[For beginners] How to install Google Analytics and Search Console on Shopify (including setting up e-commerce tracking!)

(Updated December 9, 2020)

"I created a website using Shopify, but I don't know how to analyze traffic."
"I want to track CVs and e-commerce data, but I don't know how to do it."
"I want to know how to set up Google Analytics on Shopify."

This article is for people who have such concerns. For EC site operators, user information on the site is essential. It can be said that only by implementing the PDCA cycle based on data can sales increase.

So in this article, we will explain the following points:

Key points of this article

• How to set up Shopify's Google Analytics with screenshots
• How to set up Shopify's Google Search Console with screenshots
• Learn how to set up e-commerce tracking
• Learn about unique analytics by upgrading your Shopify plan

How to Set Up Google Analytics for Shopify

Google Analytics is a free analysis tool provided by Google. By setting up Google Analytics on Shopify, you can run the PDCA cycle based on user data on your site and grow your site into a more effective one.
Let me explain each step step by step with screenshots.

[Added on December 9, 2020] When issuing a new account, be careful when creating GA4

A major update to Google Analytics was announced on October 14, 2020, introducing a new version called "Google Analytics 4 properties" (hereinafter referred to as GA4).

However, as of December 2020, Shopify does not support integration with GA4, so you will need to integrate with the traditional Universal Analytics (UA). There are two ways to issue an account: "issue both the new GA4 and the traditional UA" or "issue only the traditional UA." It is highly likely that Shopify will support GA4 in the future, so we recommend issuing two accounts, one new and one traditional.

Now let me explain the steps.

Creating a property

First, on the Google Analytics screen, go to [Admin] > [Property Settings] and select [Create a new property].

Enter the property name on the property creation screen and click [Show advanced options]. Turn on the UA property setting button and choose whether to create two properties, GA4 and UA, or to create a UA property.

Next, answer the business information questionnaire, and if there are no issues, click "Create."

Checking the UA code

Once your account is created, you will be redirected to Data Stream, where you will click on the URL field where you created the UA code.

If you can go to the Web Stream screen, you can generate or create a UA code from Connected Site Tags.

Once you confirm that both GA4 and UA are registered in the account section, the issuance is complete.
*Only when both GA4 and UA are issued

This is the traditional way to issue a UA code, and now we will explain how to link Shopify and Google Analytics.

1. Get the tracking code from the Google Analytics screen

First, get the tracking code from your Google Analytics page.
Go to Administration > Property Settings and copy the tracking code shown above.

2. Click [Online Store] from the Shopify admin screen.

Next, go to your Shopify admin and click Online Store in the admin sidebar.

3. Click [Online Store] > [Preferences]

Click [Online Store] > [Various Settings] to go to the page where you can configure Google Analytics.

4. Paste the Google Analytics tracking code

Paste the tracking code you just obtained into the Google Analytics code paste space shown above. Finally, click the [Save] button at the bottom of the page.

This completes the Google Analytics setup.

How to Set Up Ecommerce Tracking

In the previous section, we talked about setting up Google Analytics. If you are running an e-commerce business with Shopify, this time we will talk about "e-commerce tracking," which you should definitely set up.

E-commerce tracking is the tracking of data such as "purchased items," "number of purchases," and "revenue" on Google Analytics.
Having this data allows you to make data-driven decisions.
If you have completed the Google Analytics setup in the previous section, this is also easy to set up, so be sure to do so.

1. In Google Analytics, click [Admin] > [Ecommerce Settings]

Click the gear icon (Admin) at the bottom right of the Google Analytics screen, and then click [E-commerce Settings] in the administration screen. The e-commerce settings screen will be displayed.

2. Turn on e-commerce enablement

On the ecommerce settings screen, turn on [Enable ecommerce] and [Enable enhanced ecommerce reporting].
By using enhanced e-commerce, you can measure more detailed data about the interactions between products and users on your e-commerce site.

• Product Impressions
• Click on the product
• Display product information
• Adding items to your shopping cart
• Initiating the checkout process
• transaction
• Refunds

Development would be difficult with a typical ecommerce system, but with Shopify it can be easily set up as shown below.

