Enjoy Google Analytics Account Property and View Set-up

My post title orders me to bring out all set-up processes of Google Analytics Account Property and View in an enjoyable way. God knows how accurately I can hit the target! But I believe everybody will admit that making the titled subject enjoyable will not be enjoyable at all.

However, I promise, throughout my presentation, I would neither enter any methodical complication nor clutter the subject with tons of technical terms. I hope, friends, this orientation of presentation will certainly make you enjoy this writing.

The best place to explore the Google Analytics Account Property and View Setting could be the Google Analytics Help page. But information written there are hard-rocky and barren not flowery, there are no mind no soul; so, you cannot get any sympathy in favor of your expectation. So reading and capturing such a subject here might be the best investment of your time.
Contextually, if you like to start practicing Google Analytics from the very beginning, go back to our Google Analytics starting (Home) post-

Pre-words to Google Analytics Account Property and View

There is no person in the world who started a commercial site/blog but hadn’t heard the name of Google Analytics.

To track, control and analyze site-visitor’s presence, activity, behavior and attitude without any cost (GA also has pro version), there is no equivalent to Google Analytics.

Simply speaking, Google Analytics is a tool, an equipment. I compare Google Analytics to CCTV camera. CCTV camera is installed on a point above aiming at a definite range of area. Many things happen there over the flow of time. All happenings are captured in a memory card. This captured events can be watched, edited, audited, analyzed and stored anytime after day, week or month.

Similarly, Google Analytics tool, like a camera, aims at your site. All the happenings with your site by users around the world are captured and stored systematically in a database which can be accessible by your Google Analytics Account. You can watch, observe, compare, sort, audit, process, delete and save the captured/stored information anytime.

In case of CCTV, you have to accomplish the necessary set-up. In Google Analytics, you perform Account setting, Property setting, View setting.

Now let’s see at a glance in a tabular form how and how much Google Analytics is analogous with CCTV camera—

Where is Google Analytics Where are SETTINGS

Google Analytics is a Google Products. So first of all, you need a Google Account. You can start with Gmail (there is also alternative). You must have owned a Gmail ID already. If not, sign up for a Gmail Account or Gmail ID here at once. This Gamil ID is the Gateway to access to all the Google Products and might be the core Address of all of your activities with Google.

So, use this Google ID to sign in to Google Analytics here. Actually this link will send you to Google Marketing Platform page (we’re going to discuss about this page later). You’ll get Sign in to Analytics button on Top-right of this page. Provide Google Account log-in Credentials (Username, Password) to sing in. After you sign in, Google Analytics Home Page will appear as shown in screenshot below—

This is the appearance of Google Analytics Home screen. On left is the Admin Panel where Setting option labeled Admin  is listed below. This is the link (Admin) where you’ll find all of the configuration options (Account, Property, View). In the middle, there are Report Summary— Reporting Graph, Data Table and others. And Real Time Report Summary and Report Insight are placed on Right.The screenshot above is the upper portion of Analytics Home. Scroll down to navigate the whole. However, we’ll show transparent presentation about all the features in another post.

For the time being, click Admin with Setting icon (below). Now all Settings— Account Setting, Property Setting, View Setting are open before you (see screenshot below). Proceed to next step to practically see what are the relationships among them and how to configure each and every.

Let’s understand relation among Analytics Account Property and View

Google Analytics is one the Products of Google Marketing Platform. Among other products are Data Studio, Optimize, Surveys, Tag Manager etc.

If you have one or two commercial websites/blogs and are not aware of using other Google Marketing Platform’s Products; you might have started or you should start from Google Analytics. In this respect, your uppermost level of Setting is ACCOUNT.  Then comes PROPERTY and next VIEWS.

And if you have a big Business with several sites and millions of visitors per week and also have 10+ Managerial Staff, it would be comfortable for you to start from a level up. This upper level is ORGANIZATION. In this scenario, your structure should be as follows

You can create one or more Organizations from Google Marketing Platform Page and add Products from the list as you require along with Google Analytics. However we’re going to contribute another article on Google Marketing Platform and Organization shortly. Here we are to focus on the Google Analytics only; so illustrate the first structure— ACCOUNT→ PROPERTY→ VIEWS.

