How To Use Google Analytics (Beginner’s Guide) 

Key takeaways 

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4) tracks what people do on your site, so you can see what’s working and what’s not.  
• GA4 comes with automatic tracking and a clean dashboard. You don’t need to be a data expert to start collecting useful insights about your website’s performance.  
• You can use GA4 data to make better decisions and grow faster, from finding your top traffic sources to improving weak pages or boosting conversions.  

People set up a website, cross their fingers, and hope it works. But if you don’t know how people are finding your site or what they’re doing once they get there, it’s almost impossible to improve it.   

There’s a useful and free tool built to solve exactly those challenges: Google Analytics.  

But let’s face it: Google Analytics can look intimidating — dashboards, metrics, bounce rates— it’s a lot. 

In this article, we’re sharing the basics with you so you can get a foundational understanding of how to use it. You’ll learn how to get started with Google Analytics, what the key terms actually mean, and how to use that data to make smarter decisions that drive real results.  

Let’s get started. 

What is Google Analytics 4 (GA4)? 

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google’s free analytics platform that helps you understand how people interact with your website or app. It works by providing valuable insights into user behavior, traffic sources, and engagement patterns, which are all important for making informed decisions on improving your site performance.  

GA4 replaced Universal Analytics (UA) in October 2020, but the latter continued to process data until July 1, 2023. In July 1, 2024, users lost access to all UA properties and their data. 

GA4 is now the default for all new Google Analytics properties. It introduces a more advanced approach to tracking, shifting from a session-based model to an event-based framework. In other words, every user action is tracked as a unique event. 

Why should I use Google Analytics GA4?  

Using Google Analytics 4 can help you understand what’s working on your website, and what’s not. Instead of guessing, you get real data and facts about how people use your site. This is different from Google’s other free web service: Google Search Console, which exclusively tracks your site’s organic search performance and tells you how people find your site from Google.  

For example, which keywords they searched for on Google, impressions (how many times your site appeared on search results and clicks (how many times people clicks your site in search results.  

Google Search Console shows how people get to your site, and GA4 shows what they do once they’re there. To better understand the value of GA4, here are some key things it can help you with: 

• See who visits your site. Find out where your visitors come from all possible web traffic channels, like search engines, social media, emails, or other websites (counted as “referrals”). 
• Know what people do. Learn which pages they visit, what they click on, and how long they stay. 
• Track important actions. Track actions like purchases, sign-ups, or video views to see what’s driving results. 
• Improve your website. Use the data to fix problems, make your site easier to use, and get more people to take action. 
• Connect with other Google tools. GA4 works well with tools like Google Ads and Search Console, so you can track your marketing all in one place. 

How to set-up Google Analytics (simplified guide) 

Now that you know what Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is and why you should use it. Here’s a quick and simple guide to setting it up: 

1. Go to analytics.google.com and sign in with your Google account. If you don’t have a Google account yet, you’ll need to create one. 
2. Click “Start Measuring” to begin setting up your account. 
3. Create your account and property: 

• Name your account (e.g., your business or website name). 
• Choose your country, time zone, and currency. 
• Name your property (e.g., “My Website Analytics”). 
• Select your industry category and business size. 
• Choose your business objectives (or select “Get baseline reports” if unsure). 
• Accept the terms of service. 

4. Set up a data stream: 

• Choose “Web” (for most websites). 
• Enter your website URL and give the stream a name. 
• Make sure Enhanced Measurement is turned on — this automatically tracks common user actions like pageviews, scrolls, and link clicks. 
• Click “Create stream.” 

5. Install the tracking code on your website. After creating your stream, you’ll get a Measurement ID (e.g., G-XXXXXXXXXX). 

• Option A (Manual). Copy the Global Site Tag (gtag.js) code and paste it into the <head> section of every page on your website. 
• Option B (Website Builders or CMS). If you use website builders, you can use a plugin or built-in integration to add your Measurement ID without touching code. 
• Option C (Google Tag Manager). Advanced users can add GA4 via GTM for more flexible tracking. 

6. Verify that it’s working: 

• Go to the Realtime report in your GA4 dashboard. 
• Visit your website in a separate tab — you should see your visit appear within a few seconds. 

For a more detailed guide, you can visit this guide from Google. It includes platform-specific instructions and video walkthroughs to help you set things up smoothly.  

What metrics GA4 tracks automatically (and where to find them) 

When you log in to GA4, the home screen gives you a quick snapshot of how your website is performing. It highlights key metrics to help you understand your audience and their behavior at a glance.  
 
Important disclaimer: To help you get familiar with the Google Analytics 4 (GA4) interface, we’re using the Google Analytics Demo Account (based on the Google Merchandise Store). This demo shows real data and is a great way to explore what you’ll see in your own GA4 account. In terms of access and permissions, the demo uses the Viewer role, which is relatively basic and limited compared to other roles (Analyst, Marketer, Editor, and Administrator). 