3. Check the Enhanced Ecommerce checkbox

Go to the Shopify admin e-commerce settings screen. A checkbox for "Use Enhanced E-commerce" will appear where you pasted the Google Analytics code, so check it. Finally, click the [Save] button at the bottom of the page.

Your ecommerce tracking setup is now complete.

One of the great features about setting up Shopify is how easy it is to set up your e-commerce site.
A typical system would require a lot of modification, but with Shopify it's as simple as checking a checkbox.
You will be able to see the following data in the e-commerce section of Google Analytics.

• Ecommerce Conversion Rate
• Number of transactions
• Revenue
• Average Order Value
• Unique Purchases
• quantity

[Tip] Change your currency settings too

We recommend that you change the "currency settings" as well when you set up your e-commerce tracking. The default currency setting in Google Analytics is "US Dollar (USD $)". As shown in the image above, change the currency to "Japanese Yen (JPY Yen)" from the "View Settings" screen.

How to set up Google Search Console in Shopify

Like Google Analytics, Google Search Console is a tool provided by Google that mainly allows you to analyze data and performance related to search results.
This is also a tool that can analyze very important data, so you'll want to set it up.
Let me explain each step step by step with screenshots.

[Setup Method 1] The easiest way to set up Google Search Console

If you have "edit permissions" or higher in your Google Analytics account, you can easily set up Google Search Console. All you need to do is enter the URL in the settings screen.

Click "Add property" on the Google Search Console screen.

Enter the URL of your website in the URL prefix. If you have "edit permissions" or higher in your Google Analytics account permissions, the setup is complete.

If you have the permissions, try this method as it is the easiest.

[Method 2] How to set up Google Search Console using HTML tags

1. Get HTML tags from Google Search Console

First, get the HTML tag from Google Search Console, which you will use in a later step.

2. From your Shopify admin screen, select [Online Store] > [Themes]

Click Online Store > Themes in the sidebar of your Shopify admin to open the Themes screen.

3. Select "Edit Code" from the "Action" menu.

Click Actions > Edit code for your current theme to open the code editing screen.

4. Select [theme.liquid]

Select [theme.liquid] in the left sidebar of the file editing space to prepare for editing the code.

5. <head> ~ Paste the obtained Search Console HTML tag into the <head> tags.

As shown in the image above, paste the HTML tag from Search Console you obtained between the <head> and <head> tags that appear in the code editing space of [theme.liquid]. Finally, click the [Save] button in the top right of the page.

This completes the setup of Google Search Console. Finally, we will explain how to link Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

6. How to link Google Analytics and Google Search Console

From the Google Analytics screen, click [Settings] > [Property Settings] and click [Adjust Search Console] to link it. By linking it, Google Search Console data will be imported into Google Analytics and added to Google Analytics reports.

How to submit your sitemap

When you launch a Shopify store, one of the first things you want to do is to "register a sitemap." Submitting a sitemap helps Google find and index the pages on your Shopify store.

For Shopify stores, a sitemap.xml file is automatically generated. (The sitemap file is located in the root directory of your Shopify store's primary domain name.)

Submit your sitemap

As shown above, on the Sitemap screen of Google Search Console, enter [site name + sitemap.xml] and click the submit button.

Differences between Google Analytics and Google Search Console

"I don't really understand the difference between the data you can see in Google Analytics and Google Search Console."

For those of you who are wondering about this, in this section we will briefly explain the differences between these two tools. Both tools are essential for using and managing a website. Please take a look here.

Google Analytics

As mentioned earlier in the installation instructions, Google Analytics is a free analysis tool provided by Google.

By setting up Google Analytics on Shopify, you can implement the PDCA cycle based on user data on your site and make it a more effective website.

By using Google Analytics, you can perform the following analyses:

• user
• Customer acquisition route
• Access page

user

You can analyze the age, gender, region (country, prefecture, city, town, or village), and device of users who accessed the site.

