Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful tool for tracking website traffic and user behavior. If you have a WordPress website and want to track your visitors using GA4, this guide will walk you through the process of installing GA4 tracking on your WordPress site.
Before we get started, you will need a Google Analytics account and a GA4 property set up. Once you have these in place, follow these steps to install GA4 tracking on your WordPress site.
Step 1: Install Google Site Kit Plugin
Google Site Kit is a free WordPress plugin that allows you to connect your WordPress site to Google Analytics and other Google tools. You can download and install the plugin from the WordPress plugin repository.
Once you have installed and activated the plugin, connect your Google Analytics account to the plugin by following the setup wizard.
Step 2: Enable GA4 Tracking
To enable GA4 tracking on your WordPress site, navigate to the Site Kit dashboard and click on the “Analytics” tab. Under the Analytics tab, click on “Settings” and then click on the “Tracking” tab.
On the Tracking tab, you will see an option to “Enable Google Analytics 4 tracking.” Click on the toggle button to enable GA4 tracking.
Step 3: Add GA4 Tracking Code to Your Website
Once you have enabled GA4 tracking in the Site Kit plugin, you will need to add the GA4 tracking code to your website.
To do this, navigate to the Site Kit dashboard and click on the “Analytics” tab. Under the Analytics tab, click on “Settings” and then click on the “Tracking” tab.
On the Tracking tab, you will see an option to “View tracking code.” Click on this option to view the GA4 tracking code.
Copy the tracking code and paste it into the header section of your WordPress site. You can do this by navigating to Appearance > Theme Editor in your WordPress dashboard and adding the tracking code to the header.php file.
Alternatively, you can use a plugin like Insert Headers and Footers to add the tracking code to your website without editing any code.
Step 4: Verify GA4 Tracking
To verify that GA4 tracking is working on your website, navigate to the Site Kit dashboard and click on the “Analytics” tab. Under the Analytics tab, click on “Dashboard.”
On the Analytics Dashboard, you should see data for your GA4 property. If you don’t see any data, wait a few hours and check back again.
Installing GA4 tracking on your WordPress site is a simple process that can be completed in just a few minutes. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can start tracking your website traffic and user behavior using GA4, giving you valuable insights into how your website is performing and how you can improve it.