How to add Google Analytics Tracking ID to GitHub Pages

Github Problem Overview

Could be a simple question but I am full of doubts right now about adding Google Analytics Tracking ID to GitHub page.

I am using GitHub automatic page generator to create my GitHub page but it asks for "Google Analytics Tracking ID". I tried to sign up with Google Analytics but there on it asks for website URL.

Now what I am supposed to do?

One more ques: can we add Google Analytics Tracking ID later on after GitHub Page has been created?

Github Solutions

Solution 1 - Github

Update: Added steps descriptions for others

Solved it:
had to include username.github.io (link that I want to track) in Google Analytics website section.

you can check GitHub help page here

enter image description here

After that I was provided with an Tracker ID.

Note: You can easily change or add more websites on Google Analytics page from your Google Analytics admin panel.

Update 2: - Adding Google Analytics Tracking ID to Already created Github pages (As requested by @avi-aryan )

Browse to your github pages branch - which would be something like -
( https://github.com/**YourUserName**/<b>YourRepository</b>/tree/gh-pages )
Then edit index.html from listed files
Now in within HEAD tag of index.html - paste your Google Analytics Tracking ID Script ( if have already signed up for Google analytics then you can browse it under admin and then tracking info tab )

Solution 2 - Github

For anyone interested, if you are using Jekyll with GitHub pages, I just wrote a post showing how to correctly add Google Analytics Tracking ID to Jekyll.

You will find your Universal Analytics tracking code under Admin > Property > Tracking Info > Tracking Code.
Create a new file called analytics.html in the _includes folder found in your Jekyll website’s directory.
Add Google Analytics Tracking ID code to analytics.html.
Finally, open _layouts/head.html, and add {% include analytics.html %} just before the end </head> tag. Google recommends this placement to track all of the pages on your website correctly.

Solution 3 - Github

If you are using the minima template provide by Jekyll then -

Add google_analytics: UA-xxxxxxxx-x to your _config.yml
Create a file _includes/google-analytics.html and add the google analytics js code in it.

Replace

ga('create', 'UA-xxxxxxxx-x', 'auto');

with

ga('create', '{{ site.google_analytics }}', 'auto');

and you are set!

The google analytics code will now display if your site is built in production environment. For reference see the template's source code here - <https://github.com/jekyll/minima>

You can follow the same approach if you are using a different template by referencing the template's source code and replacing the corresponding files.

Solution 4 - Github

Is better to use GA-Beacon for that. GA-Beacon can track all your GitHub repo, even if the visited link isn't an html document.

Please check: https://github.com/igrigorik/ga-beacon

Solution 5 - Github

Adding analytics via _config.yml.

All GitHub themes (supported themes) natively support google analytics. You just have to provide a tracking code (UA-XXXXXXXXX-X).

Google analytics comes in two flavours - Google analytics 4 (GA4), and Universal analytics. You will have to use the latter for this. GA4 will not work ^#.

Create a new Universal google analytics property (and not GA4 property). By default the tracking property you create will be of type GA4. You will have to select "Create a Universal Analytics property" for the property to be universal. Once a GA4 property is created it cannot be converted to Universal property. You can only do this while creating a new property.

1.1 Turn Universal analytics on in the advanced options.

1.2 Configure Universal analytics options.

1.3 Copy the tracking ID for this newly created property.

Add this tracking ID to your gh-pages sites's _config.yml.

google_analytics: UA-XXXXXXXXX-X

The following is from modernist's readme - the theme I was using for my site.

Commit and Push the changes to github, and after few minutes navigate to your site's URL.
Verify that everything went fine.

If you search the source code now for the tracing ID, you will be able to find it. Google analytics dashboard too will start showing activity.

The above steps show how to add google analytics to an existing gh-pages site. You can use the same code while creating a new gh-pages site too. Although it seems automatic page generator no longer exists - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/41248716/cant-locate-automatic-page-generator-button-in-github/41249143

# Maybe there is a way to use GA4 natively by configuring _config.yml. I wasn't able to do that, and had to resort to universal analytics.