Customer acquisition route

You can analyze how users access your site. For example, via search engines, social media, or advertising. You can also set parameters to perform more detailed analysis.

Access page

You can see which pages users accessed. You can see the number of accesses, the time spent on the page, and the exit status.

You can also measure the number of conversions by configuring it, allowing you to analyze the data in combination with users, customer acquisition routes, and accessed pages. This is useful for measuring the effectiveness of listing ads and SEO.

Google Search Console

As mentioned above, Google Search Console is a tool that allows you to analyze data and performance related to search results.

By registering your site's URL and sitemap in Google Search Console, you can link with search engines. Google Search Console allows you to analyze the "process" that leads to site access. You can understand the status of your site's search results and the following associated information.

• Suggested improvements to the site
• Number of backlinks
• keyword
• Number of pages recognized by Google
• Google crawler information collection status

Additionally, Google Search Console allows you to take the following actions with Google:

• Attracting Google crawlers to your site (formerly known as Fetch As Google)
• Submit your sitemap
• Hide any URL from search results

These actions can help speed up the process of attracting more visitors to your site and improve the number of visitors to your site.

In summary, Google Analytics is a tool that allows you to analyze user behavior from the time they arrive on a web page until they leave.
On the other hand, Google Search Console is a tool that allows you to analyze what happens from the time a user searches on Google until they arrive at your web page.
In other words, by using both Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you can get a comprehensive understanding of users' web activity.

Upgrade your Shopify plan to get unique analytics

So far, we have explained how to set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console. In fact, Shopify also has an access analysis page called "Store Analytics" in the admin panel.

Shopify has five plans: Lite, Basic, Shopify, Premium, and Shopify Plus. The content of the analytics available on Shopify varies depending on the plan. Most analytics are available on the Basic plan. By upgrading to a higher plan, more detailed analytics are available on Shopify.

Shopify plans and access analytics list

Below, we will explain what access analysis is available with the Basic plan and above.

Live View

Live view gives you a real-time view of your store's activity.

You'll see a world map that shows where your store's activity is coming from, along with metrics to help you see real-time activity.

Customer Acquisition Report

You can access reports on your store's visitor traffic. You can see data like:

• Sessions over time
• Sessions by Referrer
• Location based sessions

Inventory Report

You have access to reports on your inventory. You can use the inventory reports to view an "end of month inventory snapshot" of your inventory and track the quantity and percentage of your inventory sold each day.

Behavioral Report

You can access reports on user behavior. If you have a Standard plan or higher, you can access the "Website Cart Analysis Report." You can use the data from the behavior report to organize your store so that users can more easily find your products.

Marketing Report

Marketing reports help you understand your marketing effectiveness and conversions. These reports show you the number of users by marketing channel, order value, etc.

Sales Report

Sales reports allow you to view information about your customer orders, including returns, cancellations, and payments.

POS Sales Report

The POS sales report allows you to view information about your users' POS orders.

Profit Report

Profit reports give you information about your costs, margins, and profits, including gross profit for each product and the selected period.

Customer Reports

You can access detailed reports about your customers, such as:

• Change in number of customers over time
• Comparison of first-time vs. repeat customer sales
• Customers by Location
• Repeater
• One-time visitors

Additionally, if you have a Premium plan or higher, you will have access to the following reports:

• Customers at risk
• Loyal Customer

As you can see, various data reports can be viewed on the Shopify admin screen.

[Summary] How to measure data correctly with Shopify

In this article, we have provided information for those who want to know how to implement Google Analytics and Search Console on Shopify.

To summarize the main points of this article, they are as follows:

• Setting up Google Analytics on Shopify is super easy
• You can also use your own analytics tools on the Shopify admin screen.
• Using the data obtained, the key to contributing to sales is to quickly implement the PDCA cycle for EC sites

By installing and setting up Google Analytics and Search Console on Shopify as introduced here, you can create an e-commerce site that can further increase your sales.

*This article is current as of January 2020. Due to future updates or changes to Shopify specifications, it may not be possible to set up exactly as described in this article.