With more than 90% of all internet searches happening on Google, it’s downright required to set up Google Analytics for your Etsy shop at some point. Without it, you’re basically running your online business wearing a blindfold. And well, it’s time to take your blindfold off before it’s too late.
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a tool that gathers information about the users that visit your site. By default, when you use Google Analytics for Etsy, you can collect audience attributes detailing:
- Number of users
- Session statistics
- Approximate geolocation
- Browser and device information
But that’s not all Google Analytics can do for Etsy sellers. Google Analytics also allows you to collect predefined user dimensions, including but not limited to:
- Age
- Browser
- City
- Gender
- Interests
And all of this analytical data allows you, as a business owner, to get a better idea of who is visiting your Etsy shop and how they’re finding you.
Ultimately, Google Analytics for Etsy helps determine your target audience. This further allows you to dial in your product offerings and marketing efforts to a specific demographic.
Google Analytics and your data
It’s important to note that Google Analytics does not display personal or sensitive data about your users. Instead, Google provides data that shows someone has visited your site, what that person did on your site, and a snapshot of the demographic that person fits into.
While it’s impossible to track the behavior of a specific user, the power of Google Analytics comes from its ability to collect and easily explain the behavior of larger groups of people.
For example: Google Analytics can track the number of pages that people click on when they visit your shop or the conversion rate of your traffic that comes directly from Facebook.
Why use Google Analytics and Etsy?
Access to user information from Google Analytics can help sellers get a leg up and make the most of their store. It’s a relatively simple way to learn more about how people behave in your store. But it also makes it easier for you to maximize profit – which is a beautiful thing!
Is Universal Analytics for Etsy going away?
Universal Analytics is the current version of Google Analytics available for Etsy sellers and digital marketers everywhere. But earlier this year, Google announced that Universal Analytics will be going away on July 1, 2023.
So if you already have Google Analytics set up for your Etsy shop, this means that the standard Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new hits after this date.
What if I haven’t set up Universal Analytics for my Etsy shop yet?
If you’re not yet using Universal Analytics for your Etsy shop, you can still take advantage of this version of Google Analytics from now until July 1, 2023.
Continue reading to learn how to set up Universal Analytics for your Etsy shop.
How do I set up Google Analytics 4 for my Etsy shop?
Google Analytics 4 is Google’s newest version of Google Analytics and is the next generation of collecting data from your website users.
With Google Analytics 4, website owners will be able to measure analytical data for their business through:
- Collecting both website and app data to better understand the customer journey
- Tracking events instead of session-based data
- Include privacy controls such as cookieless measurement, and behavioral and conversion modeling
- Utilize predictive capabilities, offering guidance without complex models
- Utilize direct integrations to media platforms to help drive actions
Unfortunately, Google Analytics 4 is not currently compatible with the Etsy platform. At this time, Etsy has not determined if and when they will support Google Analytics 4 for sellers.
Until Etsy begins to support Google Analytics 4 for their sellers, Universal Analytics is your best option to collect audience attributes from visitors to your Etsy shop.
How to set up Google Analytics for Etsy
Follow these steps to set up your Etsy shop with Universal Analytics for Google.
01. To get started using Google Analytics for your Etsy shop, you first need a Google account
It’s a good idea to set up a separate Google account just for your Etsy shop, rather than use your personal Google account. This helps keep your personal and business information seperate.
→ Go to google.com and click on the Sign In button in the top right (If you’re already logged in to your personal Google Account, click on your profile picture and select Add another account).
→ If you don’t already have a Google account for your Etsy shop, select Create account to manage your business. Then follow the on-screen prompts to create your new Google account.
02. Now that you have a Google Account, it’s time to set up Google Analytics
→ Log in to your Google account for your Etsy shop, then go to analytics.google.com.
→ Select Start measuring to begin setting up Google Analytics.
1. Account setup
→ For Account name, enter your business name or Etsy shop name.
→ Then go ahead and read through the Account Data Sharing Settings and select what you agree with.
2. Property details
→ After hitting next, you’ll need to come up with a Property name. This is how you identify which source you’ll be tracking in Google Analytics.
Your Property name can be your Etsy shop, Pattern website, standalone website, etc. And if you have multiple sources you want to track for your business, you’ll repeat this step for each property you want to set up.
For this example, your Property name can be your Etsy shop name.
If your Etsy shop, your business, your website, your Pattern site, etc. all have the same name, you’ll want to make sure you include each source in the various Property names you set up. Each new property you set up could be something like: [ShopName] Etsy, [ShopName] Pattern, [ShopName] Website, etc. This will help you keep track of which property is which once you start using Google Anaytics regularly.
→ Now, you’ll need to enter the details for your region, like currency and timezone.
This next step is essential!
→ To enable Universal Analytics for your Etsy shop, you’ll need to select Show advanced options and enable the toggle switch to Create a Universal Analytics property. This will give you the correct tracking code currently compatible with the Etsy platform.
