So you have a website or blog and you want to know how many people actually visit it. Perhaps you want to know WHAT they visit. How do you do that?

There are many sites you can sign up for that will give you information on who, what, when, and where, but the most commonly used and preferred is Google Analytics. Perhaps because it is the web search authority?

Many people get easily overwhelmed when they first start and Google Analytics can be a little tricky the first time you set it up (for those of us who end up doing it repeatedly – for others, new sites, or site redesigns). I finally took the time to create screen shots to show you just how easy it is to add to your self-hosted WordPress account. Are you ready?

Step 1: Log in to the gmail account you want your site to be linked to.

Step 2: Go to googleanalytics.com, then click on admin at the top of the page.

Step 3: Click on the dropdown menu under “Account” in the lefthand column.

Step 4: Follow these steps to set up your Google Analytics:

1. Click Website
2. Name this account something memorable. Make sure you associate it with the website name in case you add more sites to Google Analytics
3. Add the title of your site, i.e. No Classroom Walls
4. Add the URL to your website. NOTE: You cannot set Google Analytics up on a free WordPress site, such as yourblogname.wordpress.com.
5. Choose the industry you write about (i.e. education, food, etc.)
6. Set your time zone
7. Click “Get Tracking Code”.

Step 5: Check or uncheck the information you want to share with Google

Step 6: Copy your tracking code and paste it into your website’s header coding or in your theme setting if it has the option to add header/footer scripts.

All set! Now try not to get lost checking your website traffic all day!