Data is better when you share it with friends.
Sharing Google Analytics access is something that consenting marketers do everyday. But it needs to be done responsibly. Grant too much access and you add risk, too little and you add work later on.
It’s about trust.
Here’s a quick guide showing how to share access to your Google Analytics, with step-by-step instructions for various levels and permissions.
You own your Google Analytics, not your agency, not your web developer. It’s your website, your visitors and your data. No one should limit your access or tell you it’s not yours.
Even if someone set it up for you, you should have total access. You should have the ability to add or remove anyone’s access anytime. Think of it as the master key.
The ultimate access for Google Analytics is “Manage Users” permission at the account level.
Here’s how to make sure that your key is the master:
We recommend the login for this master key account is also used for your other big Google accounts:
This will make it easier for you to jump around without having to switch between accounts. You navigate directly to the other tools within the Google Marketing Platform from within Google Analytics.
Once you’ve confirmed that you’re in control, you can add, edit and delete access to anyone. Before we get to those instructions, let’s review the levels of access and types of permissions.
As we saw, the admin section has three columns: Accounts, Properties and Views. Each has its own button for “User Management.”
The column on the left is Accounts, but there is usually just one. This is grandpa. It’s the big one. Grant this level of access only for trusted partners, because…
Access granted to the account automatically grants access to all properties and views.
The column in the center is Properties. Usually a property is a website or a mobile app. For most businesses, there’s just one, the company website. This level of access is appropriate for any digital marketing partner.
Access granted to a property automatically grants access to all the views for that property.
There should be at least two views for any property. One view with filters and another with the raw, unfiltered data. Because data can never be changed once it enters Analytics, a view of unfiltered view is good to have, just in case someone screws up your filters.
Giving someone access to just one view is the most restrictive, granted to someone you don’t fully trust with your data.
Access granted to a specific view has no access to other views.
When you look at user access to a view, you can see if that access was “inherited” from the property or account level. When you give access to grandpa, they inherit access to the parents and all the kids.
Within each level in this hierarchy, you may grant users four types of permissions.
So before we share Google Analytics access, here’s a quick guide with suggestions for levels and permissions, from the highest level of trust to the lowest…
For the step-by-step instructions below, we’ll use the highest level but use your judgment.
Here is how to share your Google Analytics with anyone, provided they have an email address registered as a Google Account (no, you do not need to use a Gmail account to access Google Analytics).
That’s it. If you left the “notify new users by email” box checked, then they’ll get an email letting them know they can get in. Next time they log into Google Analytics, they’ll be able to see your Google Analytics account in their account list.
See anyone in there who doesn’t need access? Remove them. Don’t even hesitate. If they need access, they’ll be in touch and you can add them again in minutes.
It’s likely that there are a ton of old users in your account. Take a look and clean it up!
Related: How to Set Up Google Analytics in 52 Clicks (video)
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Analytics are definitely a huge aspect when running a successful website. By seeing your impressions, CTR, etc, you can make the correct changes you need to match your goal. I have been doing some analytics on my website http://stephenmdmarketing.me . Im hoping I can boost my rank with it.
I learn so much from you as well! Thank you so much for sharing your helpful information.