How to Add an Admin to Google Analytics

Giving someone access to your Google Analytics account is simple, but the different permission levels can be confusing if you're not sure what they all mean. This guide will walk you through exactly how to add an administrator in the latest version, Google Analytics 4. We'll also break down what each user role can do so you can grant access confidently and securely.

First, Why Add Someone to Google Analytics?

Your website analytics are a trove of valuable information, but you're not always the only one who needs it. Sharing this data is a normal, and often necessary, part of growing a business. Common scenarios include:

• Onboarding a new team member: A new marketer, salesperson, or analyst will need access to understand performance and measure their results.
• Working with an agency or freelancer: Your SEO consultant, PPC agency, or freelance content writer needs to see the impact of their work. Granting them direct access is far more efficient than sending manual reports.
• Bringing in a developer: A web developer might need access to set up event tracking, debug conversion issues, or implement other technical changes.
• Collaborating with a business partner: You might need to share performance data with a partner to align on strategy or report on joint campaigns.

Instead of sharing your personal login credentials (which you should never do!), Google Analytics has a robust user management system that allows you to give the right people the right level of access, without compromising your account's security.

Understanding Google Analytics 4 User Roles

Before you add a new user, it’s important to understand the hierarchy of permissions in GA4. The primary mistake people make is giving away too much access. You can grant access at two levels: the Account level or the Property level. A GA4 account can contain multiple properties (e.g., one for your website, one for your mobile app). Giving someone access at the Account level means they'll inherit those permissions for all properties within that account. Granting access at the Property level limits their access to only that specific website or app.

Here’s a breakdown of the standard roles, starting with the least access and moving up to the most powerful.

Viewer

• What they can do: See all of the reports and settings. They can change the date ranges, add comparisons, and manipulate reports for their own analysis. They can also create their own personal report explorations.
• What they can't do: Make any changes. They can’t edit anything, add new users, change settings, or modify shared assets like reports in the standard library.
• Best for: Stakeholders, company executives, or junior team members who need to see performance data but shouldn't have the ability to alter anything.

Analyst

• What they can do: Everything a Viewer can do, plus they can create, edit, and delete shared assets. This includes creating and modifying custom reports and explorations in the left navigation menu that are visible to all users.
• What they can't do: Manage users or alter critical property settings. They can’t create, edit, or delete data streams, events, or conversions. They are focused entirely on the analysis and reporting side.
• Best for: Data analysts or marketers on your team who are responsible for building and maintaining shared reports for the wider organization.

Marketer

• What they can do: Everything an Analyst can do, plus create, edit, and manage audiences, marketing campaigns, and conversion events. This role is focused on the "action" part of analytics — configuring tracking and audiences for advertising.
• What they can't do: Manage users or make administrative changes to the property settings.
• Best for: Marketers who manage your Google Ads, search engine optimization, or other campaigns. They need the ability to create audiences for retargeting or set up specific conversion events to track their efforts.

Editor

• What they can do: Everything a Marketer and Analyst can do. Critically, Editors can control property-level settings. They can adjust data retention periods, set up data streams (connecting your website to GA4), manage custom channels, and enable Google Signals.
• What they can't do: Manage users. It's a high-level permission but stops just short of controlling who has access.
• Best for: A senior team member or trusted marketing manager who is responsible for the overall setup and configuration of your GA4 property.

Administrator

• What they can do: Everything. An Administrator has full control over the Google Analytics account or property. This includes everything an Editor can do, as well as the ability to add/delete users and assign permission levels to them. They can also link your Google Analytics property to other Google products like Google Ads or Search Console.
• What they can't do: Nothing. They have the keys to the kingdom.
• Best for: This role should be reserved for business owners and the primary individuals responsible for the account. Be very careful who you assign as an Administrator.

