How to Create a Google Analytics Account

Setting up a Google Analytics account is the first step toward understanding how people find and interact with your website. This free tool shows you where your visitors come from, what pages they look at, and which marketing efforts are actually driving results. This guide will walk you through the entire setup process, from creating your account to verifying that it's collecting data correctly.

What Exactly is Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics 4 is Google's latest version of its web analytics platform. It’s designed to give you a more complete picture of the customer journey, from their first visit to their final conversion. If you've used Google Analytics in the past, you might be familiar with the older version, Universal Analytics (UA). GA4 is the new standard, and any new account you create will be a GA4 property.

Why do you need it? Without analytics, you're flying blind. You're left guessing about:

• Your Audience: Who are your visitors? Where do they live? What devices do they use?
• Your Traffic Sources: How are people finding you? Is it through Google search, social media, paid ads, or direct links?
• Your Content Performance: Which blog posts are most popular? What pages cause users to leave your site?
• Your Goals & Conversions: Are people filling out your contact form, signing up for your newsletter, or making purchases?

GA4 answers these questions, providing the foundational data you need to make smarter business decisions, optimize your marketing spend, and improve your website's user experience.

What You'll Need Before You Start

Getting started is straightforward. You only need two things:

1. A Google Account: You need a Google account to use Google Analytics. If you already have a Gmail address or use Google Workspace, you’re all set. If not, you can create a free Google account first.
2. Access to your website's backend: You’ll need to add a small snippet of code (called a tag) to your website. This usually means you need administrator-level access to your website builder (like WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, or Wix) or the ability to edit the site's HTML code.

How to Create Your Google Analytics 4 Account and Property

Follow these steps to get your GA4 account and an associated "property" (which is what Google calls the representation of your website or app) set up. The whole process should only take about 10-15 minutes.

Step 1: Go to the Google Analytics Website

First, head over to the Google Analytics homepage. Click the Start for free button. You will be prompted to sign in with your Google account.

Step 2: Create a New Account

Once you're logged in, you'll be guided through the setup process. On the "Welcome to Google Analytics" page, click Start measuring. This begins the creation of your first Analytics account.

Step 3: Give Your Account a Name

Here you'll configure your account-level settings. An "account" can contain multiple "properties." For most businesses, you'll only need one account.

• Account name: Enter your company name or business name. For example, "My Awesome Company." This is just for your own organization.
• Account Data Sharing Settings: These settings allow you to share your anonymous data with Google for product improvement and benchmarking. It is generally recommended to leave these checked for the best experience.

After filling this section out, click Next.

Step 4: Set Up Your First Property

Now you'll create a "property" that represents your website. A business can have multiple properties under one account (for example, a website, an iOS app, and an Android app).

• Property name: Enter a name for your website. A good practice is using your domain name, like "mywebsite.com".
• Reporting time zone: Select the time zone your business operates in. This is important because it affects how your daily reports look and when your data "cuts off."
• Currency: Choose the currency you use for business transactions. Even if you don't sell products directly online, this is important for future value-based reporting and linking to ad accounts.

Click Next to proceed.

Step 5: Provide Business Information

On this screen, you’ll provide some optional details about your business. This information helps Google understand your business and provide relevant benchmarking data against similar companies in your industry.

• Industry category: Choose the category that best fits your business.
• Business size: Select the number of employees.

Below that, check the boxes corresponding to how you plan to use Google Analytics. Don't worry about getting this perfect, just pick the options that are most relevant to your goals right now. Then, click Create.

Step 6: Accept the Terms of Service

A pop-up will appear with the Google Analytics Terms of Service Agreement. You'll need to select your country, check the box to accept the terms, and finally click I Accept.

Setting Up Your First Data Stream

After you accept the terms of service, you'll be prompted to set up a "data stream." This is the source from which Google Analytics will collect data. For most users, this will be their website.

Step 1: Choose Your Platform

You’ll have three options: Web, Android app, or iOS app. To track your website, select Web.

