How to Add a Property to Google Analytics

Adding a new website or app to your Google Analytics is a foundational step for tracking performance, but the process can feel a bit confusing with GA4's structure of accounts, properties, and data streams. This guide will walk you through exactly how to add a new property to Google Analytics, set up your data tracking, and get the code installed on your site correctly.

Understanding the Google Analytics Hierarchy: Account vs. Property vs. Data Stream

Before jumping into the setup, it’s helpful to understand how Google Analytics organizes everything. Getting a grip on this structure makes managing your analytics much clearer, especially if you handle multiple websites or client accounts.

Think of it like a filing cabinet:

• Account: This is the filing cabinet itself. The account is the highest level of organization and typically represents your company or organization. All your analytics data lives within an account. You need at least one account to use Google Analytics.
• Property: These are the folders inside the cabinet. Each property represents a specific website or mobile app you want to track. For example, if your company has a main website and a separate blog on a different subdomain, you might create a separate property for each one to keep their data distinct.
• Data Stream: This is the source of data flowing into a folder. A data stream is essentially the pipeline from your website or app into your GA4 property. A single property can have multiple data streams (e.g., one for your website, one for your Android app, and one for your iOS app), allowing you to analyze a user’s journey across different platforms under one property.

So, when you "add a website to Google Analytics," you are creating a new property to hold its data and then setting up a data stream to feed that data from your website into the property.

How to Create a New Google Analytics 4 Property

Whether you have an existing Google Analytics account or are starting from scratch, the process begins in the 'Admin' section. We'll focus on adding a property to an existing account, which is the most common scenario.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding a New Property

Follow these steps to get your new property set up in just a few minutes.

1. Navigate to the Admin Section: Log in to your Google Analytics account. In the bottom-left corner of the screen, you'll see a small gear icon labeled 'Admin'. Click on it to open the admin panel.
2. Choose Your Account and Click 'Create Property': The Admin page has two main columns: 'Account' and 'Property'. In the 'Account' column, use the dropdown menu to select the account you want to add the new property to. Once the correct account is selected, look to the 'Property' column and click the blue + Create Property button.
3. Enter Property Details: This is where you'll give your property its basic settings:

• Property name: Give your property a clear, descriptive name. For example, "MyCompany Website" or "MyCompany Blog." This is for your reference only.
• Reporting time zone: Select the primary time zone for your business. This ensures your daily reports align with your actual business day.
• Currency: Choose the currency your business operates in. This is used for all ecommerce and revenue reporting.

Once you've filled this out, click Next.

1. Provide Business Information: Google asks for some optional details about your business to better tailor your experience and benchmarking data. Select your industry category, business size, and how you intend to use Google Analytics (e.g., "Measure user engagement," "Optimize my advertising cost"). Choose the options that best fit your goals and click Create.

That’s it! Your new GA4 property has been created. The next screen will immediately prompt you to set up your data stream, which is the crucial next step.

Setting Up Your First Data Stream

A property is just an empty container until you tell it where to get data from. That’s what a data stream does. Since we’re adding a website, we’ll be setting up a 'Web' stream.

1. Choose a Platform: You’ll be asked to choose a platform to start collecting data. Your options are 'Web', 'Android app', and 'iOS app'. Click on Web.
2. Configure Your Web Stream: Now, you need to provide two pieces of information:

• Website URL: Enter the main URL of your website (e.g., https://www.yourwebsite.com). Make sure to select https:// from the dropdown.
• Stream name: Give the stream a name to easily identify it later. Something simple like "MyCompany.com - Web" works perfectly.

You'll also see a section called Enhanced measurement. This is a powerful feature in GA4 that automatically tracks common user interactions without any extra setup. By default, it tracks page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, and video engagement. It's highly recommended to leave this enabled.

1. Create the Stream: Click the Create stream button. Google Analytics will now officially create the data stream and provide you with all the details you need for installation, including your unique Measurement ID.

Your Measurement ID is a unique identifier for your data stream, formatted as G-XXXXXXXXXX. You'll need this ID for the final step: installing the tracking tag on your website.

Installing Your GA4 Tracking Tag on Your Website

With your property and data stream set up, the last piece of the puzzle is to add the tracking code (known as the Google tag or gtag.js) to your website so it can start sending data to GA4. You have a few options for this, from easy plugin methods to manual code placement.

Method 1: Using a Website Builder Plugin (The Easiest Way)

Most modern content management systems (CMS) and website builders have simple integrations for Google Analytics. All you usually need is your 'G-' Measurement ID.

• For WordPress: The easiest way is to use a plugin like Site Kit by Google, MonsterInsights, or GADWP. After installing the plugin, you'll find a settings area where you can simply paste your G-XXXXXXXXXX Measurement ID. The plugin will handle placing the complicated code for you.
• For Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc: These platforms have built-in fields for your Google Analytics ID. Look for a "Marketing," "Integrations," or "Analytics" section in your site's dashboard and paste your Measurement ID there.

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

If you're already using Google Tag Manager (GTM), this is the cleanest and most scalable way to install GA4.

1. In GTM, create a new tag and select Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration as the tag type.
2. In the 'Measurement ID' field, paste your G-XXXXXXXXXX ID from Google Analytics.
3. Under "Triggering," select the All Pages trigger.
4. Save your tag, and then click Submit and Publish to push your changes live.

Method 3: Adding the Code Manually (The "Hands-On" Way)

If you prefer to add the code directly or aren't using a CMS with plugins, you can copy and paste the Google tag snippet into your website's HTML. After you create a data stream, GA4 gives you the tracking code in a block that looks something like this:

<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [],
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments),}
  gtag('js', new Date()),

  gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX'),
</script>

Copy this entire snippet and paste it immediately after the opening <head> tag on every page of your website. If you use a website template or theme, you can typically add this to a single header include file, and it will apply across your entire site.

How to Verify Your Installation is Working

Once the tag is on your site, you’ll want to make sure it's firing correctly. The quickest way is to check the Realtime report in Google Analytics.

In GA4, go to Reports > Realtime. Then, open your website in a new browser tab and click around. Within about a minute, you should see yourself appear in the Realtime report as a visitor. If you see activity, congratulations! Your new property is successfully tracking data.

Final Thoughts

Setting up a new Google Analytics 4 property is a straightforward process when broken down into its three main parts: creating the property to hold your data, setting up the data stream to feed it, and installing the tag to get everything connected. Taking a few minutes to get this organized correctly from the start will save you headaches down the road and give you a clean slate of data to analyze.

Of course, collecting data is only the first step. The real challenge is making sense of it all, especially when your performance data is split across Google Analytics, your ad platforms, your CRM, and more. When you’re tired of navigating complex interfaces and juggling spreadsheets, tools can help. At Graphed, we make this simple by connecting all your data sources and allowing you to build dashboards and get insights using plain English. Instead of learning a complex new tool, you can just ask questions like "Which of our blog posts are driving the most traffic?" and get the answer instantly.