When a person visits an inn’s homepage, which pages do they read and proceed to the reservation information? Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is an access analysis tool to understand this.
The purpose is not to collect detailed numbers. It is used to make the site easier to understand and to make sure that people who are thinking of staying there don’t get lost along the way and can find the information they need on their smartphones.
This article assumes an inn without a dedicated web specialist and explains the steps in order, from account management and installation on WordPress to checking measurement and reviewing it once a month.
- What you can learn from GA4
- Differences from Search Console
- Three things to decide before installing
- Do not send personal information to GA4
- 1. Create a GA4 account and properties
- 2. Introduce Google tags to WordPress in one way
- 3. Check if measurement is possible
- Indicators to look at first
- Important actions to consider setting on your accommodation site
- How to review once a month for 30 minutes
- Copy and paste prompt when consulting AI
- Introduction/Operation Checklist
- Summary
- Reference materials
What you can learn from GA4
With basic settings, you can see trends such as:
- Number of users who visited the site
- Pages viewed and number of times
- Visit route such as search, SNS, other sites, etc.
- Device classification such as smartphones and computers
- Events such as page views and external link clicks
- Important actions you define, such as the number of times you go to the reservation page
The number of users in GA4 and the actual number of guests do not match. The same person may use multiple devices, refuse measurement, or not be recorded due to browser restrictions. It is not used to accurately track individuals, but rather as a tool to see trends across the site.
Differences from Search Console
| Tools | Main Role |
|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Check what is displayed on Google search and clicked |
| Google Analytics 4 | Check behavior after coming to the site from search, SNS, etc. |
You can use Search Console to see if the “area name + accommodation with cats” is displayed, and GA4 to see if the person has read the guest room and reservation method. When combined with Introduction to Google Search Console, you can think about before and after searching separately.
Three things to decide before installing
1. Google account that can be managed by the inn
If you make only the personal account of a production company or temporary person the administrator, you may not be able to access settings or past data after the contract ends.
- Prepare a Google account that can be continuously managed by the inn
- Maintain the inn’s account as an administrator
- Add production companies and personnel using their respective Google accounts
- Do not share passwords
- Prepare two-step authentication and recovery methods for your Google account
GA4 has the roles of administrator, editor, analyst, and viewer. There is no need to give administrator privileges to change settings to people who only view reports.
2. What do you want to improve?
If you enter without deciding your purpose, you will just be looking at the numbers. One or two is enough at first.
- Are you proceeding to the reservation method from the guest room page?
- Can you find access directions on your smartphone?
- Have you moved on from articles on how to spend time with cats to basic information about accommodations?
- Are you making reservations in-house or on a reservation site?
3. Privacy Statement
Which measurement features to use, how to notify, and how to handle consent or refusal will vary depending on the region of use, settings, advertising features, and external services. Please check the privacy policy and information on cookies, etc., and consult a specialist if necessary. Specific inventory and tests are explained in Inn Site Cookie Consent and Privacy Guide.
Do not send personal information to GA4
Google asks that you do not send personally identifiable information to Analytics. Please be especially careful on accommodation sites, as they handle names, email addresses, and phone numbers for reservations and inquiries.
Do not include the following information in the page URL, page title, event name, additional event information, or campaign URL.
- Name of guest or inquirer
- Email address
- Phone number
- Identifiers linked to individuals, such as reservation numbers and membership numbers.
- Free text entered in the form
- Accurate address and detailed location information
For example, if the URL of the reservation completion page is /thanks/?email=..., there is a risk that that URL will be sent to measurement. Before implementing GA4, make sure that no personal information is included in the URL of the reservation/inquiry completion page.
There is no need to import personal information from the reservation system or payment service management screen into GA4.First, consider whether you can fulfill your purpose by simply counting the number of times you complete a reservation.
1. Create a GA4 account and properties
Open Google Analytics with the inn’s Google account.
In GA4, information is generally managed in the following hierarchy.
Account
└── Properties
└── Web data stream
If you are running a single website at a small inn, it would be easy to understand the idea of creating a property for the inn site in the inn or business account. The time zone and currency at the time of property creation are related to later aggregation, so match them with actual sales.
Set your web data stream to your site’s official HTTPS URL and a meaningful name. Once created, you will see measurement IDs starting from G-.