Reference(s)

https://www.analyticsmania.com/post/downgrade-from-google-analytics-4-to-universal-analytics/

Solution 6 - Github

You can add Google Analytics to a Jekyll site the same way you would any other site.

First, after setting up your Google Analytics account, navigate to the admin tab.

navbar

Next, under the accounts panel, on the left, click: Create New Account.

add account

In Google Analytics, an account represents a set of pages that you would like to track. Set up the website's account as desired.

After your account has been created you will be sent to a page which tells you your Tracking ID and has a JavaScript snippet for you to put on the pages you would like to track. Simply put this snippet in all the pages you would like to track. Or, if you use a default layout put this snippet somewhere in it.

By the way, since you are hosting on GitHub Pages you don't need Google Analytics unless you want very detailed analytics. If all you care about is page views GitHub has this.

Solution 7 - Github

I use the README.md file as a source for my GitHub personal page. I also use one of the GitHub supported themes 'cayman'. No more files is required in the repository apart from _config.yml (unless you want to modify your supported theme).

To add Google Analytics, I just followed the advice in the 'cayman' repository (https://github.com/pages-themes/cayman):

Cayman will respect the following variables, if set in your site's _config.yml:

google_analytics: [Your Google Analytics tracking ID]

Full stop! Anything else! Everything works on the side of Google Analytics! It may be a viable option for those who look for a quick set up of GitHub Pages with Google Analytics.

Solution 8 - Github

If you're using an automatically generated github page from your github README.md I found this to be the easiest way: Just edit your _config.yml to look like this (with your own google analytics UA id):

theme: jekyll-theme-cayman
title: My Site
description: My site description
url: https://example.com
author: MyName
plugins:
  - jekyll-seo-tag
google_analytics: UA-xxx

Then add a new file to your repository root named Gemfile with this content:

source "https://rubygems.org”
gem "github-pages", group: :jekyll_plugins
gem 'jekyll-seo-tag'

Then wait a bit and refresh your github page and show page source code. Verify that the SEO plugin has inserted your analytics java script. More info here: https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll-seo-tag

From the installation instruction, I didn't have to add the {% seo %} in the html, luckily, because I have no html. Github seems to have thought of that.

Solution 9 - Github

With me, I was unable to configure Google Analytics 4 (prev Web+App) via adding google_analytics: UA-xxxxxxxx-x to your _config.yml as mentioned previously in one of the answers.

So I had to put the js recommended by the Google Analytics in the .md file.

<!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());

  gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXXX');
</script>

Anything you put in the script tag in .md will not be rendered.

Solution 10 - Github

Include a Global site tag in the html output <head>

Once you setup a Google Analytics account, detailed instructions are included under the "Data Streams" tab- select your data source, and then "Tagging instructions" for Global site tag(gtag.js)

Global site tag

the script will look something like this (with id replaced by XXXXXXXXXXX in my example):

<!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=XXXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());

  gtag('config', 'XXXXXXXXXXX');
</script>

Save the html script within a file in your Project directory (e.g. as "GA_script.html")

Add html file to the header

in the Rmarkdown YAML, add the reference to your specific script (see ref here):

output:
  html_document:
    includes: 
      in_header: GA_script.html

Solution 11 - Github

This appears to be a bug in Jekyll Minima. See these GitHub issues for reference:

Content Type	Original Author	Original Content on Stackoverflow
Question	exexzian	View Question on Stackoverflow
Solution 1 - Github	exexzian	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 2 - Github	Colin	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 3 - Github	romeo14	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 4 - Github	user4011964	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 5 - Github	Sahil Singh	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 6 - Github	0xcaff	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 7 - Github	Sergei Zaitseff	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 8 - Github	Json	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 9 - Github	raga	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 10 - Github	Matt L.	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 11 - Github	nicordesigns	View Answer on Stackoverflow