Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google's free tool for measuring what happens on your website: how many people visit, where they come from, which pages they read and how many end up requesting a quote or buying. Without this data, every decision about your website or your campaigns is a shot in the dark.
In this guide we explain, step by step and without jargon, how to create a GA4 property, connect it to your website, check that it works and give someone else admin access. At the end you'll find the settings we recommend turning on from day one, which almost nobody configures.
Account, property and data stream: the three levels of Analytics
Google Analytics is organized into three levels, and understanding them will help you find your way around the menus.
The account is the top level and groups all the properties of one company, for example “My Company Ltd”.
The property represents a specific website or app, for example “Corporate website”. This is where data and reports are stored.
The data stream is the connection between the property and your website. It generates the measurement ID, in the format G-XXXXXXXXXX, which is what gets installed on the site.
Before you start: what you need
A Google account to sign in with, either Gmail or a Google Workspace company address. Ideally a company account rather than a personal one.
Enough permissions: to create a property in an existing account you need the Editor role or higher, and to add users, the Administrator role.
Your website's full address (for example, www.mycompany.com) and, if you're giving someone access, their email, which must be linked to a Google account.
One important tip: always create the account and property with a company account and then give access to whoever helps you (agency, freelancer or employee). That way the data is always yours and you won't lose access if you change provider.
Step 1: open Google Analytics
Open your browser (we recommend Google Chrome), go to analytics.google.com and sign in with the company account. Check the icon with your initial or photo in the top-right corner to make sure it's the right account.
If you've never used Analytics, you'll see a welcome screen with a “Start measuring” button. If you already have an account, you'll go straight to the reports of an existing property.
Step 2: create the property
If you don't have an account yet, click “Start measuring”, enter the account name (your company's), review the data sharing settings (you can keep the defaults) and click “Next”.
If you already have an account, click the “Admin” gear (bottom left), check at the top that your company's account is selected, click the blue “+ Create” button and choose “Property”.
Either way you'll reach the “Create property” wizard:
1. Property name: one that identifies the website, for example “My Company website”.
2. Reporting time zone and currency: choose your country and currency so reports use the right time and money values. Click “Next”.
3. Business details: enter your industry and number of employees. Click “Next”.
4. Business objectives: tick the ones that fit your business, such as “Generate leads” or “Drive online sales”. If you're not sure, choose “Get baseline reports”; it only decides which reports appear by default and can be changed later. Click “Create”.
5. If the account is new, you'll see the Terms of Service: select your country, tick the acceptance boxes (including the GDPR data processing terms if you're in Europe) and click “I accept”.
Step 3: connect your website by creating a data stream
Once done, Google will ask where your data will come from. If it doesn't appear automatically, go to Admin → Data collection and modification → Data streams → “Add stream”.
1. Under “Choose a platform”, select “Web”.
2. Enter your website's domain without “https://” (for example, www.mycompany.com) and give the stream a name, such as “Main website”.
3. Keep “Enhanced measurement” turned on: it automatically records scrolls, outbound link clicks, site searches, file downloads and video plays, without touching any code.
4. Click “Create and continue”. The stream details will show the measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX). Copy it and keep it: it's what whoever installs Analytics on the website will need.
Step 4: install the tag on your website
The last technical step is placing the Google tag on the website. How you do it depends on how the site is built.
WordPress or WooCommerce: with a plugin such as Google's Site Kit or the Google Analytics field many themes include. Just paste the measurement ID.
Shopify, Wix or Squarespace: they have an integrations section where you enter the ID.
Google Tag Manager: if your website uses it, create a “Google tag” with the measurement ID.
Manual installation or custom website: paste the code Google shows under “View tag instructions” right after the head tag on every page.
If an agency such as ours handles it, all they need is the measurement ID and admin access, which you'll grant in step 6.
Step 5: check that data is coming in
Open your website in another tab and browse a couple of pages. In Analytics, go to Reports → Realtime. If the installation is correct, within a few minutes you'll see at least one active user: you.
