There Are Many Content Management Systems (CMS) Available for Business Owners.

You may be more familiar with the other names these platforms use, such as WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix. Each has its own benefits and limitations, & knowing how to interact with your site with helpful tools is a vital part of ensuring you are making the most of what your site has to offer. While most will offer the functionality to integrate tools like Google Analytics, others may not have what you need to easily connect to Google Analytics

One of the most important interactions your site will have is with Google Analytics, which is how important data is tracked. However, to start using Google Analytics, you must first connect it with your site. There are a few ways to do this, but the process itself will differ depending on the specific CMS you are using. So, today we are going to address how to connect Google Analytics to three major CMS: WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix.

Before We Get Started, You Will Need Your Google Analytics Measurement ID

A screenshot of a Google Analytics account. Learn how Google Analytics can offer support with therapist SEO. Contact us to learn more about improving private pratice seo today.

For each of these examples, you will first need to be signed in to your Google Analytics account and have your measurement ID copied from your account. You can find this by clicking the gear icon in the bottom left corner, selecting the Admin tab, and selecting your site’s property from the dropdown menu.

Once the correct site has been selected, you can use the Setup Assistant to check if your site is indeed collecting data from Google, or click on “data streams” to find the specific data stream for your website. Once you click on your site’s data stream, you can copy the measurement ID, which you will need for each of these examples.

Connecting Google Analytics: The WordPress Process

The navigation bar of a WordPress site. Learn how to improve therapist SEO by searching "private practice seo" today. Simplified SEO can support your private practice website.When connecting Google Analytics to a WordPress site, you will need to access the backend of your private practice website and navigate to the Tools section of the navigation bar on the left side of your screen. Depending on the plugins you have installed on your site, the location of the Tools tab may differ. But, once you’ve navigated to this section, you will only have to click on the Traffic tab near the top of the screen. 

Once in the Traffic tab, simply scroll down to the Google Analytics section and paste your measurement ID into the “Google Analytics Measurement ID” box. Once pasted, click “save settings” to confirm your changes. With this completed, Google Analytics should now be able to collect data from your website! 

What if I Can’t Use A Measurement ID?

If you can’t use your measurement ID or need to manually add the Google Analytics integration, you will need to get a bit more information to successfully connect your site. However, you can still easily find this information on your Google Analytics account. Much like finding your Measurement ID, you will need to access the data stream connected to your site. Luckily, you can use the previously mentioned steps to navigate to your site’s specific data stream. Once here, you will need to scroll down the “Web Stream Details” window and click on the “View Tag Instructions” section. This will have a set of instructions for you to manually add the necessary code to your site, or identify your CMS with Google.

A screenshot of Google Analytics web streams. Learn how to improve your private practice seo by contacting Simplified SEO Consulting. We can offer support for your private practice website today.If you decide to manually add this code to your WordPress site, you will need to navigate the backend of your site once again. Once here, you need to add the copied code to the header section on each page of your site. But, WordPress doesn’t automatically allow you to edit the header code of your site. Due to this, you will likely need to install a plugin that will allow you to make these additions. Thankfully, regardless of your choice of plugin, you will often find access to your site’s header code in the Theme settings of the website builder. Please ensure you are familiar with your site and the plugin you are using if you decide to manually add the necessary code since errors in the code of your site can have a wide variety of ramifications. 

The Squarespace Process

The navigation menu of Squarespace, showing how to improve therapist SEO. Contact Simplified SEO Consulting to learn more about private practice SEO and how to improve your private practice website.For Squarespace users, the process for connecting to Google Analytics is fairly straightforward! Once you have your measurement ID, you will need to access the back end of your private practice website. Once on your home screen, click Settings, then Advanced. Click on External API Keys from here, and paste your measurement ID in the Google Analytics section. After you save your changes, your site should successfully be connected with Google Analytics!

