Google Analytics

Google products require a Google account. You must access Google products using your university Google Workspace account. Sign in to Google through SSO with your university credentials rather than creating or using a separate personal Google account.

Anytime you set up a Google Analytics account as part of your work at TXST, you should:

• Use your TXST Google Workspace account.
• Make sure more than one person in your unit has access to the Google Analytics account.
• Add txstwebgovernance@gmail.com with administrator access to ensure the university has central access and can retain the data if the unit’s account administrators leave the university.
• Email umarketing@txstate.edu to ensure your account is centrally tracked.  

Analytics Account Naming Conventions

• Your account name should be the name of your college, division, or unit.
• If you have multiple sites, each one will be its own property.
• Examples:  
  • TXST Global will have one analytics account with separate properties for global.txst.edu, onestop.txst.edu, distancelearning.txst.edu, and other sites under its jurisdiction.
  • The College of Fine Arts & Communication will have one analytics account with separate properties for sjmc.txst.edu, commstudies.txst.edu, music.txst.edu, and other sites under its jurisdiction. 

There are no university trainings for learning how to use Google Analytics. If you are new to Google Analytics, check out the Google Analytics for Beginners course.

How to Set Up Google Analytics for Your Sites

1. Log into Google Workspace using your TXST net ID. (If you are already logged into a personal Google account, you will either need to log out, use another browser, or set up a separate Chrome profile for your TXST Google account.)
2. Sign into Google Analytics at analytics.google.com.
3. Create an account – the account name should be the name of your college, division, or unit. (e.g. Division of Marketing & Communication, College of Education, Division of Research, etc.)
4. Create a property for your site. 
   1. Name it after your site (e.g. School of Journalism & Mass Communication, One Stop, Distance Learning, etc.)  
   2. Select the correct reporting time zone (GMT-05:00) Chicago Time
   3. If you skipped this step during account setup, go to the Admin menu by clicking the blue gear icon in the lower-left corner of your GA4 dashboard, then select “Create” in the top left corner and select “Property.”
   4. At the next step, select “Jobs & Education” as the industry category and “Very Large” for the business size.
   5. Next, select all business objectives. This ensures all reports are easily available to you.
   6. Next, choose “Web” under the start collecting data step. Input your site’s home URL (e.g. marcomm.txst.edu) with no path (e.g. NOT marcomm.txst.edu/our-team) and name the stream after your site.
   7. Open your data stream and copy the Measurement ID, which is formatted as G-##########. If you only see a script, copy only the Measurement ID from the code.
   8. Navigate to Gato. From the Pages screen, click on your site's homepage.
   9. Click Edit Page Properties from the menu on the right.
   10. Click the Advanced tab.
   11. Paste the account ID Google provided you into the Google Analytics text box.
   12. Click Save.
   13. Publish your page.

If you manage multiple sites, repeat these steps for each site. 

Navigate back to Google Analytics. Go to Admin using the gear icon in the lower-left corner. Select “Account Access Management,” click the blue + icon in the upper-right corner, and choose “Add Users.” Enter txstwebgovernance@gmail.com, select Administrator access, and click “Add” in the upper-right corner.

Important: It may take up to 72 hours for data to appear in your dashboard. Data is collected only after your GA4 measurement ID is added to Gato; historical data will not be available. Please wait the full 72 hours before contacting IT or Marcomm for assistance.