Using Google Analytics in Church Connect
Google Analytics provides insights into visitor behavior, showing where traffic comes from, which pages are most popular, and how users interact with your content. This guide walks you through setting up Google Analytics and linking it to Church Connect.
Initial Setup
To get started, you’ll first need a Google Account. Once you have an account, go to Google Analytics and select "Start Measuring" to begin the setup process.
Step 1: Account Creation
When prompted, enter your Account name. This is typically your church's name, for example, we'll use the "Random Action Verb Church" for this process.
Step 2: Property Creation
The next step is to create a property specifically for Church Connect. Give it a name, such as "Random Action Verb Church Website", and set your time zone and currency.
Step 3: Business Details
When asked about industry categories, select "Online Communities," and for business size, choose the option that best represents your church.
Step 4: Business Objectives
Under business objectives, select "Traffic and User Engagement & Retention"—these options will help tailor your analytics experience to tracking visitor behavior.
After that, accept the terms of service to continue.
Step 5: Data Collection
Once your property is created, you’ll need to configure data collection. Since Church Connect is a website, choose "Web" as your data collection method.
At this point, open ChurchTrac in another tab and navigate to the Church Connect screen, Page Setup tab to find your Church Connect URL.
Copy the URL and paste it into the Website URL field in Google Analytics. Then, enter a stream name such as "Random Action Verb Church" and create the stream.
When presented with the option to set up a Google Tag, simply skip this step—we’ll be linking Analytics using the Measurement ID instead.
Linking Your Church Connect
Now that the property is set up, it’s time to link Google Analytics to Church Connect. After exiting the Google Tag setup page, you’ll see additional details about your newly created property, including the Measurement ID (formatted as G-XXXXXXXXXX). Copy this ID, then return to ChurchTrac.
In the Page Setup tab, select the Church Connect Settings option.
Then, scroll down to the Google Analytics Measurement ID field and paste the ID.
Once this is done, Google Analytics will confirm that data collection is pending. This process may take some time, so check back periodically to monitor the status.
Managing Analytics
Once your analytics data begins to load, you’ll be able to explore visitor reports and insights through Google Analytics. While that’s covered in a separate guide, here are a few Pro Tips to get started.
FAQs
Yes, you must have a Google account to create a Google Analytics account and track your Church Connect page.
Google Analytics has a free version, which is more than enough for tracking your Church Connect page. There is a paid version called Google Analytics 360, but it’s designed for large enterprises and isn’t necessary for churches.
After linking your Measurement ID in ChurchTrac, you’ll see a “Data Collection Pending” message. It usually takes a few hours to start tracking visitors, but sometimes it can take up to 48 hours.
Go to Google Analytics > Reports > Realtime Report and then visit your Church Connect page. If everything is set up correctly, you should see at least one active user (yourself) on the page. If no data appears, wait a bit and check again.
No, you don’t need to install a Google Tag manually. ChurchTrac allows you to track your Church Connect page just by entering your Measurement ID.