You can connect all of your favorite Google webmaster services to WordPress using the official Google Site Kit plugin. You’ll also be able to view data from Google Analytics within your WordPress dashboard, where applicable.
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Overview
If you own a website, you most likely use Google services for analytics tracking, performance testing, and other purposes. Managing them all can be difficult, which is why a plugin called Site Kit for WordPress has been developed.
Site Kit is a WordPress plugin that allows you to connect your website to the following Google services:
1. Google Search Console.
You can use Search Console to monitor your site’s traffic, performance, and indexing status.
2. Statistical analysis.
Google’s popular web analytics tool provides you with a wealth of information about your site’s visitors, which is invaluable for marketing and optimization.
3. Google AdSense.
If you want to monetize your website with ads, AdSense is one of the most popular platforms for doing so.
4. PageSpeed Insights.
This tool allows you to test the performance of your website. It provides an overall score as well as a variety of recommendations for how to improve your desktop and mobile experiences.
5. Tag Manager
This service allows you to add tracking pixels and snippets to your website without manually modifying code.
6. Optimize.
You can use Optimize to run in-depth A/B tests on your website. It integrates with Google Analytics to provide you with more information about your results.
To truly appreciate the value Google Site Kit offers WordPress users, it is necessary to see it in action. In a few simple steps, here’s how to get it up and running for your site.
Installing Google Site Kit
First and foremost, please use the same browser and open another tab, then login to your Google Account- this will make things much easier when you need to verify and connect the functions to your WordPress site.
Step 1: Google Site Kit must be installed and activated.
Installing and activating Google Site Kit is identical to installing and activating any other WordPress plugin. Once activated, it will prompt you to begin the setup process immediately.
To proceed, click the Start Setup button.
Step 2: Verify that you own your website and connect it to Google Search Console.
Following the setup wizard’s completion, Site Kit will prompt you to sign in with your Google account to verify ownership of your WordPress website:
After that, you’ll need to authorize a few permissions to allow Site Kit to access critical data about your website and Google account. To proceed with each prompt, click Allow.
If you’ve already connected your WordPress site to Search Console, Google Site Kit will integrate it automatically at this point. Alternatively, you’ll be prompted to configure it.
Simply click the Add site button and Google will take care of the rest. After that, you’re ready to use the plugin:
That concludes the basic setup procedure.
Step 3: Integrate Google services that you prefer
Google Site Kit requires that you integrate Search Console with WordPress, but once the setup wizard is complete, you can choose which services to add. Immediately upon installation, the plugin provides links for configuring AdSense, Analytics, and PageSpeed Insights.
If you prefer to delay adding additional services, you can always do so later by navigating to Site Kit > Settings > Connect Additional Services.
You’ll need to confirm which account you want to use and authorize a list of Site Kit permissions for each additional service. Additionally, you can connect your site to new tools directly from your dashboard if necessary.
It only takes a few clicks and is significantly faster than manually adding a tracking code.
Step 4: View your dashboard
Google Site Kit presents data in a variety of ways. To begin, navigate to Site Kit > Dashboard to view an overview of all your services.
Site Kit must collect data for a period of time before it can display any numbers for services such as Search Console and Google Analytics. We also connected PageSpeed Insights to demonstrate how its dashboard displays results:
Alternatively, you can view separate reports for each of your services. Each will have its own tab in your WordPress sidebar under Site Kit. These summaries go into greater detail than the dashboard does:
Additionally, you can filter by specific pages on your site, such as viewing only the statistics for a specific blog post or performing a page speed test on a specific page.
Additionally, you’ll notice a new Site Kit option in the WordPress toolbar. From the front end of your site, you can use this to view Google Analytics statistics for the piece of content you’re currently viewing:
That concludes our discussion of the Google Site Kit for WordPress.
Conclusion
In general, there aren’t many drawbacks to using Google Site Kit with WordPress. At the most, it may be a bit excessive if you intend to connect only one Google service.
However, if you intend to use numerous of them, Site Kit is a significant time-saver. Additionally, integration could not be simpler. It merely requires a single click in the case of PageSpeed Insights.
Additionally, Site Kit does not compel you to connect additional services at any stage. If you only want to use Search Console, for example, you may do so without having to deal with bothersome popups suggesting Analytics in your dashboard.
Additionally, Site Kit should not affect your site’s loading speed – it adds no new content to the front-end of your site beyond the necessary scripts for the service to function (such as the Google Analytics tracking script, which would remain even if you chose to manually connect Google Analytics to WordPress).
One disadvantage of Site Kit is that it does not provide configuration options for the services to which it connects. Navigating to Site Kit > Settings will verify that the plugin is functioning properly and provide you with the option to submit tracking data to Google, but that is all there is to it:
That is to be expected, as adding individual settings for so many services can be inconvenient. However, if you’re unfamiliar with any of these technologies, the lack of options can be perplexing. To adjust your configurations, you’ll need to visit each service individually.
If you’re interested in integrating webmaster services with your website, Google Site Kit for WordPress significantly simplifies the process. Throughout our evaluation, we were able to connect all the instruments we desired in a matter of minutes by utilizing straightforward wizards.
In general, Site Kit is a worthwhile addition to your WordPress plugin arsenal, particularly if you use many providers. That stated it does not take the place of periodic visits to the individual service websites. For example, while you may get a summary of the most significant Google Analytics metrics from your WordPress dashboard, you’ll still need to access all of the data through the Google Analytics dashboard.
