Google Search Console (GSC), also known as Google Webmaster Tools, is a free tool used to gather information about its performance. It allows a user to monitor a website’s SEO and gain insights into if your site performs as expected in Google’s eyes.
There are five primary categories of Google Search Console:
- Overview
- Index
- Security and Manual Actions
- Enhancements
- Legacy tools
Using these tools, one can access traffic-related data, identify indexation and security issues, look into search appearances, and more. Hence, to get started, start with the ‘Overview’ section. You can use this section to check queries, clicks, page positions, and more.
Even though you may not always get 100% accurate answers, you will certainly get an idea of the pages with high rankings and popular searches and queries, which can help you spot valuable pages.
For online store owners or Shopify users, setting up GSC with an online store is crucial before you start gathering data. Connecting a Google Analytics account with Shopify needs no advanced expertise if you follow a quick guide on how it’s done.
Expert Tips to Grow Your Shopify Store and Increase Sales
How To Create A Google Analytics Account And Integrate With Shopify
Step 1: Create a Google Analytics Account
- Go to google.com/analytics and create an account for free with your preferred email address.
- Click on the admin button and then on “Property Settings”, which will show you basic settings with the tracking ID or a UA code necessary for connecting Shopify with your Google Analytics account.
Step 2: Install Google Analytics on Shopify
For installing Google Analytics Via “Preferences”:
- Click on the admin button on Shopify
- Click on “Online Store” on the left side
- From the expanded list, click on “Preferences.”
- Paste the tracking ID or UA code you copied earlier in the second box
- Tick on the box with texts “Use Enhanced Ecommerce.”
- Click “Save”
- Go back to Google Analytics and check the “Property Settings,” you will find “Tracking Info.” Click on it for the tracking code to verify.
- Finally, click on “Send Test Traffic” or “Real-time traffic reports” for complete details.
For installing Google Analytics Via “Themes”:
- Go to your Shopify account
- Click on “Online Store” on the left side
- Click on the “Themes” option
- On top of the current theme page, you will come across the “Actions” menu. Click and select the “Edit Code” option from the drop-down menu.
- Click on the main template “theme.liquid”
- Go back to Google Analytics, click on the “Tracking Info” on the Admin panel, and then on “tracking code”. Copy the code called Global Site Tag
- Again go back to Shopify “theme. liquid” and paste the Global Site Tag below the liquid tag.
- Click “Save”
- Run a traffic test in Google Analytics
Expert Tips to Grow Your Shopify Store and Increase Sales
How To Create An Integrated Google Search Console With Shopify For Ecommerce Tracking
Step 1: Check if you’ve enabled Google Analytics before. If unsure,
- Go to your Shopify account
- Click on “Online Store” and then on “Preferences.”
- Make sure the box in the Google Analytics section is empty. If you find a UA code, it means Google Analytics is integrated with Shopify.
- If you don’t find a tracking tag, create a Google account to sign in to Google Analytics.
Step 2: For enabling Google Analytics, create a Universal Analytics property.
- Sign in to Google Analytics
- Click “Admin” and go to the “Account” section
- Click on “Create Property” in the “Property” section
- Enter the property’s name
- Hit “Create a Universal Analytics property only.”
- Click “Next” for selecting preferable settings and click on “Create.”
- Copy the Universal Analytics property
- Open a new tab to open the Shopify admin page
- Click on “Online Store” and then on “Preferences.”
- Head to the Google Analytics section, paste the Universal Analytics property in the box.
Step 3: Enable eCommerce tracking on the Shopify theme:
Once you’ve integrated your Shopify with Google Analytics, you have just one more thing to do – implement ecommerce tracking. There are two eCommerce tracking options to turn on eCommerce tracking:
- Basic eCommerce tracking for transaction and revenue data
- Enhanced eCommerce tracking for detailed information about traffic behavior.
To enable basic ecommerce tracking:
- Click on “Admin” of your Google Analytics account
- Click on the “Ecommerce Settings” in the “View” section
- Turn “ON”to “Enable Ecommerce”
To enable enhanced ecommerce tracking:
- Go to your Shopify admin account
- Click on “Online Store” and then on “Preferences.”
- Select “Use Enhanced Ecommerce” in the Google Analytics section
- Click “Save” to enable quick tracking and sending data to Google Analytics
- Go back to the Google Analytics account and click on the “Admin” option
- Click on the “Ecommerce Settings” in the “View” section
- Turn “ON”the “Enable Enhanced Ecommerce Reporting” option
- Click “Save”
How To Create And Submit Sitemap In Shopify And Submit In Google Search Console
Sitemaps allow visitors to navigate easily from one page to another. There are two popular sitemaps – HTML and XML. HTML sitemaps connect directly to the reference page, while XML sitemaps list important pages to help Google understand the website’s structure. The sitemaps you submit to GSC helps to identify various technical issues.
Step 1: Create a template with unique code:
- Go to your Shopify “Admin”, then “Online Store”, and choose “Themes.”
- Hover on “Live themes” and click “Actions” and then “Edit Code.”
- Move to “Templates” click “Add a new template.”
- Select “page” and type “sitemap” in the empty box
- Click “Create Template”
Step 2: Add a new page:
- Go to your Shopify “Admin” panel, then “Online Store”, and choose “Pages.”
- Click on the “Add page” option and title it “Sitemap.”
- Go to the “Template” section and select “page.sitemap”
- Finally, click on “View page” to check the new page
Step 3: Verify before submitting your sitemap:
Disable password protection for verifying your domain. To verify your domain, follow these steps:
- Click “≡” in your Google Search Console account and then select “Add property.”
- Select “URL prefix” from the “Select property type” dialogue box and enter the domain with https://
- Click “Continue”
- Go to “Verify ownership” and select “HTML tag.”
- Highlight and copy the “HTML tag.”
- Go to your Shopify “Admin”, then “Online Store”, and choose “Themes.”
- Choose the theme and select “Actions” and then “Edit Code.”
- In “Layout,” click “theme.liquid”
- Pate the “HTML tag” you copied
- Click “Save”
- Head back to GSC and click “Verify.”
Step 4: Submit the sitemap to GSC:
Once you’ve verified your domain,
- Go to Google Search Consol
- Click “Sitemaps”
- Go to the “Add a new sitemap” section and write your sitemap’s name and “SUBMIT.” Ensure your site map has a format like https://www.jjs-flower.com/sitemap.xml; if not, you will likely receive an error message.
Don’t get disappointed if Google Search Console sends an error message. Instead, wait for some hours and retry the process. If the issue persists, you can opt for different verification methods. Good luck!
