How to Set Up Google Analytics for Google Sites

Adding Google Analytics to a Google Site is one of the fastest ways to understand who your visitors are and what they're looking for. Instead of guessing what content resonates, you can see exactly which pages are popular, where your traffic is coming from, and how people are engaging with your site. This article provides a straightforward, step-by-step guide to connect Google Analytics to your Google Site so you can start making data-driven decisions.

Why Connect Google Analytics to your Google Site?

Before jumping into the "how," it’s helpful to understand the "why." Connecting Google Analytics isn’t just about seeing how many people visited your website, it’s about getting actionable insights. It’s an essential, free tool that turns raw traffic numbers into a story about your audience.

Here are a few key benefits you unlock immediately:

• Understand Your Audience: Learn about your visitors' demographics, like their age, gender, and location. You can also see what devices (desktop, mobile, tablet) and browsers they use to access your site, helping you optimize the user experience.
• See Your Most Popular Content: The Pageviews report shows you exactly which pages get the most traffic. This insight is incredibly valuable. It tells you what topics your audience cares about, allowing you to create more of what works and improve pages that aren’t performing well.
• Discover Your Traffic Sources: How are people finding you? Google Analytics breaks down your traffic acquisition channels, showing you whether visitors are coming from organic Google searches, social media links, referrals from other websites, or by typing your URL directly. You can use this to focus your promotional efforts where they'll have the biggest impact.
• Measure Engagement: Metrics like engagement rate and average engagement time show you how long users are sticking around. High engagement suggests your content is valuable and relevant, while low engagement might indicate a page isn't meeting visitor expectations.

In short, Google Analytics helps you move from guesswork to informed strategy. It's a fundamental step for anyone serious about growing their online presence, whether you're running a personal blog, a small business site, or an internal project hub.

First, Find Your Measurement ID in Google Analytics 4

To connect Google Analytics, you need a unique identifier that tells Google where to send your website's data. In the latest version, Google Analytics 4, this is called a Measurement ID. This ID looks something like G-XXXXXXXXXX.

If you haven't created a Google Analytics account or property yet, you’ll need to do that first. Head to the Google Analytics website and follow the setup instructions. The process will guide you through creating an account and a property for your website, providing you with a Measurement ID at the end.

If you already have a GA4 property set up, here’s how to find your Measurement ID:

1. Log in to your Google Analytics account.
2. Click on the Admin gear icon in the bottom-left corner of the page.
3. In the Property column (the middle one), ensure you have the correct GA4 property selected from the dropdown menu.
4. Under the Property column, click on Data Streams.
5. You will see a list of your data streams. For your website, you should have one listed. Click on it to open the stream details.
6. On the next screen, your Measurement ID (starting with "G-") will be displayed in the top-right corner. Click the copy icon next to it to copy the ID to your clipboard.

Keep this ID handy. You’re going to need it in the next step.

A Quick Note on Universal Analytics (UA)

Before GA4, the standard version was Universal Analytics (UA). You might see older tutorials mention a "Tracking ID," which follows the format UA-XXXXXXXX-X. It’s important to know that Google officially stopped processing data for standard UA properties on July 1, 2023.

Modern "New" Google Sites are built to work with the GA4 Measurement ID (G-). Classic Google Sites, which are largely phased out, were built for the UA Tracking ID. This guide focuses on the current GA4 integration, as this is the standard for all new website analytics setups.

How to Add Google Analytics to Your New Google Site

With your GA4 Measurement ID copied, you’re just a few clicks away from putting it to work. The integration process within Google Sites is designed to be incredibly simple.

Follow these steps to connect your site:

1. Open your website in the Google Sites editor.
2. In the top-right corner of the editor, click the Settings gear icon.
3. A "Settings" window will pop up. From the left-hand navigation, select the Analytics tab.
4. This is where the magic happens. You'll see an option that says "Enable analytics." Make sure the toggle is switched on (it should be green or blue).
5. Below the toggle, there will be a text field titled "Google Analytics measurement ID."
6. Paste the Measurement ID (the one starting with "G-" that you copied from your GA4 account) into this box.
7. Once you've pasted the ID, simply close the settings window. There's no save button, it saves your change automatically.

And that’s it! The backend connection is now made. However, there's one final, crucial step: your changes won't be live until you publish (or re-publish) your site. Click the blue Publish button in the top-right corner to push the update live.

How to Verify That Google Analytics Is Working

After installing your Measurement ID, you should always confirm that data is being sent correctly. The easiest way to do this is by checking the Realtime reports in Google Analytics, which show activity on your site as it happens.

Here’s how to verify the connection:

1. In a new browser tab or on a separate device (like your phone), open the published version of your Google Site. Make sure you are viewing the live URL, not the editing URL (which contains "/edit").
2. Navigate back to your Google Analytics account.
3. In the left-hand menu, go to Reports > Realtime.
4. If everything is connected properly, you should see yourself as an active user on the Realtime overview map and in the "Users in Last 30 Minutes" card. You might also see the specific page you're viewing in the "Views by Page title" card.

Sometimes, it can take a few minutes for the first data to appear. If you don't see anything right away, give it five minutes, then refresh the Realtime report. You can also try navigating to a few different pages on your site to trigger more activity.

Troubleshooting Tip: If you've waited and still don't see any activity, double-check that you copied and pasted the entire Measurement ID correctly, and make sure you republished your site after adding it in the settings.

What Should You Track After Setting Up Google Analytics?

With data flowing, you can now start exploring what it all means. Initially, trying to decipher Google Analytics can feel a bit overwhelming, so focus on a few key reports to begin.

1. Pages and Screens Report

This report tells you which pages on your site get the most views. It's one of the most powerful reports for understanding what your audience is most interested in. Use this knowledge to double down on popular topics or identify underperforming pages that may need a refresh.

• How to find it: Go to Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens.

2. Traffic Acquisition Report

This report shows you where your users are coming from. Are they finding you through Google Search (Organic Search), are they clicking on links from social media (Organic Social), or are they being sent from other websites (Referral)? Understanding your main traffic channels helps you decide where to focus your marketing efforts.

• How to find it: Go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.

3. Demographics Report

Get a snapshot of who is visiting your site. This report breaks down your audience by country, city, age, and gender. This information is invaluable for tailoring your content and communication style to match your primary audience.

• How to find it: Go to Reports > User > User attributes > Demographics overview.

Start by checking these reports weekly. As you get more comfortable, you can begin exploring other features like setting up conversion events to track specific actions, like form submissions or clicks on important links.

Final Thoughts

Connecting your Google Site to Google Analytics is one of the highest-leverage actions you can take to grow your audience. In just a few minutes, you can get a powerful, free system for understanding visitor behavior, allowing you to move beyond assumptions and make smart, evidence-based decisions about your content and design.

While getting the data flowing is the first step, the real challenge is turning it into easy-to-understand insights. Instead of learning your way around complex reports, you might want to get answers more directly. That’s why we built Graphed. After easily connecting your Google Analytics account, you can skip the reports and ask plain-English questions like, "What were my top pages from organic search last month?" or "Compare my traffic from the US vs. Canada." Graphed instantly builds you an interactive dashboard, so you spend less time digging for data and more time acting on it.