Google Analytics is the most widely used website analytics platform in the world, and for good reason — it gives you the data to understand how visitors find your site, which pages they visit and whether they are taking the actions you want them to take. If your WordPress site does not have Analytics properly installed, you are making decisions without data.
This guide covers setting up Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which replaced Universal Analytics as the current standard. Proper tracking is also the foundation of any technical SEO audit — without it, you cannot verify what is and is not working.
Step 1: Create a Google Analytics account
Go to analytics.google.com and sign in with your Google account. If this is your first time, you will be prompted to create a new account. Give your account a name (usually your business name), choose your industry and reporting timezone, then click Next.
You will then be asked to create a Property. A property represents your website. Give it a name, select your timezone (Australia/Melbourne) and your currency (AUD). Click Next and create the property.
Step 2: Set up a data stream
After creating the property, you will be prompted to add a data stream. Select Web, enter your website URL and give the stream a name. Google will then provide you with a Measurement ID that looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX. Keep this available — you will need it in the next step.
Step 3: Install Analytics on WordPress
There are two main methods for adding Google Analytics to WordPress: using a plugin or adding the code manually via Google Tag Manager.
Plugin method: Install the Google Site Kit plugin from the WordPress plugin directory. After activation, connect it to your Google account and follow the prompts to connect your Analytics property. Site Kit handles the tracking code installation automatically.
Google Tag Manager method (recommended for most businesses): Install Google Tag Manager on your site using the Insert Headers and Footers plugin or a dedicated GTM plugin. Create a GA4 Configuration tag in GTM, enter your Measurement ID, set the trigger to All Pages, and publish the container. This method makes it easier to add additional tracking later without touching your WordPress code.
Step 4: Verify data is coming in
Once installed, go to your Google Analytics property and navigate to Reports > Realtime. Open your website in a different tab or browser. Within a few seconds you should see your visit appear in the Realtime report. If it appears, your tracking is working correctly.
Step 5: Set up conversions
Installing Analytics is only the first step. The real value comes from tracking specific actions that matter to your business — contact form submissions, phone click events, button clicks or purchase completions. These are called conversion events in GA4.
In your GA4 property, go to Admin > Events and mark the relevant events as conversions. For contact form submissions, you may need to set up additional event triggers in Google Tag Manager to fire when the thank you or confirmation page loads after form submission.
Privacy and GDPR/Australian Privacy Act considerations
If your website has visitors from the EU, you need a cookie consent mechanism that complies with GDPR. For Australian websites serving Australian audiences, compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles is required. This means having a clear privacy policy that discloses your use of analytics tools and what data they collect.
Mahdi designs and builds high-converting business websites at Web Like Web, specialising in WordPress, UI design and creating sites that are both beautiful and built to rank.