Manually adding code to Squarespace

Thankfully, the process for adding to the header is also fairly straightforward. First, you will need to navigate to the Home screen on the back end of your site. Once on your home screen, click Settings, Advanced, and finally Code Injection. This option will allow you to paste the necessary code on each page of your site without having to go through each page one by one. As previously mentioned, please practice caution when adding code manually to your site, since issues can arise when it isn’t implemented correctly.

The Wix Process

Last but not least, we have Wix! In order to add your measurement ID to a private practice website using Wix, you will need to first log into your site and navigate to the backend dashboard. Once here, you will need to choose the Marketing Integrations tab under the “Marketing and SEO” section on the navigation bar. After navigating to this screen, you should see the integration for Google Analytics and also have the option to add your measurement ID to your site. After you save your changes your site should successfully begin tracking data through Google Analytics!A screenshot of marketing intergrations of a Wix platform for Simplified SEO Consulting. Learn more about private practice SEO and improving your private practice website today.

Manually Adding to Wix

In order to manually add the necessary code from Google you will need to log in to your site and scroll down on the navigation bar to Settings. Once you click on this, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page where you will see the option to add custom code to your private practice website. Click “Add Custom Code” to paste the necessary code. This is similar to Squarespace in that you can set the code to run on every page of your site, thus helping you save time on implementing this integration.

Conclusion

Addressing the more technical aspects of SEO can sometimes feel stressful and complex. But, understanding each step in the process can help you feel more comfortable with making these vital additions to your private practice website. Connecting Google Analytics is only one part of your SEO journey, but you don’t have to do it alone!

Begin Improving Private Practice SEO with Simplified SEO Consulting

Becoming familiar with Google Analytics and other technical SEO aspects is much easier said than done. This is why our team of SEO specialists would be happy to offer support in helping your site reach the first page of Google. You can start your SEO journey with Simplified SEO Consulting by following these simple steps:

  1. Apply to work with us to improve your SEO
  2. Meet with an SEO specialist 
  3. Begin improving your private practice website and SEO!

Other Services Offered with Simplified SEO Consulting

Our team understands that there are many aspects of SEO that likely need to be addressed to improve your private practice website. This is why we offer a variety of SEO services including our Done For You SEO Services and DIY Online SEO Courses. We also offer a 12-week Done With You Intensive SEO Program. Visit our blog to learn more valuable SEO info today!

About the AuthorPhoto of Sterling, an SEO Specialist at Simplified SEO Consulting that specializes in all things technical SEO!

Sterling Humburg-Cage graduated from the University of Missouri with a BA in Psychology in 2020. He integrates what he learned in school into his work as an SEO Specialist with Simplified SEO Consulting. Sterling prides himself on helping current clients & alumni problems solve difficult SEO issues.  He’s great at giving clients multiple options about how to approach a situation. And, responding in a timely manner to client concerns.  Since he started, Sterling has met frequently with our alumni and provided them with extra problem-solving support. He now provides additional support with a variety of local SEO services. He often goes the extra mile to do outside research. By doing so, he sure private practice owners have everything they need to rank well on search engines long term for the keywords their ideal clients are using!

 

The letters S. E. O. for Search Engine Optimization With Female Private Practice Therapist Using A Laptop Computer

What website platform is best for Your Private Practice Website SEO?

When building your private practice website, you have a LOT of options to choose from. As the digital world has expanded, so have the choices for creating your own website. Today, we are going over which website platform is best for SEO. When comparing different platforms, it’s important to understand if they have the tools you need, how customizable it is, and if it speaks to your unique brand.

Available Toolset For Your Private Practice Website

It’s important to understand the limits of the platform and the tools you have at your disposal. What does the platform allow you to do with your site? Does it give you access to the different SEO elements that help you rank well? These could include access to different elements of on-page SEO, such as headings, alt text, titles, slugs, and meta descriptions. If you can’t access these things, you can’t control the focus of what you are optimizing. You may need to find a workaround to optimize a certain element. Or contact the platform itself for additional support in the best ways to improve your site’s SEO.

Does it Work Well with Google?

