Google Analytics 4 Setup Guide

What’s Been Configured

I’ve added Google Analytics 4 tracking to your GitHub Pages site:

  1. _config.yml - Added analytics configuration
  2. _includes/analytics.html - GA4 tracking code
  3. _includes/head.html - Custom head include with analytics

Next Steps: Get Your Google Analytics Tracking ID

1. Create Google Analytics Account

  1. Go to https://analytics.google.com/
  2. Sign in with your Google account
  3. Click “Start measuring” or “Admin” (gear icon)

2. Create a Property (GA4)

  1. Click “Create Property”
  2. Enter property details:
    • Property name: “Ramesh’s Tech Blog” (or your preference)
    • Reporting time zone: Your timezone
    • Currency: USD (or your preference)
  3. Click “Next”

3. Set Up Data Stream

  1. Choose “Web” as the platform
  2. Enter your website details:
    • Website URL: https://r2rajan.github.io
    • Stream name: “GitHub Pages Blog”
  3. Click “Create stream”

4. Get Your Measurement ID

  1. You’ll see a Measurement ID that looks like: G-XXXXXXXXXX
  2. Copy this ID

5. Update Your Site Configuration

  1. Open _config.yml
  2. Find this section: 
    analytics:
  provider: "google-gtag"
  google:
    tracking_id: "G-XXXXXXXXXX"  # Replace with your GA4 Measurement ID
  3. Replace G-XXXXXXXXXX with your actual Measurement ID
  4. Save the file

6. Deploy Your Changes

git add _config.yml _includes/analytics.html _includes/head.html
git commit -m "Add Google Analytics 4 tracking"
git push origin main

Wait 2-5 minutes for GitHub Pages to rebuild your site.

7. Test Your Analytics

  1. Visit your website: https://r2rajan.github.io
  2. In Google Analytics, go to Reports → Realtime
  3. You should see your visit appear within 30 seconds!

How to Track Top Performing Posts

After 1-2 weeks of data collection:

  1. Go to Reports → Engagement → Pages and screens
  2. You’ll see a list of all pages with:
    • Views
    • Users
    • Average engagement time
    • Events per session
  3. To see your top blog posts specifically:
    • Click Add filter (funnel icon)
    • Select “Page path and screen class”
    • Choose “contains” and enter /20 (to filter blog posts by year)
    • Apply filter
  4. Export Reports:
    • Click the Share icon (top right)
    • Download as PDF, CSV, or Google Sheets

Custom Reports for Blog Posts

  1. Go to Explore (left sidebar)
  2. Create a Free form exploration
  3. Add dimensions:
    • Page path
    • Page title
  4. Add metrics:
    • Views
    • Users
    • Average engagement time
  5. Save and bookmark this report

Privacy & GDPR Compliance

The current setup:

To enable IP anonymization:

analytics:
  provider: "google-gtag"
  google:
    tracking_id: "G-XXXXXXXXXX"
    anonymize_ip: true  # Change to true

Troubleshooting

Analytics not showing data?

  1. Check your Measurement ID is correct in _config.yml
  2. Verify site has been rebuilt (check GitHub Actions)
  3. Clear browser cache
  4. Check browser console for errors (F12)
  5. Verify GA4 tag with Google Tag Assistant extension

Want to exclude your own visits?

  1. In Google Analytics, go to Admin → Data Streams
  2. Click your stream → Configure tag settings → Show all
  3. Click Define internal traffic
  4. Add your IP address

Additional Resources