Using Google Analytics to Analyze Website Performance

As someone who’s learning the ropes of digital marketing, one tool that truly helped me understand what’s happening behind the scenes of a website is Google Analytics (GA4).

If you’ve ever wondered:

• “How many people visit my site?”

• “Where are they coming from?”

• “What pages are they looking at the most?”

…then Google Analytics has all those answers — and much more.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through how to use GA4 to analyze website performance step-by-step, without overwhelming jargon.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a free tool by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. It shows:

• Who your visitors are (location, device, language)

• How they found you (Google search, social media, direct, etc.)

• What they do on your site (which pages they visit, how long they stay, if they leave quickly)

GA4 (Google Analytics 4) is the latest version, focused on user behavior and event tracking.

Step-by-Step: How to Use Google Analytics to Analyze Website Performance

Step 1: Log In to Google Analytics

1. Go to https://analytics.google.com

2. Select your website property (make sure GA4 is set up — if not, I can help you with that too!)

3. You’ll land on the Home Dashboard, which gives an overview of traffic

Step 2: Understand Key Metrics on the Dashboard

Here are the most important sections and what they mean:

Tip: Higher engagement and more returning users = good performance.

Step 3: Check Where Your Visitors Are Coming From

1. Go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition

2. Look at sources like:

   • Organic Search (Google)

   • Direct (typed your URL)

   • Referral (clicked from another website)

   • Social (Instagram, YouTube, etc.)

This helps you understand which platforms are bringing the most traffic — and where to focus your marketing efforts.

Step 4: See Which Pages Perform Best

1. Go to Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens

2. Look at metrics like:

   • Views

   • Average engagement time

   • Bounce rate

   • Conversions (if you’ve set goals)

Use this info to figure out:

• What content your audience likes the most

• Which pages need improvement or updates

• What kind of content to create more of

Step 5: Understand User Devices & Locations

1. Go to Reports > Demographics

2. You’ll see:

   • Countries/cities your users are from

   • Language

   • Age/gender (if available)

3. Under Tech > Tech overview, see:

   • Desktop vs. Mobile traffic

   • Browsers used

This tells you how to optimize your website (e.g., if most visitors use mobile, make sure your site is mobile-friendly!).

Step 6: Set Up and Track Events (Optional, but Powerful)

In GA4, everything is based on events instead of just pageviews.

Common events include:

• Page_view

• Scroll

• Click

• Video_play

• Form_submit

If you’ve connected Google Tag Manager, you can create custom events easily (like tracking button clicks or downloads).

Step 7: Compare Performance Over Time

Use the Date Filter at the top right to:

• Compare this week vs last week

• See traffic growth over months

• Analyze what worked after you ran a campaign

This helps you make decisions based on data, not just guesswork.

💡 My Favorite Use Cases as a Fresher

When I first started using Google Analytics, here’s what helped me the most:

• I found out Instagram Stories brought in the most website traffic — so I focused on more IG Story CTAs.

• I noticed people spent very little time on my Services page — so I redesigned it for better engagement.

• I saw more users came from mobile than desktop — so I tested my site’s mobile responsiveness and fixed layout issues.

Google Analytics might look complex at first, but once you start exploring, it becomes one of the most powerful tools in your digital marketing toolkit.

It gives you clear, actionable insights so you can improve your website, understand your audience, and grow your business smarter.

Add Your Heading Text Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.