Enter Analytics Dashboard and click Admin. You’ll find a page as shown above (Screenshot-02). Here are three columns—

These three functions are hierarchical. This means they are arranged maintaining layers— Upward to Downward and Downward to Upward. In easy word— View is under Property and Property is under Account.

Form column 1, you can create one or more Accounts (Max.- 100). Each Account can contain one or more Property (site/blog/app). So, from column 2, you  can create Property or add your site (Max.- 50 per Account) under a definite Account. Again each Property can Contain one or more Views. So, create one or more Views from column 3 under a definite Property (Max.- 25 per Property).

Just click +Create Account button and an Account configuration page will open. In the next steps, we’ll focus on how to configure Account, Property and View with sufficient pragmatic examples.

When you create an Account, that will be listed in the Account Dropdown (see above column 1) and you can select any of your Accounts by clicking the Dropdown arrow on right.

Select an Account from column 1. Property Configuration Panel (column 2) under that Account is ready. Now you can add a Property by clicking + Create Property button. Being completed, you can add another Property repeating the same process. Your created Properties will be added in the Property list.

When a Property is created, system will generate a Tracking ID and a Tracking Code for that Property.

You need to insert that Tracking ID and/or Tracking Code in the relevant part of your website. Where you insert the ID and Code may vary irrespective of sites and blogs. Usually Tracking Code goes between <head> and </head> tag in HTML file of every page of a site.
However, to link your site or blog by inserting Tracking ID and/or Tracking Code without mistake, check out our guides—

View is HOW you want to see or view Report of a definite Property. Before you create any View under a Property, system will automatically create a View named All Web Site Data. If you select and click All Web Site Data view, Google Analytics will show you all, raw, unfiltered Reports of the corresponding site or Property. It is good practice to leave this View as it is. If you want to see Filtered Report like reports of visitors of a definite country or language, you can create new Views by applying provided filters.

To create a new View, select a Property from column 2 by clicking Dropdown Arrow next to Property list above. Your View Panel for that Property in column 3 is ready to be configured.

From this panel, click +Create View. View Setting page is open before you. Provide information and complete the process. Your created Views will be added in the View list.

How to configure Analytics Account Property and View

Suppose you are Mr. Martin. you have five Websites and Blogs as describes below—

You intend that you’ll link all of your sites with Google Analytics. You observed that managing all the sites from a single account would be hassling. So, you decided to create two accounts— One for the Business Sites and other for the Non-commercial Sites. You also fixed two Account Names—

Now let’s turn the page and enter Account Setting page first.

From Analytics Dashboard, click Admin→ ADMIN→ +Create Account. Following Account Configuration page will appear.

For New Account Set-up, just follow—

Here are also other options— Industry Category and Reporting Time Zone. Select what you belong to. Then Data Sharing Setting: Leave the recommended settings as they are.

Now click Get Tracking ID below the page. You’ll sent to another page for confirmation of Google Analytics Terms of Service Agreement. Agree to them and Save. Your Account is done.

Now see at a glance the total overview of all of your settings (screenshot below)

Now to Add your another account Martin’s Home, click +Create Account button and repeat the same process.

In course of our Account setting, you compulsorily added a Property. Now add another Property from Property Panel. You can add your another Business Site (Tools around Games) under the same Business Account— Martin’s Office.
For this, click +Create Property in the Property Panel. Following Property setting page will open–

Now provide required information—

Here are also other options— Industry Category and Reporting Time Zone. Select what is applicable for you.

Now click Get Tracking ID below the page. You’ll be sent to Tracking Code page where your Tracking ID and Tracking Code for the related Property is located. You can also enter your Tracking Code page from Property Panel→ Tracking Info→ Tracking Code.

This Tracking ID and Tracking Code are essential to Connect this Analytics Account with your site.

We mentioned earlier that when you create a property, a View will automatically be created Analytics System. This View name is All Web Site Data. This View will show all Reports without any filtration. This is proved necessary for every site owners. So it should not be deleted.

Many find only this View sufficient for their sites. If your site is crowded with Traffic, you may want to create others Views providing a subset of Reporting Data by using required filters.

You can do that by clicking +Create View button in the View Panel.

To focus on creating different Views is a lengthy process and reasonably deserves another article. So we’re not elaborating View here. Instead, check out our another guide.

How to look up Report as per created View

That’s all. Hope you’ll encounter no more hassle setting up Analytics Account Property and View. Please share your thought of my post on Comment.