Google Analytics - Complete Notes for Beginners

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a free web analytics tool provided by Google that helps you understand:

How visitors find your website
What they do on your website
Which pages they visit
How long they stay
Whether they convert (buy, sign up, etc.)

It helps you track and report website traffic and user behavior.

Why Use Google Analytics?

Benefit	Description
Track Visitors	Know how many people visit your site and from where
Understand Behavior	Find out what users are doing on your website
Know Devices Used	See whether users use mobile, desktop, or tablet
Conversion Tracking	Track sales, sign-ups, and goals
Improve Marketing	Know which campaigns perform better
Website Improvement	Use data to make better design/content decisions

Basic Terms You Should Know

Term	Meaning
User	A person who visits your website
Session	A group of actions by a user in a time period
Pageviews	Total number of pages viewed
Bounce Rate	Percentage of users who leave after one page
Traffic Source	Where visitors come from (Google, Social Media, etc.)
Goal	A completed activity like filling a form or buying a product
Conversion Rate	% of users who completed a goal

How Google Analytics Works

Add a tracking code (JavaScript) to your website
When someone visits your site, the code collects data
Data is sent to Google Analytics servers
You can view the data in your Analytics dashboard

Setting Up Google Analytics (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Create a Google Analytics Account

Visit https://analytics.google.com, sign in, and click "Start Measuring".

Step 2: Set Up a Property

Enter the name of your website, choose your time zone, and currency.

Step 3: Add a Data Stream

Select "Web" and enter your website URL and name.

Step 4: Install the Tracking Code

Copy and paste the following code into the <head> section of each webpage:

<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=GA_MEASUREMENT_ID"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());
  gtag('config', 'GA_MEASUREMENT_ID');
</script>

Main Sections in Google Analytics

Section	What It Shows
Realtime	Live visitors, their location, and pages they are viewing
Audience	User demographics like age, gender, country
Acquisition	How users arrive on your site
Behavior	User activities on the website
Conversions	Track goals like sign-ups and purchases

Traffic Sources in Acquisition Report

Source Type	Example
Organic Search	Visitors from Google or other search engines
Direct	Typed your URL directly
Referral	Came from another website
Social	Visitors from Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Paid Search	Traffic from Google Ads or other paid platforms
Email	Traffic from email campaigns

Goals in Google Analytics

Goals help measure how well your website performs.

Types of Goals

Goal Type	Example
Destination	User reaches a "Thank You" page after submitting a form
Duration	User stays on the site for more than 2 minutes
Pages per Session	User visits more than 3 pages
Event	User clicks a button or downloads a file

Key Metrics to Track

Metric	Description
Users	Unique visitors
Sessions	Visits to your site
Pageviews	Total number of pages viewed
Avg. Session Duration	Average time a user spends on the website
Bounce Rate	Percentage of users who leave after one page
Goal Conversion Rate	Percentage of users who completed a goal

GA4 vs. Universal Analytics

Feature	GA4	Universal Analytics
Event-Based Tracking	Default	Manual Setup
Cross-Platform	Yes	No
Machine Learning	Enabled	Not Available
Interface	Modern	Classic
Custom Reports	Flexible	Limited

Tips for Beginners

Set up goals early
Connect with Google Search Console
Exclude your own IP address
Review reports weekly
Use annotations for tracking key dates

Integrate Google Analytics with Other Tools

Tool	Purpose
Google Ads	Track ad performance and conversions
Search Console	Track organic search keywords
Google Tag Manager	Easier code management
Google Data Studio	Custom reports and dashboards

Conclusion

Google Analytics helps you understand your visitors and improve your website’s performance. By tracking data and setting goals, you can grow your business or blog using real insights.