Pre-Requisite: Before you begin the Google Analytics setup, ensure your BU email is activated with BU Google Apps.

Overview: Integration Guide for BU Websites

This guide explains how to integrate Site-Specific Google Analytics 4 (GA4) properties with your BU WordPress or static website. IS&T will assist with linking your site to the correct GA4 property. However, IS&T does not offer training for GA4 configuration or reporting. For further help, consult Google’s official GA4 resources or consider working with a third-party consultant.

Create Your Google Analytics Account and Site-Specific GA4 Property

If your department doesn’t have an existing Google Analytics account, follow these steps to create one:

  1. Sign in to Google Analytics with your BU email at analytics.google.com.
  2. For detailed GA4 Account and Property setup instructions, visit Google’s GA4 setup guide.
  3. Create a new Site-Specific GA4 property

Set up Data Collection for your Site-Specific GA4 Property

To begin tracking data in your new GA4 property, follow the instructions based on your website type (BU WordPress site or static/HTML site):

  • For BU WordPress Sites: Select “Set up Analytics for a CMS-hosted website” to get your GA4 Measurement ID (begins with "G-") option to copy your GA4 Measurement ID.
    • In your Site-Specific GA4 Admin, go to Data collection and modification > Data streams.
    • Click the relevant data stream, then copy the Measurement ID (it begins with “G-“).
    • Log in to your BU WordPress Admin Dashboard (Site Admin access required).
    • Visit WordPress Dashboard sidebar > Settings > Google Analytics.
    • Under Active Accounts, click Add Account.
    • Paste the GA4 Measurement ID you copied from Analytics. If you wish to track external links or file downloads, check the relevant boxes described below and click “Save.”
      • Track External Links: Enable this to track interactions with links pointing to external sites.
      • Track File Downloads: Enable this to track downloads of specific file types like PDFs, Office documents, and more.
  • For Static/HTML Sites: You’ll need access to your site’s HTML code. Follow these steps:
    • In Google Analytics, go to Admin > Data collection and modification > Data streams
    • Click Web, then select the data stream for your website.
    • Under Google tag, click View tag instructions.
    • Choose Install manually to view your Google tag script.
    • Copy the entire Google tag script (starting with 
      <!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->

      ).

    • Paste the Google tag script into your site’s HTML code, directly after the <head> tag on each page of your static/html website.

Verify Site-Specific GA4 Data Collection

After adding your Site-Specific GA4 Measurement ID to your WordPress Google Analytics settings page or inserting the script into your static site’s HTML, it may take up to 48 hours for data to begin appearing in your GA4 property. You can verify tracking by checking the Real-Time report in Google Analytics.

Managing User Access to Your Site-Specific GA4 Account

Your department’s BU email addresses should be the primary administrators for your GA4 property. We recommend adding multiple long-term staff members as Administrators to ensure continuity. Consider using a shared email account (e.g., a department-wide email) for easier management, so access remains intact if a team member leaves.

  • To Add Users (Including Google Analytics Administrators):

    • Go to Google Analytics, select your GA4 property, and navigate to Admin > Account Access Management in the left sidebar.
    • Backup Administrator Recommendation: We strongly recommend adding the IS&T Web Team (webteam@bu.edu) as a backup Administrator. This ensures that if access is lost, IS&T can assist with account recovery.

About University GA4 Properties

IS&T manages several University-wide GA4 properties, automatically active for all BU WordPress sites under the domain networks of https://www.bu.edu, https://www.bumc.bu.edu, and https://sites.bu.edu. These University GA4 properties are now deprecated for site-specific use since the transition from the now-retired Universal Analytics (UA) to GA4 in 2022. For more granular tracking and reporting, we recommend that department Site Admins create a Site-Specific GA4 Property. While “Viewer” access to the University-wide properties is available upon request, this access provides limited value for site-specific level reporting and lack detailed segmentation options that UA version provided. For more accurate tracking and reporting, we strongly recommend that departments setup up your own Site-Specific GA4 account.

GA4 Training & Support for End Users

IS&T helps departments integrate GA4 properties with their BU websites. However, we do not offer support for using Google Analytics, analyzing data, or digital marketing tasks. For these purposes, refer to Google’s official resources or consult with a third-party digital marketing firm with expertise in configuring Google Analytics 4.

Google Analytics Help Resources

GA4 Training for End Users:

If you have questions about using Google Analytics, please use the Google resources linked above. If you would like to request "Viewer" access to the domain-wide University GA4 properties or have difficulty as a Site Admin with setting up or integrating your Site-Specific GA4 account with your BU WordPress or Static Site, please submit a ServiceNow Help request and include your website URL and your Site-Specific GA4 Measurement ID.