→ It’s a good idea to create both a Google Analytics 4 and a Universal Analytics property. That way, when Etsy inevitably starts supporting this newer version of Google Analytics, the new tracking code will already be created for you.
→ Don’t forget to include Etsy’s domain in the Website URL field. All you need to include here is www.etsy.com.
3. About your business
→ Now it’s time to answer some questions About your business, like your industry category, business size, and how you plan to use Google Analytics.
→ Once everything is filled out, hit Create. Your last step is to read through the Google Analytics Terms of Service and select I Accept if you wish to use Google Analytics for your Etsy shop.
Congratulations! Your Google Analytics property has been created and is now ready to use!
03. How to find your Universal Analytics Tracking ID for your Etsy shop
Since we went ahead and created a property for Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics, your list of Properties & Apps will display both. For now, you can ignore the property labeled GA4.
Your Universal Analytics property begins with the letters UA. This is the property and tracking code you want to use to set up Google Analytics for your Etsy shop.
→ Copy the Tracking ID that starts with UA, then take that information to your Etsy shop.
04. How to add your Universal Analytics Tracking ID to your Etsy shop
Now it’s time to take your Google Analytics Tracking ID and add it to your Etsy shop.
→ Head over to your Etsy Shop Manager, then go to Settings, Options, then Web Analytics.
→ Take your Tracking ID from Google Analytics and paste it into your Web Property ID field.
Remember, your Universal Analytics Tracking ID starts with the letters UA.
→ Hit Save!
You’re done!
That’s it! Google Analytics is now set up for your Etsy shop. This means you now have access to one of the most powerful digital marketing analytics tools in the business.
Keep in mind: After you set up Google Analytics for your Etsy shop, there’s a good chance you won’t see any data in your reports for up to 24 hours.
Testing Google Analytics for your Etsy shop
Once you have everything set up, it’s a good idea to double-check that Google Analytics is working correctly for your Etsy shop.
→ You can do this by clicking on the Realtime tab on the left-hand side of Google Analytics.
Surprisingly, this gives you a real-time traffic report on your site. With this page open, open another tab, go to your Etsy shop and navigate to one of your products.
Now go back to the Realtime Analytics window, and you should see that one user (yourself) appear on the Google Analytics screen in a few seconds.
What if Google Analytics doesn’t work for my Etsy shop?
Setting up Google Analytics for your Etsy shop is a relatively straightforward process – but that doesn’t mean it will always go according to plan.
If Google Analytics isn’t working for your Etsy shop, remove the Tracking ID from your Etsy Web Analytics and restart the process from scratch.
Remember: Once you have everything set up, there’s a good chance you won’t see any data in your Google Analytics reports for up to 24 hours.
Using Google Analytics for your Etsy shop
Here at Marmalead, we use Google Analytics to improve our operations. Here are just a few ways that we use it:
Session duration
If session duration times are low (less than 10 seconds), people are coming to your site and quickly leaving. Why are they going? Are your images not eyecatching, and are your descriptions not interesting?
Perhaps you’re attracting the wrong type of traffic?
Visitors locations
What part of the world are your visitors from? In most countries, you can look closely at what states, regions, and cities they’re from.
Ask yourself why your products are so popular with people from this region, and perhaps consider offering a unique version of your product tailored to people from there.
Filter out your location
You’re going to be visiting your own Etsy site a lot. And you don’t want your browsing habits to skew your data inside Google Analytics. That’s why you should remove yourself from it!
One of the best ways to do this is to block traffic from your IP address. But remember, if you move house, go to the office or start working from a cafe, Google Analytics will track your movements!
Bonus: How to exclude internal traffic from Google Analytics with an IP Address Filter
When you search “what is my IP” on Google Search, you’ll get the IP address of the computer or device you’re using. Copy each IP address for any device you want to filter out your Google Analytics reports.
→ In Google Analytics, click on the Admin gear in the bottom right corner, then under your Account, select All Filters, then select +Add Filter.
You can exclude any analytics data from your IP address by creating a filter. Here’s how:
- Filter Name: You can title this filter something like, “Excluding Me.”
- Filter Type: Leave this as Predefined.
- Select filter type: Dropdown and select Exclude.
- Select source or destination: Dropdown and select traffic from the IP address.
- Select expression: Dropdown and select that are equal to.
- IP address: Paste your IP address here
Now when you visit your own Etsy shop, your habits won’t skew the data you’re collecting for your business!
Conclusion
Google Analytics is one of the most powerful data analysis tools out there, and it’s the go-to option for many web admins and marketers.
Using Google Analytics for your Etsy shop has a steep learning curve, but it gives you more information than what’s available in the Seller Dashboard.
Now that you have Google Analytics set up for Etsy, you can dive into more complex tutorials to keep a closer eye on who’s visiting your shop.
