Google Analytics: Geekification

I've been getting a few emails asking for some more Geekification so…

Today I'm going to show you how to install Google Analytics on your Blogger Blog. (Hopefully I'll get to wordpress in the next week or so. Stick with me WP users, I gotcha.)

Ok first, Google Analytics is a free service that gives you very detailed information/statistics about your blog and where your traffic and visitors are coming from, what they're looking for/at, visits, visitors,  page views, bounce rate, time, audience, keywords, content, and seriously just about everything you can imagine. (And as a blogger you will grow to have a love/hate relationship with this program if you don't already.)

So here's how you install it on your own personal Blogger Blog.

Part I: Create A Google Analytics Account.

1. Go to Google Analytics, click Create An Account at the top right of the page and sign in to your Google Account.
2. On the next page click the Sign Up button.
3. Fill out the form:

4. Click Get Tracking ID button.

5. Locate the Property ID (UA Number) - a unique number given to your account. It will look something like UA-XXXXXXX-X

(It's been a while since I set Google Analytics up, but my number can be found on the Account Home Page as well as under the Admin Tab at the top right corner.)

6. Copy that UA number.

Part II - Installing Google Analytics On Your Blog

This is usually where people get confused a bit, so I'll try to break it down. There are TWO parts:

PART ONE - Add it to your blog:

1. Log in to your Blogger Blog. 

New Interface: Click Settings > Other > and then scroll down to Google Analytics.

Old Interface: Settings > Basic > Google Analytics Web Property ID

2. Paste that UA number you copied above into the Analytics Web Property ID box

3. Click Save Settings at the top right of the page.

If you're using a New Layout or Dynamic Views template you can skip this step because it's already included in the template code. BUT if you're using an older Layout Template or a Third Party Template you might need to do this next part manually. And it never hurts to double-check regardless of template.

PART TWO - Add it to your code:

1. Go to Template > Edit HTML > then click Proceed.

2. Do a search (Apple+F) for the </body> tag.

1. Add the following <include> tag right above the </body> tag (if it's not already there).

<b:include name='google-analytics' data='blog'/>

4. Click Save.

Ok. It can take up to 24 hours before your first data begins to appear in your account. Google Analytics updates the report every 24 hours, so it depends on where you land in this cycle. If you don't see anything at first, give it a day and then check back. If everything is where it should be, you'll see your stats. If not, shoot me an email or leave me a comment and I'll see if I can walk you through any glitches. :) Sound good? Great! Happy Stat Tracking. :)