Google Analytics is an incredible tool that helps you know if your website is working as it should — but how do you know if you have it?

Your website should be a living document — to make sure it looks great, functions perfectly and communicates the message your business wants to get across, it’s best to make changes every so often to be sure you’re keeping up with what people are looking for and what Google, the most important search engine, prioritizes. This month on the blog, we’ll be talking about how Analytics can be useful and sharing some tips about how to use it.
But before you start learning about Analytics, you’ll want to get it set up on your website, because it’s best to let Analytics run for a bit to collect data before you start analyzing it. If you’ve had a website built for awhile and you’re not the only person accessing it, it’s likely someone’s already set up Google Analytics up on your site. Here’s how to find out if you already have Google Analytics and what to do if you can’t access it.
How to Tell If You Have Google Analytics
Google Analytics is important, but many of our clients aren’t sure if they already have it or, if they do, how they can access it. Here’s how to see if any website (including yours) already has Google Analytics.
- First, open the website as you normally would.
- Right click anywhere on the website, and you should see a menu. Select View Page Source from that menu — you’ll see a bunch of website coding once you select View Page Source.
- Run a Find on your page. (On a PC, you’ll run Find by hitting the Control button and the letter F at the same time; on a Mac, you hit Command and F at the same time.)
- Type Google Analytics into the Find box and hit Enter. If you find the words “Google Analytics” in the code of your site, it means you have it!
- If you don’t have Google Analytics set up and want to get started, contact us and we’ll walk you through the process.
How Do You Sign in to Analytics
- Open Google Analytics.
- If you’re already signed in to your Gmail account, Google will probably automatically sign you in to your Google Analytics account when you open the page. If you’re not automatically signed in, find the sign in at the top right of your screen.
- Once you’re signed in, click the Analytics link.
- If you need to sign in to Google Analytics with a Gmail account that’s different than your normal Gmail account, you can force a different sign in by opening an Incognito window or Private Browsing window. To do this, go to File at the top of your screen and choose New Incognito Window (if you’re using Chrome) or New Private Window (if you’re using Firefox or Safari). In Internet Explorer, this is called InPrivate Browsing.
Why Does Analytics Look Different than It Used to?
Google has changed the Google Analytics home screen, so you if you’re a regular Google Analytics user, the new look might be confusing. Want to find the data you’re used to seeing? Find it again by navigating to Audience and then going to Overview.
If You’re Unable to Sign in to Your Google Analytics Account
Do you think you might be using the wrong email address or password? Did your Analytics administrator leave your company and now you don’t have access? Are you unsure who your Analytics administrator is? Google Analytics administrator privileges are pretty strict, so regaining access might not be easy, but it’s probably not impossible. If you’re having trouble signing in to your Analytics account, click here to get help from Google.
In order to get help from Google, you’ll first need a Google Adwords account, which is free. To set up your free Google Adwords account, click here.
Wondering What All the Fuss Is about?
If you’re curious about how Google Analytics could improve your site, contact us for a free Site Audit and we’ll walk you through the benefits. To learn more about how to use Google Analytics, join us for a free Lunch & Learn at Innovation Depot on June 15. Registration is almost full, but if you miss out, don’t worry — we’ll create a webinar with the same information within a month of the Lunch & Learn event. Keep an eye on our Infomedia Trainings page for that Analytics 101 webinar.