In addition to these roles, there is a "None" role and two data restrictions: No Cost Data and No Revenue Data. These can be applied alongside a role to prevent a user from seeing your advertising spend or ecommerce revenue, which is useful when sharing data with contractors or partners who shouldn’t have access to sensitive financial information.

Step-by-Step: How to Add a New Admin User in GA4

Ready to grant access? The process only takes a minute. Here’s exactly how to do it.

Step 1: Navigate to the Admin Panel

Sign in to your Google Analytics account. In the bottom-left corner of the screen, you'll see a gear icon labeled Admin. Click it.

Step 2: Choose Where to Grant Access (Account or Property)

This is the most important decision you'll make in this process. The Admin screen is divided into two columns: Account and Property.

• To grant someone Admin access to everything in your account (including all websites and apps), click on Account Access Management under the Account column.
• To grant Admin access to only a single website or app, click on Property Access Management under the Property column. This is the most common and recommended approach for adding new users unless they are a co-owner of the business.

Step 3: Add a New User

In the top-right corner of the access management screen, you’ll see a blue "+" button. Click it, then select Add users from the dropdown menu.

Step 4: Enter their Email Address

A new panel will slide out from the right side. In the "Email addresses" field, type the email address of the person you want to add. All users are added via their Google account, so be sure you are using a Gmail address or an email address associated with a Google account. You can add multiple people at once by separating their email addresses with commas.

Step 5: Select the "Administrator" Role

This is where you assign permissions. You will see a list of the standard roles we covered earlier. Check the box next to Administrator. You can give a user more than one standard role, but for this purpose, Administrator is all-encompassing.

You can also apply any data restrictions here if needed, for example, if you wanted to add an Editor but hide revenue metrics.

Step 6: Click "Add"

After you have entered the email and selected the role, click the blue Add button in the top-right corner. That's it! The person will receive an email notifying them that they have been granted access to your Google Analytics property. They can now access your account by signing in with their own Google login.

Managing and Removing Users in Google Analytics

Your needs will change over time. Employees leave, agency contracts end, and projects are completed. It's good practice to regularly audit who has access to your analytics and remove anyone who no longer needs it. Fortunately, managing and removing users is even easier than adding them.

1. Navigate back to the Admin section and click on Account Access Management or Property Access Management.
2. You’ll see a list of everyone who has access. Find the person you want to update or remove.
3. Click the three vertical dots on the far right of their name row.
4. You’ll see an option to View user’s account details or Remove access. Click "Remove access" to delete them completely, or click on their name to edit their roles and permissions.

Best Practices for Managing GA4 Users

Managing access isn't just about clicking buttons, it's also about having a smart strategy to keep your data secure. Here are a few final thoughts and best practices:

• Implement the Principle of Least Privilege: Always grant the minimum level of access that a person needs to do their job. Not everyone needs to be an Admin. Most marketing team members can do their entire job with Marketer or Analyst permissions.
• Perform Regular Audits: At least once a quarter, review your user list. If you don't recognize a name or a person's role has changed, revoke or update their permissions accordingly.
• Use Professional Email Addresses: Whenever possible, grant access to a user's company email address (e.g., jane@company.com) instead of their personal one (e.g., jane.doe123@gmail.com). This makes it easier to manage account access if the person leaves the company.

Final Thoughts

Adding an admin or any other user to your Google Analytics 4 account is a straightforward process once you understand the difference between roles and the two levels of access - Account versus Property. By following these steps and best practices, you can collaborate effectively with your team and partners while keeping your data governance clean and secure.

Often, the main reason you add someone to GA4 is to help with reporting and dashboard creation. This process can be slow and tedious, even for experienced users. At Graphed, we found a better way. We built an AI data analyst that connects directly to your Google Analytics account so you can create real-time dashboards and reports simply by describing what you want to see in plain English. Instead of spending hours wrangling GA4 reports, you can ask questions like "Show me a dashboard of my top 10 landing pages by sessions, conversions, and revenue" and get a live, automated dashboard in seconds.