Your quick checklist
What does Google Analytics setup involve?
Use this to keep your place while reading. Ticking a box does not send or change anything.
Words explained
- GA4
- The current version of Google Analytics.
- Key event
- An event that measures an especially important action.
- Consent mode
- Google tags that adjust to the visitor's cookie choice.
Before you start
What Google Analytics is
Google says Analytics collects data from your websites and apps to create reports. The tool is free of charge, so the cost of getting started is the time to set it up properly.
Out of the box it records visits. It does not know which visits were useful to your business. That depends on the actions you tell it to count.
What it can show you
- Where visits come from, such as search, social posts or links on other sites.
- Which pages people land on.
- How many people sent a form, tapped a phone number or tapped WhatsApp.
Some visits cannot be traced to a source. A visitor who declines the cookie banner may not be counted in full, and the numbers are a guide, not an exact count.
How setup works at a high level
- An Analytics account and property are created in your name, using your Google login.
- The site is connected to that property, so visits start to be recorded.
- The actions you care about are added as events. Google calls an event that measures a particularly important action a key event, and any event can be marked as one.
- The result is tested on the live site, then access is shared with you.
You can do this yourself. Step three is the one that takes care, because a form send or a phone tap is not a key event until someone sets it up.
Property created
Form send marked as key event
Site connected
Test enquiry appears
Cookies and consent
Analytics sits behind a cookie banner on the sites I build. Nothing that needs consent runs until the visitor agrees. Google also has a feature called consent mode. Google describes it as tags adjusting their behaviour to respect users' choices. When consent is denied, the tags send pings instead of storing cookies, and Google models some of the gaps.
Whether your site can rely on the ICO's statistics exception is a separate question with conditions, and I do not decide it for you. My practice is to use the banner. The Tracking setup page explains the UK rules.
How long the data is kept
How I can help
I set up Google Analytics 4 as part of Tracking setup, which also covers enquiry tracking, Meta Pixel, Google Ads conversion tracking, Microsoft Clarity and the cookie banner. It costs £79 including VAT, and I usually finish within 3 working days.
It does not include running ads or monthly reports. Ads setup is a separate £149 per platform and needs Tracking setup first.
Questions about Google Analytics setup
Is Google Analytics free?
Yes. Google's own marketing platform page says Google Analytics gives you the tools free of charge. My £79 pays for the setup work.
What is a key event?
Google defines it as an event that measures an action that is particularly important. For a small business that is usually a form send, a phone tap or a WhatsApp tap.
Can Analytics count phone calls?
It can count taps on a phone link. It cannot tell whether the call connected. Call tracking is a separate tool.
Do I need a new website?
No. Analytics can be added to an existing site. If the site builder limits what can be added, I tell you before you pay.
Will it help me rank higher?
Analytics shows what happens after people arrive. It does not change your position on Google. For search work, see SEO Foundations.