How to Share Access to Google Analytics

Google Analytics (GA) is the perfect tool to monitor the success of your brand’s online presence and campaigns. The platform provides valuable data such as your website traffic, audience engagement, and conversions.
GA is a very useful platform in a brand’s marketing arsenal. It makes data collection and analysis for your website and app a breeze. Every business that is determined to succeed should have a Google Analytics account.

Why Might You Need to Share GA Access?

Once you create an account on Google Analytics, only you have access to it. Unlike on other analytics platforms, other users cannot request access to your account. It is solely the duty of the creator, a.k.a. the administrator, to add users to the account.

Any business, even a small startup, isn’t run by a single person. There would always be another individual or team who is tasked to handle the marketing side of the business. This is the main reason why you, as a business owner, should know how to share GA access to your account.

Giving GA access to your marketing consultant or analytics agency will enable them to do their job with ease. They will have access to the data you share with them. So they can, in turn, provide you with useful insights based on these data to improve your future strategies.

What Levels of Access Does GA Have?

It is important to be aware of the different levels of access that are available on Google Analytics. Each level also has restrictions that you can manage for every user. This will help you decide what type of access is needed and should be accessible to each person.

The Accounts

The account-level access is the highest level in the hierarchy. A user with this power can see everything in the account and make changes to it. Account access lets the user manage other users and the websites in the account. You control what other people have access to.
This access is usually just awarded to other administrators. But you can also grant this to your hired consultant or agency if you need help setting up websites on your account.

The Properties

The property-level access would be the one you give to other business stakeholders and third-party agencies. This will let them manage integrations and tracking on the account. This is the only access needed for setting up Google Ads and monitoring data and traffic on your websites and apps.In general, GA4 offers more data that users can access at the property level. Some specific differences between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4 are the following.
Universal Analytics: Web and app data are viewed separately, collects IP addresses
GA4: Web and app data are combined, no IP addresses stored, quicker deletion of user data, more lookback window options

The Views

The view-level access is the most restricted one in the hierarchy. It only allows the user to see specific data that you provide. Multiple views can be created and shared with people who have this access.
Individuals with this type of access cannot change or edit anything on the account. This is best for people who only need to view and analyze data presented to them.

What Roles Can You Assign to the User?

Giving full access to all your company’s data is risky. With GA, you can protect your account and data by assigning users a certain role and limiting their access to only the information they need to perform their duties.
Currently, you can assign a user any of these roles. Each role has a different level of access. Understand each of them, so you can decide which position should be awarded to each person.

Administrator

The Administrator is the highest role that a person can have on Google Analytics. He/She has full control of the account’s Analytics.
The Admin can link websites to the GA account. These will then be monitored for data collection.
He/She has the power to manage users. They can add or delete users, assign a role to users, or place data restrictions to limit the info they can see.
The Admin also has the ability to grant full permissions to any user, even to themselves. So, be cautious of assigning users the Admin role.
An Admin also has the permissions of an Editor.

Editor

An Editor controls the settings of the account at the property level.
He/She can add third-party services to the account to help integrate services and data. This is the perfect role for agencies that help boost your brand. It gives them enough data and control over the account to do their job.
The Editor does not have the power to manage users’ roles and permissions.
An Editor has the permissions of an Analyst.

Marketer

The Marketer handles the data collection and collation. He/She can create, delete, or edit audiences, conversions, events, attribution models, and lookback windows.
Has the same permissions granted to the Analyst role.

Analyst

The Analyst has the ability to create, delete, and edit some property assets. Can also collaborate on assets shared with them.
Has the same permissions as a Viewer.

Viewer

A Viewer can see data and assets shared with them.
He/She can control which data to show in reports to paint a clearer picture of the situation. But the user cannot edit any of the data or settings.
He/She cannot collaborate on shared assets.

None

The user is added to the list of members on the account. However, he/she does not have a role in the current resource.

These are the steps you can follow to assign a role to a user. After sharing access with a person, you can edit this setting in the future.

How to Share Access to Universal Analytics

On a web browser, sign in to Google Analytics.
Choose the account or site you want to share access to.
Click “Admin” located at the bottom left of the screen. This will take you to the administrative features of the platform.
Once on the Account, Property, and View page, click “Property Access Management” under the Property column. This is typically the required level for most consultants and agencies.
In the Property Permissions list, click the “+” plus icon.
Then choose “Add users” from the drop-down menu. Property Access Management Universal AnalyticsThen choose “Add users” from the drop-down menu.
Enter the Gmail address of the user you want to share access to. Only Google accounts can be used to access Google Analytics.
You can opt to send a message to the user by checking the box beside “Notify new users by email.” This will let them know that they already have access to your GA account.
Select the role you want to assign to the user. Select the role you want to assign to the user
Click the “Add” button in the top right corner of the page.

Note: Universal Analytics will no longer process new hits starting July 1, 2023. Make sure that you migrate to Google Analytics 4 before that time to continue using the service.

How to Share Access to GA4

Google Analytics 4 is the improved tool that Google has to offer. You can easily add new users and assign them a role by following these instructions.

Using a web browser, sign in to your Google Analytics account.
Click “Admin” in the lower left corner of the page.
On the Admin page, click “Property Access Management” under the Property column.
On the Property access management window, click the “+” plus button.
From the drop-down, click “Add users.”
Type the email address of the user you want to give access to. Make sure it’s a Google email account, otherwise, it will not work.
Check the box beside “Notify new users by email” to let the person know they are given access to your GA account.
Choose one role on the list you want to give to the person.
When you’re done filling out the form, click the “Add” button in the top right corner of the page.

As an administrator, you can edit permissions or change user roles at any time. Simply click Access Management under either the Account, Property, or View column. Search the name of the person, then click their username. Choose to add or remove permissions for each user, then click the Save button to execute the changes.

Final Thoughts

The world of business is competitive. As a business owner, it is imperative to employ all tools and means necessary to thrive in the race.

One such tool at your disposal is Google Analytics. It is an efficient data collection platform that helps monitor your brand’s performance. You can easily add consultants or a marketing team to your GA account to help you manage that side of your business.

Another way for your brand to grow is to increase your online presence. Boost your brand in search rankings by partnering with Visible Webs, a successful SEO and PPC agency with over ten years of experience in the industry. Contact our experts to know how we can assist your brand.

With the combination of strong SEO marketing campaigns and insightful analytics tools, your business is certainly geared for success.