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Google Analytics is a free service that lets you track your site visitors' behavior. Learn more about your audience and how they are finding and using your site. If you know where your site visitors are coming from and what they are doing once they are there, you can make your site more relevant for them and more successful for you.

Four Easy Steps to Get Started

1) Log in to your Google account

Go to www.google.com and click 'Sign in' in the top right corner. Don't have a Google account? Click 'Create an account now' and set one up.

2) Sign up for Google Analytics

Once logged in, click 'My Account' in the top right corner. Under My Services click 'Analytics.' Click on the Sign Up button and enter your site's url (e.g. www.mysite.com) and give the account a name. Follow the instructions to create the account (tip: the only required information is Country). Once you agree to the terms, you will land on a Tracking Instructions page.

3) Grab Tracking Code

Click on the tab labeled 'New Tracking Code (ga.js).' Copy all the code from the box and paste it into an email. Send to updates@widowspeak.com. We will assume you want the code on all site pages unless you tell us otherwise.

We will email you when the code has been placed on your site. You can then click 'Check status' from the Analytics Settings page to find out if your web site is being tracked and data is being collected.

4) View Reporting!

I will discuss more about the cool reporting features and how you can use the statistics to make marketing decisions in future articles. For now, sign up for a free account and let me know if you have any questions.

Laura A. McArtor is the owner of Widow's Peak Web Design (www.widowspeak.com).