Here’s what you’ll see: 

• Active users. The total number of unique users who had an engaged session or recorded at least one event during the selected time period (e.g., the last 7 days). This gives you a sense of overall traffic trends and user engagement. 
• Key events. These are important user actions tracked on your site, such as clicks, purchases, or scrolls. GA4 automatically tracks many of these events without needing extra setup, thanks to ‘Enhanced Measurement’. 
• Event count. The total number of events triggered on your site, including page views, downloads, or video plays. It shows how users interact with your content. 
• Purchases. If eCommerce tracking is set up (like in this demo), this shows how many purchases were made during the selected time period. 
• Real-time users. On the right side, you can see current active users (last 30 minutes), alongside a live graph of top countries and the top pages and events. 
• Traffic sources. Under the “Suggested for you” section, you’ll find a breakdown of where your sessions are coming from like Direct, Organic Search, Referral, and Paid Search. This pinpoints which marketing channels are bringing in traffic. 
• Active users by country. A visual world map shows where your visitors are located, with a list of top countries and how many users came from each. 
• Items purchased. For eCommerce setups, you can see which products were bought most often, listed by item name. 
• Navigation menu (Left Sidebar). On the left side of the screen (as shown in the image), you’ll find the main menu. This includes quick access to Home, Reports, Explore, Advertising, Configure, Admin, and Library sections. Clicking these icons helps you move between key areas of your GA4 account and manage your property settings. 

Google Analytics 4 Home dashboard showing key metrics, real-time users, and traffic sources (as seen from the Google Merchandise Store demo account). 

How to use Google Analytics 

If you’re already familiar with the GA4 dashboard, you’re probably thinking: Okay, but how do I actually use Google Analytics? 
 
GA4 can tell you a lot about your website. But how you use it depends on what you want to know. There’s no one-size-fits-all method.  

What can you learn from Google Analytics report? 

Here we’ll take you through the Reports Section.  This is where you’ll find all the essential data to understand your visitors and how your website is performing. 

Here’s an overview of what you’ll find: 

• Reports Snapshot: Your main hub for viewing key metrics and trends over your selected period. Offers a snapshot of how your website or app is performing.  
• Realtime: Monitoring live user activity.  
• Life Cycle: Reports covering acquisition, engagement, monetization, and retention.  
• User: Insights into user demographics, interests, and technology usage. 

Reports snapshot 

The Reports snapshot is the overview report displayed when you click Reports in the left navigation. Any overview report can be set as the Reports snapshot. 

Realtime reports 

The Realtime report shows what’s happening on your website or app right now — as in, this very minute. 

What you can see: 

• How many people are currently on your site 
• Where they came from (like Google, Facebook, or a direct visit) 
• What pages or screens they’re looking at 
• What actions they’re taking (like clicking, watching a video, or starting checkout) 
• Which countries or cities they’re visiting from 
• Device types (mobile, desktop, tablet) 

Why it’s useful: 

• See live results after sending an email, posting on social media, or launching an ad 
• Watch how people use your site during a special event, sale, or product launch 
• Check if tracking is working properly on your site or app 
• Spot any sudden spikes or drops in real-time traffic. This is important since anomalies may be caused by a successful marketing campaign like social media virality or technical tracking issues like bot or spam traffic.  

Acquisition reports 

The Acquisition reports show you how people find your website — whether it’s through Google, social media, ads, or other sources. 

In GA4, acquisition reports are grouped into four main tabs that help you understand how people are finding and returning to your website or app: 

• Acquisition overview. This report gives you a quick summary of how people find your website or app. It pinpoints which marketing efforts bring new users and whether you should refine your current strategies. 
• User acquisition. This report shows how new users found your website or app for the very first time. It tells you which sources, like search engines or social media, are brought by new visitors. This is different from the Traffic acquisition report, which looks at all sessions, not just new users. 
• Traffic acquisition. This report shows where all visits to your website or app came from, including both new and returning users. It shows which sources bring people back and which drive the most traffic. 
• User acquisition cohorts. This shows groups of users who first visited or signed up around the same time, like in the same week. Use this to track how long they stay active or if they come back later. 

Most of the time, it’s best to start with the User Acquisition report to understand where new visitors come from. 

What you’ll see: 

• A table that lists traffic sources like “organic,” “direct,” “email,” or “paid search” 
• A chart or graph showing which sources bring the most people 
• Key stats like how long users stayed, how many pages they viewed, and if they completed actions like sign-ups or purchases 

For example, if the report says “organic” in the first column, that means people found your site through a search engine (like Google or Bing) without clicking on an ad. 

You can also filter the data by things like: 

• Device type (mobile or desktop) 
• Country or region 
• Campaign name (if you’re tracking marketing campaigns) 
• And more 

You can do this by just clicking the “+ Add comparison” button in the top-left of the report. 

