Google Analytics Integration

Data Analysis

Programming

Tutorial

Read about how I set up Google Analytics for Quarto

Author

Rhys Tilford

Published

November 15, 2023

Introduction

Operating a website is a fascinating endeavor that opens new options for sharing information with people anywhere. With the knowledge that the site is available to anyone with a web browser, it’s only natural to wonder what kinds of people are viewing the site. In this tutorial I will show you how to connect a quarto website to Google Analytics 4.

Setting Up Google Analytics

Account Setup

The first time a person opens Google Analytics it will ask them to log in with their Google account. Once the user has done that, they will be greeted by a demo data report. Now they need to create a Google Analytics account. This is an account for Google Analytics which is nested within their Google Account. Here are the steps to set up that account:

On the lower left side of the home page there should be a settings cog. When it is clicked, it reveals a popout menu showing the names of the options on the left side. Click the cog again to enter the Admin menu.
Now there should be a pill-shaped create button in the upper left side of the admin menu. Click this button and select Account from the drop down menu.
Now there should be a text box where the user can put their account name. Do this.
Finally, the user is asked to decide what data-sharing permissions to grant Google. Once the preffered settings are chosen, click the next button and procede to Property Setup.

Property Setup

Note

The following webpage taught me how to set up the property. How to Set Up a Google Analytics 4 Property

Now the user should be asked to name their property.
Next, the user must configure the timezone and currency.
Then the user needs to select their industry category and size. If the user’s website is not a business this form can be completed randomly (I won’t tell Google if you won’t)
Now the user is asked how they will use Google Analytics. This affects the types of default data reports that show up automatically.
Click create and then accept the Google Analytics terms of service.
Now click add a data stream and procede to the next section.

Setting up Quarto YAML to Link a Data Stream

Follow these steps to set up tracking in Google Analytics.

Now the user can select Web to indicate that they are linking a webpage.
Next the User can enter their webpage’s URL.
Then click create stream.
Now procede to the next step.

This step is likely the most straightforward of the whole process. In the _quarto.yml file, one merely needs to add their Google Analytics tracking ID (UA-XXXXXXXX) Google Tag measurement ID (G-xxxxxxx) as shown below.

website:
  google-analytics: "UA-XXXXXXXX"

After this change is deployed, It may take some time for Google Analytics to link with the site. I didn’t notice any changes for about a half hour.