Standard reports take 24 to 48 hours to show their first data. And if you use an ad blocker or rejected cookies on your own website, your visit may not show up: that's normal, so try from your phone without a blocker.
Step 6: grant admin access to someone else
The Administrator role lets someone configure the property, see all the data and add or remove users. To grant it you must be an administrator yourself.
1. Click the “Admin” gear and check at the top that the right property is selected.
2. In the “Property” section, click “Property access management”.
3. Click the blue “+” button (top right) and choose “Add users”.
4. Enter the person's email (you can add several at once) and keep “Notify new users by email” ticked.
5. Under “Direct roles and data restrictions”, select “Administrator” and leave “No cost metrics” and “No revenue metrics” unticked so they can see all the information.
6. Click “Add”. The person will appear in the list with the Administrator role and can now sign in to analytics.google.com with their email.
If you'd rather they had the same role across all properties in your account, the process is the same but from “Account access management”. We usually recommend granting access at property level.
Which role to choose
Administrator: full control, including user management.
Editor: full control of settings and data, but can't manage users.
Marketer: creates and edits audiences, key events, attribution and events, plus everything an Analyst can do.
Analyst: creates and shares reports, explorations and dashboards, without changing settings.
Viewer: can only see reports and data. Right for people who just need to look.
To change someone's role, go to Admin → Property access management, click their name, choose the new role and save. To remove their access, click the three dots on their row and choose “Remove access”. If they were given access at account level, remove it from “Account access management”.
The settings we recommend turning on from day one
Extend data retention: by default GA4 keeps detailed data for only 2 months, which severely limits explorations. Change it to 14 months under Admin → Data collection and modification → Data retention.
Exclude your own traffic: your visits and your team's inflate the numbers. In the data stream details, open “Configure tag settings” → “Define internal traffic”, add your office IP and then activate the filter under Admin → Data filters.
Mark your key events: what really matters is how many people request a quote, call you or buy. Mark those actions as “key events” (formerly called conversions) under Admin → Events so they're always in view.
Link Search Console: under Admin → Product links → Search Console links. You'll see in Analytics which Google searches bring in your visits. If you don't have Search Console yet, our blog has a guide to setting it up.
Get cookie consent right: under the GDPR, Analytics should only run once the visitor accepts it in the cookie banner. Ideally integrate it with Google Consent Mode, which Google has required since March 2024 to keep using its advertising features with users in the European Economic Area.
More recommendations
Always keep at least two administrators, for example the company account and a trusted person, so you never get locked out.
Don't share passwords: grant access with each person's own email so you can revoke a specific person's access when needed.
Review the user list every so often and remove access for people or providers who no longer work with you.
Common problems
The “Create” button or “Property” option doesn't appear: you don't have the Editor role or higher on the account. Ask an administrator to upgrade it.
“Access management” or the “+” button doesn't appear: you don't have the Administrator role on the property. Ask an administrator to grant it.
Error when adding an email: it isn't linked to a Google account. The person needs to create a Google account with that email at accounts.google.com or give you another one.
The invited person doesn't get the notification: ask them to check their spam folder. It isn't essential anyway; they can simply sign in to analytics.google.com with that email.
The invited person signs in but can't see the property: they're using a different Google account in the browser. They should switch accounts from the top-right icon or try an incognito window.
Realtime shows no visits: the tag isn't installed or the ID is wrong, an ad blocker is active, or cookies were rejected. Check the installation.
Google updates the Analytics interface from time to time, so some buttons may be renamed or moved. The steps and overall logic stay the same.
Need a hand?
At OnlyDevs we install and configure Google Analytics 4 for our clients, including the cookie banner and Consent Mode, the key events for their business and dashboards to understand their data at a glance. If you have any questions or would rather we handle it, email us at desarrollo@onlydevs.es or use the contact form.