WordPress analytics: The ultimate how-to & top plugins guide

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WordPress analytics is the key to understanding your website’s performance and priming it for success. It provides a data-driven approach allowing you to make informed decisions that improves user experience and increases conversions. 

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned webmaster, understanding and leveraging analytics can significantly impact your site’s performance and success. 

This guide will walk you through everything you need about WordPress analytics, from integrating Google Analytics to utilizing powerful plugins and advanced reporting tools like Omnisend. 

Let’s dive in. 

What is WordPress analytics?

WordPress analytics involves tracking and analyzing data on your website’s traffic, user behavior, and content performance. With these insights, you’re in an excellent position to optimize content, drive more engagement, and ultimately achieve your website goals. 

Some key metrics you can monitor via WordPress analytics include:

• Sessions: The interactions users have with your website that are grouped within a given timeframe
• Pageviews: The total number of times individual pages on your site are loaded or viewed, including repeated views of a single page 
• Visitors: The number of unique individuals who visit your website within a specific (reporting) period
• Bounce rate: The percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page
• Average session duration: The average amount of time visitors spend on your site during a single visit
• Traffic sources: The channels (e.g., search engines, social media, direct traffic) through which visitors access your site

By analyzing these metrics, you can identify areas for improvement, such as high bounce rates on specific pages or low engagement with certain types of content. 

WordPress analytics can also help improve your marketing strategy by determining the most effective channels for driving traffic and conversions.

Where can I see WordPress analytics?

There are two main ways to access WordPress analytics data: 

Using Jetpack Stats (for WordPress.com sites)

Jetpack Stats is automatically included if your website is hosted on WordPress.com. For self-hosted WP sites, you have to install the Jetpack plugin. It allows easy access to basic website performance data directly from the dashboard. For more features, you need a paid Jetpack Stats’ plan.

Using Google Analytics

WordPress itself doesn’t have built-in analytics functionality. However, you can integrate WordPress with Google Analytics. This will provide comprehensive website traffic data, including event tracking, custom dimensions, and detailed reports as shown below: 

How to add Google Analytics to WordPress

As of July 1, 2023, Google retired the industry standard Universal Analytics (UA) in favor of Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Google promised to keep existing UA data accessible until July 1, 2024, but users were informed they needed to migrate to GA4 to keep measuring website traffic.

Introduced in 2022, Google Analytics 4 is designed for event-based tracking while UA focused on session-based data. Additionally, GA4 allows unlimited conversion tracking, incorporates AI-powered machine learning, and offers enhanced measurement capabilities.

Let’s find out how to set up Google Analytics on WordPress in the step-by-step guide below: 

1. Set up a Google Analytics account: If you don’t already have one, visit the Google Analytics website and sign up for a free account with an editor role so you can add properties

2. Create a new GA4 property: Provide a name for your property, choose a reporting time zone and currency, select your industry category and business size, and add how you intend to use Google Analytics

3. Add a data stream: Choose web from the available iOS app, Android app, and web choices, click on create stream to get a Google tag (starting with “G-”) to start collecting data, and use this unique ID to connect GA4 to your WordPress site

4. Integrate with WordPress: There are several ways to integrate GA4 with your WordPress site:

• Using the WordPress Marketing and Integrations tool: If you’re on the WordPress Explorer plan or higher, you can directly paste your Google tag or measurement ID into the tool. Add it to the field labeled Google Analytics measurement ID located in the traffic tab of the Marketing and Integrations tool, and click the save settings button.
• Using a WordPress Google Analytics plugin: Install a plugin like Jetpack, MonsterInsights, or the official Site Kit by Google from the WordPress plugin repository. These plugins simplify the setup process, but you need to be on the Creator WordPress plan or higher to install them on your site.
• Using Google Tag Manager: To use this web interface to add a GA4 tracking code to your website, you must first set up your Google Tag Manager account. Next, configure your GA tag by clicking the new tag to add a new tag, give it a name, click on tag configuration, and select Google Analytics. Then, click on Google Tag and paste it in the tag ID field. 
• Manually adding tracking code: For advanced users, you can manually add the tracking code by copying the provided code snippet from Google Analytics. This option is ideal for those on the Free or Starter WordPress plans since they don’t support plugins. 