Choose a dimension to filter by. Then, click Apply. 

Why it matters: This report helps you figure out which marketing efforts are working, and where to focus your time and budget to get more visitors. 

Engagement reports 

Engagement reports in GA4 reveals user interaction with your website or app. They show what pages or screens users visit, what actions they take, and how long they stay. This shows what’s working well and where you need to make changes. 

In GA4, there are four main engagement reports you can explore: 

• Engagement overview. This report gives you a quick summary of how users are engaging with your site or app. It shows key numbers like time spent, top pages or screens, and which features people are using.  
• Events. This report shows the actions people take, like clicks, scrolls, video plays, or purchases. It tells you how often each action happens and how many people triggered each one.  
• Pages and screens. This report shows which pages people visit on your website or which screens they open in your app. It reveals where users go the most and how they move around your site or app. 
• Landing page. This report shows the first page someone sees when they visit your website. It identifies which pages attract visitors, and how well those pages keep them engaged. If certain landing pages don’t perform well, you’ll know where to improve. 

Engagement encompasses how long your site stays active in the user’s browser, how far they scroll (like scrolling 60% of a page), and actions they take — called events — like clicking a button or starting a session. 

From the Google demo account below, you can see users are spending an average of 52 seconds on the site, with 0.5 engaged sessions per user. The homepage gets the most views, and popular actions include viewing product lists, starting sessions, and seeing promotions. 

Monetization report 

The Monetization report shows how your website or app makes money. It tells you what people are buying, how much they’re spending, and which products are selling the most. 

Here are the main reports you’ll find: 

• Overview. This report summarizes your revenue, showing product sales, the performance of promotions and coupon codes, and app ad revenue. 
• Ecommerce purchases. This report shows details about the products or services people are buying from your online store. 
• Purchase journey. This shows each step people take during the buying process and where they drop off. Highlighting where users are getting stuck so you can improve those steps. 
• Checkout journey. This shows how many users start the checkout process and how many finish it. Allowing you to identify barriers users encounter when completing their purchase. 
• Promotions. This report shows how your sales and promotions are affecting purchases and revenue. 
• Transactions. Shows a list of individual transactions, including each transaction ID, how many items were bought, and how much money was made.  

If you sell things online, this report is helpful. It lets you see what’s working and where people might be stopping before buying. For example, if lots of people add items to their cart but don’t check out, you’ll see that here. 

The Monetization report helps you understand how your business is doing and what you can do to sell more. 

Retention reports 

The Retention report shows how well your website or app keeps users coming back over time. It helps you understand if people return after their first visit and how long they stay engaged. 

This report includes: 

• How many users come back after their first visit 
• How long users stay active on your site or app 
• The percentage of users who return each day over a 42-day period 

It’s a helpful way to see if your content or product keeps people interested — or if they visit once and don’t come back. 

User reports 

User reports in GA4 help you learn more about the people who visit your website or app. They show important user details so you can create better content and marketing strategies that fit them. 

Here are the main reports you’ll find: 

• Demographic details. This report shows who your users are — including their age, gender, language, location, and interests.  
• Audiences. This report shows your most active and valuable groups of users. It highlights which audiences engage the most for targeted focus. 
• Tech details. This report shows what devices and technology your users utilize like browser type, screen size, app version, and operating system. 

Best practices of using GA4 to improve your website 

To make the most out of GA4 on growing your website, here are three simple ways to do it: 

1. Boost traffic. Use Acquisition reports to see which channels bring in the most engaged users, not just the most clicks. Focus on sources that lead to high-quality visits, such as users who stay longer or complete actions. Reduce time spent on low-performance traffic and test new campaigns by comparing their impact overtime.  
2. Improve content. Review Engagement reports to identify pages with high exit rates or low engagement times. Update pages with clearer messaging, better visuals, or stronger calls to action. Use successful pages as templates for future content and regularly monitor changes to see user improvements.  
3. Refine targeting. Analyze demographics, devices, and user behavior to refine your strategy. For example, if most visitors are using mobile devices, check the mobile loading speed and layout. If an age group or region converts more effectively, adjust your ad targets or create content tailored to them. 

Turn insights into action 

Google Analytics 4 is a comprehensive tool that helps you understand what’s really happening on your website. It takes the guesswork out and gives you real data you can use to improve traffic, content, and conversions.  

This guide introduced you to the basics of Google Analytics and how it works. If you’re looking for a more detailed, step-by-step resource, you can visit the official Google Analytics Help Center. 

If you’re ready to take the next step but don’t have a website yet, try Network Solutions’ easy-to-use website builder. Once your site is live, you can connect it to Google Analytics in just a few clicks and start tracking what’s working.  

No time to DIY? Consider hiring our experts in web design and copy, digital marketing and SEO. We use Google Analytics to maximize the full potential of your website and strategy, so you can focus on running your business.  

Frequently asked questions