When searching for the right tools, it is also important to know if the site will play nice with Google. An inability to link to Google Analytics, search engine crawlers and slower loading speeds could negatively affect your SEO. These reasons and others have led the way for competitors to learn from the past and make it easier than ever to edit your site for SEO. It should also be mentioned that Wix has also improved a great deal over the past few years. Rivals like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace all now offer many of these SEO tools. But some still offer more options than others.

female therapist works in her at home office writing blogs after researching seo keywords that her ideal clients are looking for. She learns tips from members of the Simplified SEO consulting staffMake Your Private Practice Website A Custom Creation

Having the control to make your site in our own way is another important thing to keep in mind when asking if a platform is good for SEO. It’s great that users have access to basic SEO tools on most platforms. But in a competitive market, how can you stand out from others? The answer to this comes through customizing your site with additional integrations or plugins. Having access to these additional tools allows you to focus on improving more specific aspects of SEO that competitors may not have access to. As a result, you can help your site rank higher in Google by optimizing these elements. When it comes to options for affecting your site’s SEO, more is better.

Your Platform and You

Last but certainly not least, it is important to understand how the platform gels with you and your unique brand. Making your site on a platform that feels clunky or unintuitive can make finding the right elements difficult at times, among other issues.

When exploring a website platform, ask yourself:

  • Does the platform truly speak to who you are, and your practice?
  • Are there enough design options to express the brand you want for your practice?
  • Does your site/design speak to your ideal client?
  • Does the platform work well with google?
  • Will using a design/theme negatively affect the loading speed of a page?

If a platform can’t deliver on what you need in terms of SEO, that’s one thing. But, not having access to the tools you need to edit your site’s design elements is a whole other thing! If a platform doesn’t have the tools you need to design your site to the degree you want, it may be best to look at another platform. Or, might want to delve even deeper into what the platform offers.

Let’s Take WordPress for Example

WordPress allows users to create wonderful websites with their base page editor. But they also offer countless themes and builders that help you structure your site to your liking. Having these options are great for SEO. It allows you to build your site in a way that makes sense to you, while also allowing you to maintain a structure that can highlight important pages by including internal and external links when appropriate.

Our Choice for Best Website Platform Goes Too…Tablet with the word "SEO" and some icons on it laying on a desk. A calming photo illustrating how Simplified SEO Consulting breaks down the concept of search engine optimization and makes it understandable for any small business owner.

WordPress.org. (.com is different!) It offers so many tools. It’s easy to learn how to use and allows you to add countless themes, builders, and plugins to make your site just how you want it. Our team has also found that Square Space consistently maintains good rankings in Google’s search results as well. The platform has a suite of SEO tools, extensions, and plugins to customize your site, so they come in at a close second!

When we do work on other platforms, it can be difficult to achieve the same level of results that we might get on a WordPress site. Factors such as the ones mentioned above can cause many small or significant issues at different points throughout the site. However, we have consistently received great results when working on the WordPress platform.

Begin Optimizing Your Website With Simplified SEO Consulting

Our trained SEO specialists have a lot of experience with WordPress. We can support you in improving the SEO of your site. We feel strongly about providing the best service possible. If you want to rank higher on Google, follow the simple steps below to get started:

  1. Book a free consultation,
  2. Speak to one of our SEO specialists
  3. Start ranking better on Google!

Other SEO Services offered by Simplified SEO Consulting

Simplified SEO Consulting offers a variety of SEO services designed to meet your needs. We offer a variety of SEO services including DIY Online SEO Courses, a Done With You 12-week SEO intensive program, and Done For You SEO services. For more information, feel free to visit our blog!

About the Author

Sterling Humburg-Cage is a member of the 2020 graduating class from the University of Missouri. He is intent on using his B.A. in Psychology to help provide the best results as an SEO specialist.  Sterling prides himself on helping alumni problems solve difficult SEO issues.  He’s great at giving clients multiple options about how to approach a situation and responding quickly to client concerns.  Since he started, Sterling has met frequently with our alumni and provided them extra problem-solving support often going the extra mile to do outside research and make sure alumni have everything they need to continue ranking well!