Manual integration

If you’d like to manually integrate GA4 with your site, you’ll need to know where to put Google Analytics code in WordPress. 

You can do this by adding the tracking code in your GA4 account to your WordPress site’s header.php file through your theme’s file editor. 

You’ll want to use a child theme to avoid issues where WordPress theme updates mess with your tracking code. Before you begin, remember to make a site backup before making any changes to your code or theme. 

Here’s how to install Google Analytics on WordPress manually:

1. First, locate your Google tag code snippet (gtag.js)

• Sign in to your GA4 account and click Admin
• Go to the Property column and click on Data Streams, then Web
• Select your website’s data stream, and click on View tag instructions under Google tag
• Choose Install manually on the Installation instructions page
• Your Google tag is the entire section of the JavaScript code snippet on the screen that begins with <!– Google tag (gtag.js) –> and ends with </script> 

2. Paste the code into your WordPress site’s header

• Open your WordPress dashboard
• Go to Appearance, then Theme File Editor
• Select header.php and locate the header element (starts with “<head>” and ends with “</head>”)
• Paste your Google Analytics tracking code right before the closing </head> tag or directly after the opening “<head>” tag
• Repeat the process on every page, but don’t add more than one Google tag code per page

Top WordPress analytics plugins

Choosing the right WordPress analytics plugin depends on your needs and technical expertise. Below are some popular options:

Tool name	Key features	Free plan	Pricing starts from
MonsterInsights	Extensive reports, ecommerce and form tracking, spam filtering, A/B testing	Yes	$99.60/year
Jetpack Stats	Basic reporting and security, social media sharing	Yes	$8.33/month
HubSpot Analytics	Limited reports, marketing automation	Yes	$20/month
Independent Analytics	Limited reports, form tracking, heatmaps, and session recordings	Yes	$54/year
ExactMetrics	Extensive (custom) reports, ecommerce and form tracking, scroll-depth tracking	Yes	$99.50/year

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these tools:

1. MonsterInsights

Key features

• Easy setup
• Integrates directly with Google Analytics
• Detailed reports in the WordPress dashboard
• Ecommerce tracking
• Real-time analytics 

Pricing

• Free version available, paid plans start at $99.60/year

2. Jetpack Stats

Key features

• Built-in for WordPress.com sites
• Basic analytics and reports
• Simple and easy-to-use interface
• Integration with other Jetpack features

Pricing

• Free plan available, premium plans start at $8.33/month 

3. HubSpot Analytics

Key features

• Website activity monitoring
• Integration with HubSpot CRM
• Marketing automation
• Lead tracking

Pricing

• Free basic plan, advanced features in paid plans starting at $20/month

4. Independent Analytics

Key features

• Easy setup
• Form tracking
• Real-time stats
• Unique visitor tracking
• WooCommerce analytics

Pricing

• Free version available, premium plans start at $54/year

5. ExactMetrics

Key features

• Seamless Google Analytics integration
• Real-time stats
• Affiliate ad tracking
• Ecommerce tracking
• Scroll and automatic events tracking
• Detailed reports in the WordPress dashboard

Pricing

• Free version available, paid plans start at $99.50/year

Monitoring and improving WordPress analytics

To make data-driven decisions and optimize your website’s performance, it’s crucial to effectively monitor and improve WordPress analytics. Here are some ways to ensure your analytics are comprehensive and actionable: 

Viewing WordPress analytics data

Some top WordPress analytics plugins, such as MonsterInsights or Site Kit by Google, allow you to view Google Analytics reports directly within your WordPress dashboard. 

