Receiving access to a Google Analytics account

MoreVisibility - December 10, 2010

You would think that obtaining access to a Google Analytics account would be an easy task for your account’s administrator to perform.

Well, you would be correct. It’s very easy to be granted access to a Google Analytics account! As long as you have a Gmail E-mail address and you know who your account administrator is, you should be able to have access in a matter of minutes.

Receiving access to a Google Analytics account only becomes tricky when the E-mail address is not a Gmail one. Your work E-mail address, your Yahoo account, or any other E-mail address you have will first need to be converted into a Google account before you can obtain access to a Google Analytics account.

However, there’s nothing to worry about. We’ve created the following step-by-step guides for either requesting access to a Google Analytics or assigning access to a Google Analytics account. Choose the guide that best suits your situation.

Requesting Access to a GA Account – Gmail Address

1. Track down your Google Analytics account administrator. This is probably someone in the IT / Web Development department, but it could be your marketing manager. It can also be the company that you hired to build your website or work on your SEO.
2. E-mail that person / department with your E-mail address. Ask to have the person / department notify you when they have added you, as Google will not E-mail you of this.
3. Log-in to Google Analytics at www.google.com/analytics, and enter in your E-mail address and the password that you use to access your Gmail account.
4. Enjoy, and happy analyzing!

Requesting Access to a GA Account – Non-Gmail Address

1. Go to the Google homepage and click on the “Sign in” link on the upper-right of the screen.
2. On the next screen that appears, click on “Create an account now“, which should be at the bottom-right of the screen.
3. Fill out the form that appears on the next page. Enter in your E-mail address, choose a password, and fill in some other information like your birthday and a word verification. When you’re finished, click on “I accept. Create my account” at the very bottom of the page.
4. Next, follow the on-screen instructions to verify your account. You will need to provide either a land line phone number or a mobile phone number – Google will either send you an automated voice call or a text message with an activation code. Choose your activation option and click on “Send verification code...”. Be near your land line or mobile phone for this, because Google calls the second you click on “Send” (Literally, the second you click on it).
5. Jot down the code and enter it in the text field that appears. Click on “Verify” to be taken to the last step in the Google account creation process.
6. Once your code is verified, Google will send you a verification E-mail to your inbox with a link that you need to click on before you can use your log-in. Click on that link right away.
7. Follow the four steps outlined above for requesting access with a Gmail account, and you’re all done!

Assigning Access to a GA Account (You: Account Administrator)

1. You’ll either receive an E-mail, an IM, or a phone call with someone asking you for access to the Google Analytics account. Try to evaluate who this person is: if it is the website owner or someone at the website owner’s company, you don’t hesitate to give that person access (always remember, the data is the website owner’s – NOT yours). However, if it’s someone that you don’t recognize or trust, ask for some credentials first before moving forward (you want to protect your company’s or client’s data from outside purveyors).
2. Log-in to Google Analytics using your log-in and password information. Find the Google Analytics account from the drop-down menu on the upper-right hand side of the interface.
3. Click on “User Manager” – a link on the middle-bottom of the Google Analytics Overview screen (where all of the profiles are listed).
4. Then, select either the option of entering in a new E-mail address or the option of selecting an existing E-mail address (most of the time it will be a new E-mail address).
5. Enter in the E-mail address and select the profile(s) that the person needs access to. If you think the person will need to do some technical work (Creating profiles, goals, filters, etc…), then assign that user “Administrative” access. If not, “View Reports Only” access will be just fine. Click “Save” to complete the task.
6. Be sure to E-mail or call the person back to let them know you’ve given them access – Google Analytics won’t send an E-mail alerting the requester of this new access right that you’ve granted them.