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Last year, Google announced that they are developing a free WordPress plugin that allows website owners to have easy access to reports, performance, and revenue updates all in one place. And on June 19, 2019, Google was proud to announce that the Google Site Kit beta version is now available.
What is the Google Site Kit?
According to their website, Google Site Kit is a free open-source plugin bringing together insights from essential Google products for WordPress sites.
Site Kit is ideal for website owners who want easily digestible information about the audience and revenue performance, all in one place.
With this WordPress plugin, Google has integrated four Google tools which are essential in growing and monetizing a WordPress website. These are:
- Search Console: Learn how users discover your content on Google Search.
- Analytics: Understand how users navigate your site.
- AdSense: Set up AdSense and monitor your earnings.
- PageSpeed Insights: Identify critical performance optimizations for your site.
According to Google, the Site Kit focuses on the following features:
- Seamless site verification with Search Console.
- Provisioning and configuration of Analytics, AdSense, Tag Manager, and Optimize.
- Simple aggregate and per-page reporting from Search Console, Analytics, and AdSense, to help you understand the full acquisition and monetization funnel.
- Continuous site performance auditing and monitoring with PageSpeed Insights.
- Insights we derive from across the products you’ve connected and surface on your dashboard, to help you make sense of the stats.
How to install the Google Site Kit?
Here, I’m going to show you how I installed the Google Site Kit plugin on my other WordPress website Self-love After Ruins.
Step 1
Go to the website Site Kit by Google and click the blue button that says Get developer beta.
Step 2
On the next page, scroll down and click the link that says download right here
Step 3
Proceed to your WordPress dashboard, click Plugins, then upload plugin. Next, click the button that says Choose File, go to your downloads folder and choose the zip file, click open, and click Install Now.
Step 4
Once installed, click Activate Plugin. You will now be redirected to the page that says Congratulations, the Site Kit plugin is now activated. Next, click the blue button that says Activate Plugin.
Step 5
To activate setup, start by creating a client configuration. Click the link that says developers.google.com/web/sitekit. Next, scroll down and click the blue button that says GET OAUTH CREDENTIALS. A pop- up will appear on your screen. Copy the code, go back to your WordPress dashboard and paste it there. Then, click PROCEED.
Step 6
Next step is to authenticate. Click the blue-button that says SIGN IN WITH GOOGLE and sign in using the Google account associated with the tools you’re trying to connect it with. Pop-up messages will appear again asking you to allow Google to access your information. You will then be redirected to your WordPress dashboard which shows that Google is verifying your URL. Lastly, you will receive a message that says Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Site Kit setup and Connected Search Console. Check the dashboard for more services to connect.
When you click the blue button that says Go to Dashboard, you will see that there are other tools that can be connected aside from the Search Console ie Adsense, Analytics, and PageSpeed Insights.
How to connect Google Analytics to your Google Site Kit plugin
Now let’s try connecting Analytics.
Step 1
From the Google Site Kit dashboard, under Analytics, click the blue text that says Connect Services.
Here, Google provides instructions that when you proceed, you will see a warning screen that says the app is not verified. It is because the Google Site Kit plugin is just a developer beta, meaning Google will still make improvements before they make it available on wordpress.org.
Just click PROCEED, and choose the Google account associated with your tools. Click Advanced, and click the link that says your URL (unsafe). Again, there will be pop-up messages asking you to allow Google to grant access to your information. Just click Allow.
Step 2
Then, you will be redirected back to your WordPress dashboard where you will be asked which account you want to be associated with this plugin. Click the blue-button that says CONFIRM CHANGES and you’re done. Once you go back to the Google Site Kit settings, it will say that both Search Console and Analytics are now connected.
Do you REALLY need the plugin on your WordPress website?
Yes and no.
If you have other plugins that already provide this information to you, then I’d say this plugin is no longer necessary.
But, if you are someone who loathes clutter, and wants everything all in one place, then this plugin is for you. Besides, it’s free. You have nothing to lose.
Were you able to install the plugin on your WordPress website? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Related posts:
How to Create a WordPress website (for beginners)
Site Kit by Google: Everything you need to know
All you must know about the Google Site Kit plugin for WordPress