Once connected to your GA4 account, you can access a range of GA reports from your WordPress dashboard, including User Acquisition, Traffic Acquisition, and Generate Leads reports. 

Other reporting options within WordPress analytics plugins include: 

• Overview reports: Get a snapshot of your website’s overall performance, including sessions, pageviews, and bounce rate
• Behavior reports: Understand how users navigate your site, which pages are most popular, and how long visitors stay
• Acquisition reports: Identify your main sources of website traffic, such as search engines, social media, or direct visits
• Conversion reports: Track specific conversion goals like form submissions, product purchases, or other key actions you’d like users to take

Here’s how basic Google Analytics and other service data are displayed by the Site Kit by Google widget within the WordPress dashboard:

Using insights to improve your site

Data is only as valuable as the improvements it inspires. By leveraging WordPress analytics data, you can improve your content strategy, optimize SEO and user experience, improve conversion rates, reduce bounce rates, and boost user engagement and retention. 

Some helpful tips include:

• Improving conversions: Use conversion reports to track goal completions and adjust your CTAs, landing pages, and forms for better results
• Reducing bounce rates: Ensure your content is relevant and engaging, improve page load speed, and make your site accessible across all devices
• Engaging users: Create interactive and compelling content, use multimedia elements, and encourage user participation via comments and social sharing

Here’s an ecommerce report by MonsterInsights that highlights insights such as transactions completed and conversion rate:

Troubleshooting analytics issues

Even the best analytics setup can encounter issues like inconsistent data or data discrepancies that can skew your understanding of site performance. These can be caused by factors like incorrect code implementation, ad-blockers, or caching issues.

To ensure accurate data collection, implement the following practices:

• Conduct regular audits: Periodically review your analytics setup to ensure all tracking codes are functioning correctly
• Use Google’s Tag Manager: Consider using Google Tag Manager for easy and consistent management of tracking codes
• Stay updated: Keep your WordPress analytics plugin and Google Analytics up to date to stay ahead of the competition

Omnisend — Advanced email marketing reporting

For WordPress users seeking an all-in-one solution that combines website analytics with email marketing and SMS capabilities, Omnisend is an alternative worth considering. 

Unlike plugins dedicated solely to the Google Analytics integration, Omnisend provides a comprehensive suite of tools for tracking website and email campaign performance, as well as SMS analytics. It’s an excellent choice for users looking to streamline their marketing analytics under one platform.

Wrap up

Mastering WordPress analytics is essential for understanding your website’s performance and audience behavior. By using the tools and techniques we’ve outlined, you can gain valuable insights that help you optimize your content, improve user experience, and drive business growth. 

Learning how to connect Google Analytics to WordPress helps you transform website data into actionable insights.

FAQ

1. Can you use Google Analytics with WordPress?

Yes, absolutely! Google Analytics is a powerful and widely used tool for tracking and analyzing website traffic. It provides valuable insights into user behavior and engagement on your WordPress site.

2. Can I check analytics on WordPress?

Yes! While Google Analytics offers in-depth analysis on its platform, many WordPress analytics plugins, such as Jetpack Stats and MonsterInsights, bring essential data directly to your WordPress dashboard. This makes it easy to monitor key metrics like sessions, pageviews, and bounce rates without leaving your WordPress environment. 

3. How do I host Google Analytics locally on WordPress?

Google Analytics is a cloud-based service provided by Google, so local hosting of the analytics platform on your WordPress site isn’t possible. You’ll need to sign up for a Google Analytics account and integrate it with your WordPress site.

4. What is the best Google Analytics WordPress plugin?

There are several efficient WordPress plugins for Google Analytics integration, including ExactMetrics and Site Kit by Google. However, MonsterInsights stands out as one of the best options. 

It offers seamless Google Analytics setup and comprehensive reports within your WordPress dashboard. Additionally, you can take advantage of its pro features like form tracking, spam filtering, and custom dimensions.