Some basic advice: host your blog on your own domain.
That means don’t get a YourBlog.WordPress.com blog, a Blogger-hosted blog, etc.
Why?
While some blogging platforms (such as Blogger) allow you to install Web Analytics tracking on your blog in many ways your hands are tied:
- You get limited data
- You can’t customize your analytics installation
- You don’t own your data – if you leave the blogging platform you can’t take your analytics data with you
There are other reasons why hosting your blog at your own domain makes sense. Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz summed it up well:
Hosting your blog on a different domain from your primary site is one of the worst mistakes you can make. A blog on your domain can attract links, attention, publicity, trust and search rankings - by keeping the blog on a separate domain, you shoot yourself in the foot.
From here on out we’re assuming everyone is hosting a blog on their own domain.
Signing up and installing Google Analytics
Signing up and installing Google Analytics at your blog is relatively straightforward. First you’ll need an account. Follow the instructions for steps 1 and 2 at Google’s “Analytics Help” section.
If you’re blogging on the WordPress platform (most bloggers are) the easiest way to install the tracking code properly is to use Joost de Valk’s Plugin - Google Analytics for WordPress.
When your tracking code is properly installed the “Status” column in your Website Profiles screen will show a green check mark:
Google Analytics will start collecting traffic data immediately, but it won’t show up instantly in your report. There is also usually a delay of a few hours on the data.
“Out of the box” Google Analytics will tell you a lot about where your traffic is coming from and what users are doing when they visit your blog. However, a few customizations will help you dive into some actionable information you can use to grow your audience and better satisfy your existing readers.
Go back to the Blogger’s Guide to Google Analytics.
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