HOW TO USE GOOGLE ANALYTICS

At Lillian Purge, we specialise in Local SEO Services and have created a guide on How to Use Google Analytics to help you make sense of your website data and extract actionable insights for business growth.

When I show people how to use Google Analytics for the first time I always treat it like learning to read a new map. If you try to click around randomly it feels confusing. If you follow a clear route it quickly starts to make sense. Below is a practical step by step guide for Google Analytics 4 that you can follow from scratch even if you feel completely new to it.

I will walk through:

  • setting Google Analytics up

  • installing the tracking

  • checking that data is flowing

  • finding the reports that actually matter

  • setting up conversions

  • using the data to make real decisions

All in plain English.

Step 1: Create your Google Analytics account and GA4 property

If you already have GA4 set up you can skim this step. If not, start here.

  1. Go to analytics.google.com.

  2. Sign in with your Google account. Ideally use a business Google account that the company controls.

  3. If you see a welcome screen choose Start measuring.

  4. Enter an Account name. This is usually your business name.

  5. Decide if you want to share data with Google. You can leave most boxes ticked unless you have strict policies.

  6. Click Next to create a Property.

  7. Enter a property name such as YourBusiness GA4.

  8. Choose your Reporting time zone and Currency.

  9. Click Next and add your business details such as industry and size.

  10. On the next screen choose your main objectives. For example you might select lead generation or online sales or brand awareness. This just helps Google suggest relevant reports.

  11. Click Create and accept the terms.

You now have a GA4 property. It exists but is not yet tracking your website. The next step fixes that.

Step 2: Add your website as a data stream

GA4 collects data through streams. For a standard website you only need one stream.

  1. In GA4 click the Admin gear icon in the bottom left.

  2. In the middle column under the property you just created click Data streams.

  3. Click Add stream then choose Web.

  4. Enter your website URL in the correct format. For example https://www.yourwebsite.co.uk.

  5. Enter a stream name such as Main website.

  6. Leave enhanced measurement turned on. This automatically tracks scrolls, outbound clicks, file downloads and more.

  7. Click Create stream.

You will now see a screen with your Measurement ID. It looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX. This is the ID you need to install on your site.

Step 3: Install the GA4 tracking code on your website

There are three common ways to install GA4. Choose the one that fits your setup.

Option A: Install using your website builder (WordPress, Wix, Shopify and others)

Many platforms have a GA4 or Google Analytics field in their settings.

  1. In GA4 open your Web data stream again.

  2. Copy your Measurement ID.

  3. In your website dashboard look for settings called Analytics or Tracking or Integrations.

  4. Paste the Measurement ID where it asks for GA4 or Google Analytics 4.

  5. Save your changes and publish if needed.

If your platform only shows an older UA code field you may need to use the full script instead.

Option B: Add the gtag script manually

If you can edit your site’s <head> section:

  1. In your web data stream click View tag instructions.

  2. Choose Install manually.

  3. Copy the <script> code that GA4 shows you.

  4. Paste this code into the <head> section of every page or into your global header template.

  5. Save and deploy.

Option C: Use Google Tag Manager

If you already use Google Tag Manager this is usually the best method.

  1. In Tag Manager create a new tag.

  2. Choose Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration.

  3. Paste your Measurement ID.

  4. Set the trigger to All pages.

  5. Save and Submit your container.

If you are not sure which method to use your web developer or site admin can usually help you add the tag correctly.

Step 4: Check that GA4 is receiving data

You should always verify that tracking works before you start analysing reports.

  1. In GA4 click Reports in the left menu.

  2. Click Realtime under the Reports section.

  3. Open your website in another browser tab.

  4. Browse a few pages.

  5. Return to the Realtime report and look for your activity. You should see at least one active user and your page titles appearing.

If you do not see any users after a few minutes something is wrong with the installation. Double check that:

  • the Measurement ID is correct

  • the script is on all pages

  • your browser is not blocking analytics through extensions

Once Realtime shows your visit you know GA4 is collecting data.

Step 5: Get familiar with the GA4 layout

GA4 looks different from old Analytics. A quick tour helps it feel less intimidating.

