Google Analytics

Monitor your website performance with Google's powerful analytics platform. Track visitors, page views, user behavior, and conversion goals directly from your Panda IDX website.

Path: Integrations → Google Analytics

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Overview

Google Analytics is the industry-standard web analytics platform that helps you understand how visitors interact with your website. By integrating Google Analytics with your Panda IDX site, you can:

• Track visitor counts and traffic sources
• Analyze page performance and popular content
• Monitor user behavior and navigation patterns
• Set up conversion goals (form submissions, property views)
• Understand your audience demographics
• Measure ROI on marketing campaigns

Why Use Google Analytics?

While Panda IDX provides built-in analytics, Google Analytics offers deeper insights, custom reports, and integration with Google Ads for retargeting campaigns.

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Prerequisites

Before setting up Google Analytics, you'll need:

1. Google Account: A Gmail or Google account
2. Google Analytics Account: Sign up at analytics.google.com
3. Property Created: Create a GA4 property for your website
4. Measurement ID: Your Google Analytics tracking ID (format: G-XXXXXXXXXX)

Don't Have Google Analytics Yet?

1. Visit analytics.google.com
2. Sign in with your Google account
3. Click "Start measuring"
4. Follow the setup wizard to create your property
5. Copy your Measurement ID (starts with G-)

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Setup Instructions

Step 1: Get Your Google Analytics ID

1. Log in to Google Analytics: Visit analytics.google.com
2. Navigate to Admin: Click the gear icon in the bottom left
3. Select Your Property: Choose your website property
4. Go to Data Streams: Under Property settings, click "Data Streams"
5. Select Your Web Stream: Click on your website stream
6. Copy Measurement ID: You'll see your Measurement ID (format: G-XXXXXXXXXX)

Example: G-ABC123XYZ

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Step 2: Add to Panda IDX

1. Open Integrations: Navigate to Integrations in your Panda IDX dashboard
2. Find Google Analytics: Locate the Google Analytics card
3. Click Configure: Click on the Google Analytics card to open settings
4. Paste Your ID: Enter your Measurement ID in the "Google Analytics ID" field
5. Save Changes: Click "Save" to activate the integration

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Step 3: Domain Verification (Optional)

Domain verification confirms you own your website and enables additional Google features.

Why Verify Your Domain?

• Access Google Search Console data in Analytics
• Enable cross-domain tracking
• Use Google Ads remarketing features
• Verify ownership for Google services

How to Verify:

1. Get Verification Code:

   • Go to Google Search Console
   • Add your property (your website URL)
   • Choose "HTML tag" verification method
   • Copy the content value from the meta tag

   Example tag: <meta name="google-site-verification" content="ABC123xyz..." />

   Copy only: ABC123xyz...

2. Add to Panda IDX:

   • In the Google Analytics integration dialog
   • Paste the code in "Domain Verification" field
   • Save changes

3. Complete Verification:

   • Return to Google Search Console
   • Click "Verify" button
   • You should see "Ownership verified" confirmation

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Configuration Options

Google Analytics ID (Required)

Format: G-XXXXXXXXXX (GA4 format)

What It Does: Enables Google Analytics tracking on your website. All page views, events, and user interactions will be sent to your Google Analytics account.

How to Find It:

• Google Analytics → Admin → Data Streams → Your Stream
• Look for "Measurement ID"

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Domain Verification (Optional)

Format: Alphanumeric string (e.g., ABC123xyz...)

What It Does: Verifies you own your domain for Google services.

When to Use:

• If you want to use Google Search Console
• If you plan to use Google Ads
• If you need cross-domain tracking

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What Gets Tracked?

Once integrated, Google Analytics automatically tracks:

Page Views:

• Every page visit on your website
• Page URLs and titles
• Time spent on each page

User Behavior:

• Navigation paths (which pages users visit)
• Bounce rate (single-page visits)
• Session duration

Traffic Sources:

• Where visitors come from (Google, Facebook, direct)
• Referral websites
• Search keywords (when available)

Device Information:

• Desktop vs mobile vs tablet
• Operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows)
• Browser types (Chrome, Safari, Firefox)

Location Data:

• Country and city
• Language preferences
• Time zone

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Setting Up Goals & Conversions

Track important actions like form submissions and property inquiries.

