If you are new to creating a website or an ecommerce store, then you know there are a lot of plugins that a person needs to keep their site running smoothly. When using WordPress, plugins are your friend. They help accomplish everything you need to make your site look nice, keep it safe, take payments (if necessary), etc… One of the many addons that should be added to your list of needs, is a tool to keep track of how many visitors you get on your page. How did they get there and how long do they stay are important questions that need to be answered. Google Analytics is a free tool that can help with those questions, but there are others that will give more in-depth analysis of what is going on with your website or blog.

MonsterInsights is a great plugin for WordPress, to help you make data driven decisions about your website. A few highlights of how useful it can be:

Google Analytics: I spoke about how you can get Google Analytics, but MonsterInsights makes it super easy to integrate it into your website. With Google, you have place code in your website to get it to read your page. With Insights, all it takes is a couple of clicks to install the plugin. I will explain that further down.

As for what this Dashboard shows, you can see what your top posts and pages are, how they view your pages (like from a Desktop or Mobile device, and your top selling products. The analytics dashboard keeps you up to date on all important aspects of your page.

Woocommerce Analytics: Just as you can see who has visited your site, you can keep track of new or returning users, add-to-carts, refunds, coupon codes, and your marketing campaigns.

Affiliate Link Tracking: Are you into affiliate marketing? If you’re just getting starting with it, this could be a great source to track how many hits your links are getting. Even if you’re a veteran at it, it still is a useful tool to use when track the many links you will have. You are able to see all of your different affiliate programs in one place on the dashboard.

SEO Ranking: When a person puts in the time and energy to create a website, the purpose is to have people see it. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a way to make that happen. SEO should be at the top of every website owners list. You want to be able to use the best keywords and phrases to get your site to the top of the search engines. Better SEO, better views. MonsterInights help give you the best idea of what your SEO should be.

These are just a snapshot of the features MonsterInsights offers! Continue reading below to learn how to set it up.

How to Set Up Monsterinsights

Now that we’ve talked about some of the many benefits of MonsterInsights, lets try to set it up. I have to say, I already have a Google Analytics account to attach to this plugin. If its already there, it will make the installation process go even smoother than it will.

First step would be to add the plugin to your WordPress site.

1. Go to Plugins on the left hand side, and select Add New.

2. Next, Search for Monsterinsights on the add new page. It will usually say “Install” but I already had it, so install, then “Activate” when it lights up.

3. Once you activate, go to the left side of the WordPress screen and find “Insights”. This will show all the features you have and bring a screen up letting you know you need to connect it to Google Analytics. It will ask if you want to launch the setup wizard. This is where I say you should already have a Google Analytics account, just to make it easier on yourself.

4. You’ll see a new screen, which is pretty self explanatory. All you have to do is follow the prompts. Choose the category of what YOUR website is. Make sure to choose the best option for your site, so it can get correct readings and better data!

5. This screen lets you connect your analytics account to wordpress. You see that this says you don’t need a license and you can use the free version. The problem is, you won’t be able to utilize all of the features of the program if you don’t upgrade later on.

6. The google account you chose now needs permission to continue. Just click allow.

7. Now, it will take a few moments to set things up and finalize. Be patient!

8. This page shows what the recommended options are. You can look over them and see if everything is to your liking, if so, then continue.

9. The next page offers some add-ons that work with MonsterInsights, but again, using add-ons and other plugins, may be an additional price. However, sometimes having the best isn’t free!

10. And that’s it! You should be all set to go with your new MonsterInsights plugin.

11. This is the final step if you do choose it. You can sign up and get the Plus, Pro, and Agency Version. Of course, if you’re just starting out, the plus version may be best. Once you start making more sites, the Pro and Agency versions may be a better fit.

If you do want to upgrade from free, just go to your Insights tab on the left hand side of WordPress, and click the link that offers you to “Upgrade to PRO”. It will take you to their site where you can do just that.

I hope this has been a helpful guide about the features of MonsterInsights and how to get started using it. Using Google Analytics can be a lot to process, using MonsterInsights can help gauge all the decisions you make for your site, while laying it out for you to easily understand!

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