Add Google Analytics to Beacons

Beacons offers its own analytics to track page visits and link clicks, but integrating Google Analytics can give you much deeper insights. This blog post will guide you through the process of adding Google Analytics to your Beacons page step by step.

Let's dive in!

Before we dig in I want to show you something. I promise it's worth it...

Google Analytics is great, but also complex and a bit clunky. If you just want a straightforward dashboard with the insights you need, GA is not a great place to start. Additionally, Google doesn't care about privacy and GA requires an annoying cookie banner.

That's why I built Simple Analytics, a privacy-friendly and simple analytics tool - no personal data, no cookies, just the insights you need in a straightforward dashboard.

Here is how it looks vs GA. Feel free to check our live analytics to get an idea for your project. (It is free btw!)

All right, enough about us. Now let's get into answering your question!

Can you spot the difference between the dashboards?

Understanding the Benefits

Adding Google Analytics to your Beacons page is beneficial for a number or reasons. Google Analytics offers more detailed information about your audience, including their demographics and interests. It also provides you with detailed traffic analytics so you can better understand how people land on your page, and provides plenty of insight into how visitors interact with your Beacons page.

Set Up Google Analytics

To integrate GA with your Beacons page, you'll first need a Google Analytics account set up for your site. Here's how to get started:

Create a Google Analytics Account: Visit the Google Analytics website and sign in with your Google account. If you don’t have an account, you’ll need to create one.
Set Up a New Property: Follow the on-screen instructions to create a new GA4 property. When prompted, select "Web" as your platform type.
Obtain Your Measurement ID: After setting up your property, Google will provide you with a Measurement ID (formatted as "G-XXXXXXXXXX"). Write this ID down, as it is crucial for integrating GA with your Beacons page.

Add Google Analytics to Your Beacons Page

Beacons simplifies the process of integrating third-party tools like Google Analytics into your page. Here’s how to add your GA tracking code:

Access Your Beacons Dashboard: Log in to your Beacons account and navigate to the page you wish to track.
Locate the Analytics Section: Open the settings menu and find the section dedicated to analytics or third-party integrations.
Enter Your GA Measurement ID: In the appropriate field, input your Google Analytics Measurement ID. Ensure that you enter the ID correctly!
Save Your Changes: After entering your Measurement ID, make sure to save your changes. Beacons will automatically start sending data to your Google Analytics account, allowing you to track and analyze visitor behavior on your page.

Verify the Integration

Ensuring that Google Analytics is correctly tracking your Beacons page is essential:

Check Realtime Reports in GA: After integrating GA and updating your Beacons page, visit your page to generate some initial traffic. Then, log into your Google Analytics account and navigate to the "Realtime" section to see if your visit is being tracked.
Troubleshoot if Necessary: If you don’t see any activity in the Realtime report, double-check that you’ve entered your Measurement ID correctly in Beacons and that you've saved your changes.

Final Thoughts

Adding Google Analytics to your Beacons page can give you great insights for how your page is performing. However, ask yourself: is Google Analytics the right tool for you?

GA is an overpowered solution for straightforward analytics. If you're looking for a simple and intuitive dashboard with the insights you need, there are better alternatives. Yes, I’m talking about my own product (Simple Analytics), but there are others out there as well.

I hated using Google Analytics for my projects. It's clunky, there are hundreds of dashboards and it doesn't look appealing. Also Google doesn't care about privacy or ethics. That's why I decided to build my own and more intuitive web analytics tool.

If this resonates with you, feel free to give Simple Analytics a spin. You just need to add the script and off you go. This takes about one minute- and there is a free version as well!

Enjoy!