Google Analytics: How to get signed up
The video below does a nice job of explaining the basics of getting started with Google Analytics. Note that if we’re building your site, you only have to worry about the first part–just getting signed up. Your Smoothie Mixmasters will take care of the rest (copying the code and putting it where it belongs). Feel free to watch the whole video if you’d like, but you only have to do the steps up to about the 2 minute mark.
For those of you who like a step-by-step list, here’s what to do:
Step 1: Surf over to http://www.google.com/analytics
Step 2: You’ll see a big blue button on the right-hand side of the page that says “Access Analytics.” Look for the link just underneath that button that says “Sign up now” and click that.
Step 3: On the next page, you’ll have the option of signing in to Analytics with an existing Google account or setting up a new one. If you already use Gmail, Google Calendar, or Google Reader, you’ve got a Google account, and you can sign in to Analytics using the same email address and password that you use to log in to your gmail, calendar, or reader. If you don’t already have a Google account, or if you want to access your Analytics from a different account, then click the link that says “Don’t have a Google account? Sign up now.”
Step 4: After you’ve signed in to your Google account, you’ll be on the “Getting Started” page of Analytics. There’s a box on that page that says “Sign Up for Google Analytics.” Click the button in that box that says “Sign up.”
Step 5: Fill in the information requested on the next page:
- Your website’s URL (e.g., yourwebsitename.com)
- Account name: Whatever you want to name this account. The title of your website is usually a good choice.
- Time zone country
- Time zone
Then hit “Continue.”
Step 6: Fill in the next set of information:
- Your last name
- Your first name
- Your phone number
- Your country
Then click “Continue.”
Step 7: Agree to the terms of service. (You can’t use the Analytics service until you do.) So click the checkbox next to “Yes, I agree to the above terms and conditions” and then click the “Create new account” button.
Step 8: Next you’ll see a box with some code in it. Don’t worry about most of that. Just look for a part of the code that says something like ._getTracker(“UA-1234567-1″). It will be about three lines up from the bottom of the code. Jot down or copy the the UA-1234567-1 part (replacing 1234567-1 with whatever numbers show up in your code). That’s the info you’ll send to your Mixmasters so they can work their magic on getting the rest of Analytics set up for you.
Step 9: You’re done! Send an email to Tzaddi or Dave with you UA code from step 8, and then kick back and relax… you’re on your way to an Analytics-enabled website!