Step 2: Configure Your Web Stream

Here you will input your website’s information:

• Website URL: Enter your website’s URL. Make sure to use the correct protocol (http:// or https://) and include the www. if your site uses it. For example, https://www.mywebsite.com.
• Stream name: Give your stream an identifiable name. Something like "My Website" works fine.
• Enhanced measurement: By default, this option is turned on. Leave it enabled. This feature automatically tracks important user interactions beyond basic page views, such as scrolls, outbound clicks, file downloads, and video engagement. It's one of the biggest benefits of GA4, giving you valuable data right out of the box with zero extra configuration.

Click Create stream. Once you click, you'll see a page titled "Web stream details." This page contains your Measurement ID, which is a unique identifier for your data stream that looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX. You will need this ID for the next phase: installing the analytics tag on your website.

Installing the Google Analytics Tag on Your Website

For Google Analytics to start collecting any information, its tracking code must be present on every page of your site. This is how data is sent from your website back to the GA servers. Here are the three most common ways to get this done.

Option 1: Use a Plugin or Native Integration (Easiest)

Most modern website content management systems (CMS) and ecommerce platforms have a simple way to integrate with Google Analytics.

• WordPress: The easiest way to install Google Analytics on a WordPress site is using a plugin. Site Kit by Google is Google's official plugin that connects your site to multiple Google services, including Analytics. Alternatively, plugins like MonsterInsights or GA Google Analytics allow you to simply paste your Measurement ID into a field in their settings to get connected.
• Shopify: Shopify has built-in support for Google Analytics. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Preferences. You will see a Google Analytics section where you can paste your entire Google tag (gtag.js) code snippet.
• Squarespace/Wix: These platforms also have a dedicated place for your Google Analytics tracking information. You typically navigate to a section like "Marketing Integrations" or "External APIs" and paste your Measurement ID into the designated field.

For most users, this integration method is the fastest and safest way to get started.

Option 2: Use Google Tag Manager (Most Flexible)

If you plan on using multiple tracking scripts (like a Facebook Pixel, Hotjar tracking, etc.), it’s highly recommended to use Google Tag Manager (GTM). GTM acts as a container for all your marketing and analytics tags, allowing you to manage and deploy them without having to edit your website's code for every change.

To use GTM, you install the GTM script on your site once. Then, you can add your GA4 tag (and other tags) through the GTM interface. This method is more advanced, but it gives you enormous flexibility and control over your tracking in the long term.

Option 3: Manually Add the Code to Your Website (Advanced)

If your website platform doesn't have an integration and you aren't using GTM, you'll need to install the code manually. Go back to your GA4 "Web stream details" page and look under "Installation instructions." You can find your global site tag (gtag.js). It will look 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 block of code and paste it right after the opening <head> tag on every single page of your website. If you're not comfortable working with your site's code, it's best to ask a developer for help or use one of the easier methods above.

Verifying Your Google Analytics Installation

After you've added the tracking tag to your website, you need to make sure it's working properly. The best way to do this is with the Realtime report in Google Analytics.

1. Keep your Google Analytics account open in one browser tab.
2. Open your own website in a different tab or on your phone.
3. In Google Analytics, navigate to Reports > Realtime in the left-hand menu.

If the tag is installed correctly, you should see yourself as at least one user in the "Users in Last 30 Minutes" card within a minute or two. Seeing this activity confirms that Google is successfully receiving data from your site.

It's important to know that while Realtime data appears instantly, data in your standard reports can take 24-48 hours to be fully processed and show up. If you don't see anything in your regular traffic reports on day one, don't panic! It's normal.

Final Thoughts

That's it! By creating an account, setting up a property, and correctly installing the tracking code, you have built the foundation for a data-driven approach to marketing and website management. Now, you can begin tracking how users find your brand and what actions they take on your site, turning raw visitor numbers into actionable business intelligence.

As data flows into your new Google Analytics account, the next step becomes interpreting it all. Instead of spending hours clicking through reports, we built a tool that does the heavy lifting for you. With a free Graphed account, you can securely connect Google Analytics and start building dashboards and getting answers in plain English. Just ask "Which channels drove the most traffic last month?" or "Create a dashboard showing my top landing pages and their engagement rates," and we'll instantly generate the visualizations you need, giving you more time to act on insights rather than hunt for them.