Suppose you are investing time and money in improving the online presence of your photography business. In that case, it’s important to understand how your website performs and how visitors interact with it. This is where our Google Analytics Setup service comes into play. I recently collaborated with Vancouver, Canada-based photographer Ed White to ensure an effective website outreach and engagement.
Google Analytics is an analytics tool we utilize as part of the Google Analytics Setup service. However, contrary to popular belief, it isn’t a tool for boosting search engine rankings. Instead, it’s a powerful platform for gathering insights about your visitors, which can help enhance your SEO efforts and digital marketing strategy.
You might think that Google Analytics is irrelevant since it is just one more platform you must take care of. However, if you have a website and if you are promoting your business, whether it’s email campaigns, ads, or something else, Google Analytics is a must. And remember, the best time to set it up is now. The more data you collect, the better insight you can get.
As an SEO specialist, I emphasize the importance of Google Analytics as it allows us to track performance over time and evaluate the effectiveness of our SEO strategies. Furthermore, by analyzing data from Google Analytics, we can identify which content resonates with your audience, which helps with future SEO and content strategies.
We set up Google Analytics for Ed’s website as part of an SEO Implementation. The process of integrating it varies depending on the platform. Generally, it involves creating a property and adding a tracking code to the backend of your website.
Sometimes, photographers already have a Google Analytics account. In these cases, we usually create a new Google Analytics 4 property and set up data streams. Ed White didn’t have the account, so we had to create a new one and set up a new property after that. In the final step of the property setup, Google Analytics gives you a Measurement ID, which represents the tracking code you need to add to your website.
Each Content Management System (CMS) has a unique layout. It can make locating the correct spot for the tracking code a bit challenging. Ed White’s website is hosted on Photofolio, and we had to insert the tracking code into the backend. Once you open the Photofolio admin interface, you’ll see a couple of dropdown items. You have to click on the SEO dropdown item, navigate to the Google Analytics ID field, and paste your tracking code (Measurement ID). After that, the platform will start collecting data for your website.
Setting up Google Analytics was just the beginning for Ed White’s website. In addition, as a part of SEO Implementation, we improved key SEO aspects of the website. We worked on optimizing content, metadata, and images. Following these implementations, we used Google Analytics to monitor the site’s performance. What’s more, it allowed us to track how visitors interacted with the site, which pages they frequented, and how they found the website.
Setting up Google Analytics is important in understanding and improving your website’s performance. For photographers like Ed White, it’s not just about showcasing stunning images but also about ensuring that the website reaches and engages the target audience effectively.
Further Reading
Expert Advice: Google Analytics Setup
Expert Advice: SEO Terminology
Expert Advice: Google Search Console for Photographers