting time zone and currency. For a London business, make sure to set this to United Kingdom (GMT+01:00) and British Pound (GBP) for accurate, locally relevant reporting.

2. Set Up Your Web Data Stream

A "Data Stream" is the source of the data flowing into your GA4 property. Since you're tracking a website, you’ll choose 'Web'.

  • You'll be asked to enter your website's URL (e.g., https://www.mywebsite.co.uk) and a "Stream name" (you can just use your website name again).
  • Make sure "Enhanced measurement" is enabled. This is a brilliant GA4 feature that automatically tracks important interactions like outbound clicks, video engagement, and file downloads without you having to do any extra setup.
  • Click "Create stream,” and you'll be taken to a page with your stream details.

3. Install the GA4 Tracking Tag on Your Website

Now you need to add your unique GA4 tracking code to your website so it can start collecting data. On the Web stream details page, you will see a "Measurement ID" that looks something like G-XXXXXXXXXX and an option to "View tag instructions."

You have a few ways to install the tag:

  • Using a CMS Plugin (Easiest Method): Most modern website platforms like WordPress, Shopify, or Wix have simple integrations or official apps for Google Analytics. Typically, you just need to find the settings for the integration, and copy and paste your "Measurement ID" (the G-XXXXXXXXXX code). For example, there are many popular WordPress plugins like "Site Kit by Google" or "GA Google Analytics" that make this a one-minute job.
  • Using Google Tag Manager (Recommended for Flexibility): If you’re comfortable with a slightly more technical tool, Google Tag Manager (GTM) is the best long-term option. This allows you to manage GA4 and all your other marketing tags (like a Facebook Pixel or LinkedIn Insight Tag) from one dashboard without having to touch your website’s code every time you add a new tool. You set up a GA4 Configuration tag in GTM and deploy it.
  • Manually Pasting the Code (The "Old School" Way): If you're comfortable editing your website's code, you can use the "Install manually" option. Google will give you a snippet of JavaScript code (the gtag.js snippet). You need to copy this and paste it immediately after the <head> tag on every single page of your website.

Once the tag is installed, data will start flowing into your GA4 property immediately, though it can take 24-48 hours for reports to fully populate.

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The Most Important First Step for SEO: Connect Google Search Console

Putting the GA4 tracking code on your site is only half the battle. On its own, Google Analytics knows how people behave when they get to your website, but it has very little information on what they searched for to find you. That's where Google Search Console (GSC) comes in.

GSC is a free tool from Google that shows you how your site performs in search results. It tracks impressions (how many times you showed up), clicks, average search position, and - most importantly - the exact search queries people used to find you.

By connecting GA4 and GSC, you can pull all that valuable keyword and search performance data directly into your Google Analytics reports. This allows you to analyze SEO performance and on-site behavior in one place.

How to Link Search Console to GA4:

  1. In your GA4 property, navigate to the Admin section (the gear icon in the bottom left).
  2. Under the 'Property' column, scroll down to 'Product Links' and click on Search Console Links.
  3. Click the blue Link button.
  4. Click Choose accounts and select the Search Console property for the website you’re tracking. (Note: You must be a 'Verified owner' of the Search Console property to do this.)
  5. Follow the next steps to select your Web Stream and submit the link.

Once linked, it will take a day or so, and then two new reports will appear in GA4: one for Queries and another for Google Organic Search Traffic. You may need to add them to your reporting navigation by going to Reports > Library and publishing the "Search Console" collection.

Using GA4 to Measure Your London SEO Performance

With GA4 activated and linked to Search Console, you're ready to start drilling into data that matters for your London-based business. The key is to move past vanity metrics like 'sessions' and start answering real business questions.

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Finding Your New SEO Reports

Go to Reports > Acquisition > Acquisition overview. In one of the summary cards, you should see data from Google organic search. Click the link in that card to get to the main organic traffic reports. Here, you'll see two key tabs: Google Organic Search Traffic (landing pages) and Queries.

Let's look at how to use these for local SEO.

Key Reports for a London-Based Business

The Queries Report: Your Local Keyword Goldmine

This is arguably the most valuable SEO report in GA4. It shows you the actual search terms that people are typing into Google to find your website. For any business targeting London, your job here is to scan for local intent.

  • Are people searching for your service with local qualifiers like "divorce lawyer in south london," "best coffee shop near Liverpool Street," or "emergency plumber Ealing"? Seeing these terms proves that your local SEO strategy is working.
  • If you don't see any local queries, it's a huge red flag. It may mean your site isn't optimized for location-specific terms, or your Google Business Profile needs work. Use this data as the starting point for your keyword research, creating content, and optimizing pages to target the specific London-based searches you want to rank for.

The Geographic Report: Are You Reaching Londoners?

You may be located in London, but is your website traffic coming from London? This is a simple but vital check.

  1. Go to Reports > Demographics > Demographic details.
  2. Using the dropdown menu at the top-left of the chart, change 'Country' to 'City'.
  3. You'll now see a table of the top cities sending traffic to your website. Hopefully, London is right at the top.
  4. For even more depth, you can click the 'plus' sign next to 'City' and add 'Session source / medium' as a secondary dimension. Then, use the search box to filter for 'google / organic'. Now you can see precisely how your organic SEO traffic breaks down by city. This is the evidence you need to confirm that your SEO is successfully attracting your target geographic audience.

Organic Landing Pages Report: What's Working and What's Not?

This report (found in the SEO reports section) lists the pages on your site that people first land on when they arrive from an organic Google search. When combined with conversion data, it tells you which of your SEO-focused pages are actually driving value.

For a London business, you should be asking questions like:

  • Is my "Services in Canary Wharf" page getting any organic traffic?
  • Are visitors who land on my Islington-focused blog post converting (e.g., filling out a form)?
  • Which page generates the most engaged organic traffic?

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Tie it All to a Business Goal: Tracking SEO Conversions

Traffic alone doesn't pay the bills. You need to tell GA4 what success looks like on your website. This is done through "Conversions." Anything can be a conversion, but for most local businesses they are things like:

  • A form submission ("Contact Us," "Request a Quote")
  • A click-to-call on a phone number
  • A download of a brochure or price list

You can configure these events in either GA4 or Google Tag Manager. Once you've marked an event as a Conversion, that data becomes available in nearly all your reports. Now, you can look at your Organic Landing Page report and see exactly how many conversions each page generated from organic search visitors. This transforms GA4 from a simple traffic counter into a tool that proves your London SEO is generating leads and contributing to the bottom line.

Final Thoughts

Activating Google Analytics is just the starting point. Its true power for a London-based business unfolds when you connect it with Google Search Console, focus on location-specific reports, and tie your SEO data directly to meaningful business goals like form submissions and phone calls. Following these steps gives you a clear compass to guide your SEO strategy and confidently measure your return on investment.

As you get more comfortable, you'll find that manually digging through these reports every week to get an answer to a simple question can be quite time-consuming. That's why we built Graphed. After easily connecting your Google Analytics and Search Console accounts, you can ask questions in plain English like, "show me my top 10 organic landing pages by conversions from users in London for the last month," and get a live, perfectly visualized answer in seconds. It allows your whole team to skip the reporting grind and focus on making faster, data-driven decisions to grow your business.

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