Home

Home shows a high level overview: recent users, events, top pages and traffic sources. I treat this as a quick health check rather than a deep report.

Reports

This is where you will spend most of your time. The main sections are:

  • Acquisition: how people got to your site

  • Engagement: what they did on your site

  • Monetisation: purchases for ecommerce sites

  • Retention: how often users return

  • Demographics: where users are from and who they are

  • Tech: which devices and browsers they use

Explore

Explore is for advanced custom reports such as funnels and path analysis. You can ignore this at first then return when you are more confident.

Advertising

This section helps you analyse paid campaigns. Useful if you have linked Google Ads or run other paid campaigns.

Admin

Here you control property settings, data streams, events, conversions and integrations.

Once you know where these areas live the platform becomes far less overwhelming.

Step 6: Learn the three core questions GA4 helps you answer

To stop GA4 feeling theoretical I always anchor it to three simple questions.

  1. Where did visitors come from

  2. What did they do on the website

  3. Did they complete the actions that matter

Most of your time in GA4 will be spent answering these questions in different ways.

Step 7: See how people find your site (Traffic acquisition)

To answer “where do visitors come from” go to:

  1. Reports

  2. Acquisition

  3. Traffic acquisition

Here you will see your traffic split into channels such as:

  • Organic Search

  • Direct

  • Paid Search

  • Organic Social

  • Referral

  • Email

Look at:

  • Users: how many people came from each channel

  • Engagement rate: how many had meaningful engagement

  • Conversions: how many took important actions (once you set these up in a later step)

In my opinion this one report is often the most valuable because it shows which marketing channels actually bring people to your site.

Step 8: See which pages people view (Pages and screens)

Next you want to know what visitors are actually looking at.

  1. Go to Reports

  2. Click Engagement

  3. Then Pages and screens

Here you see a list of page titles or URLs.

Key metrics to check:

  • Views: how often each page was seen

  • Users: how many people visited that page

  • Average engagement time: how long they stayed engaged

  • Conversions: how many conversions happened while people were on that page

This tells you which pages carry most of your traffic and which pages hold attention. If a crucial service page gets little traffic you know that is a priority for SEO or internal linking.

Step 9: Understand engagement rate in GA4

Old Analytics focused on bounce rate. GA4 focuses on Engagement rate. I prefer engagement rate because it tells you how many sessions were actually meaningful.

A session counts as engaged if:

  • it lasts more than 10 seconds

  • or has at least 2 page views

  • or triggers a conversion event

You can see engagement rate in most reports. Higher is better. For important pages such as core services and key blogs you should aim for strong engagement. If engagement rate is low visitors might not find what they expect or the content may not be helpful.

Step 10: Set up basic events and conversions

Out of the box GA4 tracks page views and some interactions but it does not automatically know what matters most to your business. That is where conversions come in.

Decide which actions matter

Typical examples:

  • contact form submissions

  • click to call buttons

  • booking completions

  • purchases

  • newsletter signups

  • file downloads for key resources

Turn existing events into conversions

GA4 may already track some relevant events automatically.

  1. Go to Admin

  2. Under your property click Events

  3. Look through the list. If you see an event that represents a key action (such as generate_lead or a custom event your developer created) toggle Mark as conversion to on.

Creating new events via Google Tag Manager or site code

For more specific actions such as a “Submit” button on a particular form you may need a developer or Tag Manager to set up custom events then mark those as conversions.

Once conversions are in place GA4 can show which traffic sources and pages lead to those actions which is where the real value begins.

Step 11: Connect Google Analytics with Google Search Console

If you care about SEO, connecting Search Console gives you insight into the queries that bring organic visitors.

  1. In GA4 click Admin

  2. Under the property column choose Search Console links

  3. Click Link and select your Search Console property

  4. Follow the prompts and save

After a short time GA4 will show Search Console reports under Reports which allow you to see:

  • which search queries lead to impressions and clicks

  • which landing pages perform best in organic search

  • how ranking and organic traffic interact

I always recommend this connection because it brings your SEO and analytics into one place.

Step 12: Use UTM tags to track campaigns correctly

If you run email campaigns or social posts or other promotional efforts you should tag your links so GA4 knows where visitors came from.