Creating a Conversion Goal

1. Open Google Analytics: Go to your GA4 property
2. Navigate to Events: Click "Events" in the left menu
3. Mark as Conversion: Find the event you want to track (e.g., form_submit)
4. Toggle Conversion: Click the toggle to mark it as a conversion

Common Real Estate Goals:

• Contact form submissions
• Property inquiry forms
• Saved searches created
• Property favorites/likes
• Phone number clicks
• Email clicks
• Property sharing

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Best Practices

Daily Monitoring:

• Check real-time reports to see active visitors
• Monitor today's traffic vs yesterday
• Review top pages being viewed

Weekly Analysis:

• Compare week-over-week traffic trends
• Identify which pages drive the most engagement
• Review traffic sources (organic, social, direct)
• Check mobile vs desktop usage

Monthly Strategy:

• Set up monthly traffic goals
• Create custom reports for key metrics
• Review conversion rates
• Analyze user behavior flow
• Identify top-performing content

Advanced Features:

• Set up custom dimensions (contact type, property type)
• Create audiences for remarketing
• Link Google Ads for campaign tracking
• Enable Demographics and Interests reports

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Troubleshooting

Analytics Not Showing Data

Problem: Google Analytics shows no data after 24 hours.

Solutions:

1. Verify ID Format: Ensure you copied the full Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX)
2. Check for Typos: No extra spaces or characters
3. Clear Cache: Clear your browser cache and revisit your website
4. Wait 24-48 Hours: Google Analytics can take up to 48 hours to show data
5. Check Real-Time Reports: Open GA4 → Reports → Real-time, then visit your website

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Domain Verification Failed

Problem: Google Search Console shows "Verification failed."

Solutions:

1. Copy Correct Code: Ensure you copied the content value, not the entire meta tag
2. Save in Panda IDX: Make sure you saved the integration settings
3. Wait & Retry: Wait 10-15 minutes after saving, then verify again
4. Alternative Method: Use DNS verification instead of HTML tag method

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Seeing Duplicate Data

Problem: Google Analytics shows double the actual traffic.

Solutions:

1. Check Multiple Installations: Ensure Google Analytics is not installed elsewhere (theme, plugins)
2. Remove Old Tags: If you previously added GA manually, remove the old code
3. Use Tag Assistant: Install Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension to check for duplicate tags

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Real-Time Not Working

Problem: Real-time reports show zero active users when you're on the site.

Solutions:

1. Disable Ad Blockers: Ad blockers prevent Google Analytics from tracking
2. Check Browser Extensions: Some privacy extensions block analytics
3. Test in Incognito Mode: Open your site in an incognito/private browser window
4. Verify Integration: Confirm the integration is saved and active in Panda IDX

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Panda IDX Analytics vs Google Analytics

Use Panda IDX Analytics For:

• Quick daily checks on leads captured
• Specific real estate events (property views, likes, saved searches)
• Built-in lead attribution (which page captured which lead)
• Simple, real estate-focused metrics

Use Google Analytics For:

• Deep dive into user behavior
• Custom reports and segments
• Integration with Google Ads
• Demographics and interests data
• Advanced conversion tracking
• Historical data comparison

Best Approach: Use both! Panda IDX analytics for daily lead monitoring, Google Analytics for strategic insights and marketing optimization.

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Quick Tips

💡 Enable Enhanced Measurement: In GA4, enable enhanced measurement to automatically track scrolls, clicks, file downloads, and video plays

💡 Set Up Alerts: Create custom alerts in Google Analytics to notify you when traffic drops or spikes

💡 Link Google Search Console: Connect Search Console to see which keywords bring visitors to your site

💡 Create Custom Dashboards: Build dashboards for at-a-glance metrics that matter most to your business

💡 Use UTM Parameters: Add UTM tags to your social media and email links to track campaign performance

💡 Check Mobile Performance: Real estate searches are increasingly mobile - ensure your mobile traffic is growing

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