Google Analytics is one of the most widely used (and free) tools for tracking website activity and traffic. One of the most common questions VWM gets from new clients or prospects is how they can grant access to review Google Analytics data and see what kind of trends or issues might exist. This is easier than it sounds and we detailed this with some screenshots and instructions below.
For the purposes of this article, it is assumed your website already has Google Analytics and you simply want to know how to add users or let others see your account data. Keep in mind you can grant permission to view your Google Analytics to multiple users, assign different levels of permission (read only vs admin etc), and revoke access.
How NOT to grant permission to Google Analytics?
Before we get started, here is what NOT to do – don’t give someone your login and password. This is never a good idea and only opens the door to future problems or issues down the line.
Granting Access the right way:
- Get the person’s email address
- Login to your existing Google Analytics account
- Grant permission to the email address
- Done!
1. Get the Email Address you want to add:
Ask the person you are granting permission for their email address. This email address must be linked to a Google Account (it doesn’t necessarily need to be a Gmail address). Most agencies and users will already be aware of this and might have a specific address they prefer you use that is different than their regular address – it’s good to check with them first on this. If for some reason they need to Create a Google Account, the process only take a few minutes and is free.
2. Login to your Analytics Account:
Even if it has been awhile (or maybe never), it is relatively easy to login to your existing analytics account and grant a new user permission. Go to the main Google Analytics page and select the Sign In screen at top right.
Once you are logged in, select the website you want to grant permissions for. For many users there might only be one website listed but some businesses or individuals have multiple websites. It is possible to use Google Analytics on many websites and manage them under one account, but each site will have it’s own unique tracking code.
Updated August 2017: Google is constantly changing the user interface and see below for a screenshot on what should be the most recent look and feel user our account as an example. On the bottom left, there is an ‘Admin’ link that will take you to the administration page. Depending on your account setup, there are different levels of permission (left to right) and you can grant new users access to these levels depending on how comfortable you are. In most cases, VMW prefers you add us at the ‘Account’ level on the left and grant us full priviledges (see second screenshot)
3. Grant Permission to your new user:
Click on the link to ‘User Management’ to add a new user. You do this by entering an email address (must be a google approved or gmail address)
After selecting ‘User Management’, you will be able to see all the addresses that currently have access to the website as well as add permissions for new users. Enter the new email address for the person you are granting permission for in the box where it says “Add Permissions For:” You will be able to select the level of permission you want to grant this person as well as check a box that will notify them via email. Once you have entered all the information, simply click the ‘Add’ button.
4. Done!
Let the person know they should now have permission and verify they can see your account. The information should be available almost immediately.