A UTM tag is a small snippet added to the end of a URL. For example:

https://www.yourwebsite.co.uk/contact?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_offer

Key parts:

  • utm_source identifies the platform such as newsletter or facebook

  • utm_medium describes the channel such as email or social

  • utm_campaign names the specific campaign

Once you add UTM tags GA4 will list these under Session source / medium and Session campaign which gives much more accurate attribution.

You can use Google’s Campaign URL Builder to create these links easily.

Step 13: Build a simple habit for weekly GA4 checks

I believe GA4 is most useful when you build a habit rather than only checking occasionally. A simple weekly routine might look like this.

  1. Open Traffic acquisition

    • Compare this week to last week

    • Check which channels grew or declined

  2. Open Pages and screens

    • See which pages had the most engagement

    • Spot any pages that dropped suddenly

  3. Open Conversions

    • Check how many conversions occurred

    • See which channels delivered them

  4. Note any issues such as:

    • a strong page with weak conversions

    • a channel that drives traffic but no leads

    • sudden spikes or drops that may need investigation

This routine takes 10 to 15 minutes and keeps you in control.

Step 14: Use GA4 to improve your website content

Once you are comfortable reading the reports you can start improving your site based on real data.

Examples:

  • If a blog post receives a lot of organic traffic but low engagement expand the content and add clearer call to actions.

  • If a key service page has high engagement but few conversions review the contact options. Perhaps the form is too long or the call to action is vague.

  • If most traffic arrives on mobile but your engagement rate is lower on mobile than desktop fix design issues on phones.

In my opinion using analytics to guide content changes is one of the fastest ways to gain results from GA4.

Step 15: Explore user journeys with simple explorations

When you feel ready you can use the Explore section for deeper insight.

Funnel exploration

A funnel shows how many users move through steps such as:

  1. Home page

  2. Service page

  3. Contact page

  4. Form submit

You can create a basic funnel to see where users drop off then improve the problem step.

Path exploration

This shows the common paths users take after entering your site. You can see which pages they visit next and where they exit.

These tools look complex at first yet they offer incredibly useful insights once you get comfortable.

Step 16: Avoid common GA4 mistakes

From what I have seen, people struggle with GA4 mainly due to a few recurring issues.

  • They rely on only one metric such as users and ignore engagement or conversions.

  • They never set up conversions so they cannot see what success actually looks like.

  • They do not connect Search Console so they miss key SEO insights.

  • They expect GA4 to look and behave exactly like old Analytics rather than adopting the new event based view.

If you avoid these mistakes GA4 quickly becomes a powerful ally rather than a confusing dashboard.

Step 17: Use GA4 with other tools for a full picture

GA4 is strongest when combined with:

  • Search Console for SEO visibility

  • Google Ads for paid search performance

  • Meta Pixel data for Facebook and Instagram campaigns

  • CRM data for offline or downstream sales tracking

Together they show where leads originate, how they behave on site and whether they turn into real customers.

Step 18: Treat GA4 as a decision tool not just a report

The real point of GA4 is not to stare at graphs. It is to make decisions.

Examples of decisions you can make from GA4:

  • Which blog topics to expand or discontinue

  • Which service pages to prioritise for SEO

  • Whether to invest more into Google Ads or Facebook or organic content

  • Which form or checkout steps need simplifying

  • Which locations or towns bring the best visitors

Whenever you look at a report ask yourself one question.
“What can I change or test based on this information.”

If you cannot answer that question the report is not yet useful.

How to become confident using Google Analytics

When I put everything together I believe the best way to learn GA4 is to start small, repeat simple checks and gradually add more layers. You do not need to master every feature. You only need to understand enough to answer the questions that truly matter to your business.

If you:

  • install the tag correctly

  • check Realtime to confirm data

  • learn the core acquisition and engagement reports

  • set up conversions

  • review results weekly

you will already be ahead of most businesses.

Over time GA4 will feel less like a strange tool and more like a familiar dashboard that tells you what is really happening on your website. That understanding is what turns guesswork into strategy.

We have also written in depth articles on How to Create Google Analytics Account and Is Google Analytics For Free? as well as our Google Analytics Hub to give you further guidance.