2. Introduce Google tags to WordPress in one way
There are two main options for installing WordPress:
- Set the measurement ID for the theme or official collaboration function in use
- Use WordPress plugins after understanding their purpose
- Manage with Google Tag Manager
- Production company installs Google tag on theme
Google’s official guide also lists Site Kit and MonsterInsights as options for WordPress. However, the same plugin may not be optimal for all inns. Check compatibility with existing themes, permissions, update status, added features, and privacy settings.
Be careful about duplicate installations
If you set the same measurement ID to a theme, plugin, or Google Tag Manager multiple times, the same view may be recorded multiple times.
Avoid the approach of “My old production company installed tags, but I don’t understand it, so I’m going to add another plugin.”Check which method is currently used to contain tags and decide on one management method.
If you paste the code directly into the theme file, there is a possibility that it will disappear or the description may be broken by updating. If you are unable to maintain it yourself, please contact the official partner or administrator.
3. Check if measurement is possible
After installation, open your site yourself and check if the visits show up in GA4’s real-time reports. Google advises that basic data collection may take up to 30 minutes to start, and normal report processing may take up to 24 hours.
When checking, look at the following.
- Opening the correct properties
- Measurement ID matches WordPress side
- Measured not only on the top page but also on articles and guest room pages
- Tags are not set twice in two ways
- Works as expected with cookie consent selection
- I am deciding how to handle my access as an administrator.
We don’t add tags over and over again just because we don’t have any data. Check the update time, cookie settings, cache, ad block, and tag location in order.
If confirmation viewing by the host, staff, or production company has a significant impact on the numbers, please refer to How to exclude operator access from GA4 for instructions on how to test without involving guest Wi-Fi.
Indicators to look at first
GA4 has many items, but you can narrow down what the host sees first.
Users and Sessions
Users are an estimate of the number of people who have used the site, and sessions represent a series of visits. This is not the actual number of guests or guest list. Used to see trends in increase and decrease.
Pages and Screens
You can check the most viewed pages. You can check not only the top page but also the guest room, rates, access, how to spend time with cats, and how to make reservations.
A page with a low number of views does not necessarily mean it is unnecessary. We also provide necessary information for small groups just before reservations, such as “Parking” and “Cancellation Policy.”
Attract customers
Check which route they came from, such as Google search, SNS, other sites, or direct visit. Because route classification is not perfect, we cannot conclude differences between a few items, but rather read them as large trends.
Landing page
This is the page that served as the entry point for your visit. If a blog post is your entry point, make sure there is an internal link that leads to basic information about the inn and how to make a reservation.
Event
GA4 treats actions such as page views and clicks as events. Rather than creating a large number of unique events from the beginning, decide what to measure to judge.
Important actions to consider setting on your accommodation site
GA4 allows you to specify events that are important to your business as “key events.”This is similar to the concept called “conversion” in the previous explanation.
The accommodation site has the following options.
- Click the button to proceed to the reservation page
- Click on the link to make a call
- Inquiry sent completed
- Reservation completed using our own reservation system
However, “I pressed the reservation button” and “the reservation was made” are different. If you can’t measure what happens after you move to an external reservation site, you’ll only know about the click. Even when measuring reservation completion, configure the system so that the reservationer’s name and reservation number are not sent to GA4.
First, select one action that can be confirmed correctly, such as “Viewed the reservation information page” or “Proceeded to an external reservation page.”
The concept and confirmation procedure when actually setting up reservation buttons, telephone calls, and inquiries are explained in detail in How to measure reservation buttons on accommodation sites using GA4.
How to review once a month for 30 minutes
- View users and sessions from the previous month and the past 3 months
- Check the 5 most viewed landing pages
- Check if you use your smartphone a lot
- See the number of times you proceeded to the reservation information
- Proceed to reservation/access information from the entrance page or actually operate it
- Correct one page that is difficult to understand
- Record date of change, reason, and metrics observed
- Compare the next month under the same conditions
Numbers vary depending on season, closures, media coverage, events, etc. We won’t delete an article or add content that isn’t available as a search measure just because it’s gone down for a month.
Copy and paste prompt when consulting AI
You can come up with improvement plans from a CSV that narrows down the period and items, without having to hand over GA4 administrator privileges or Google account password to AI.Please first check that the exported content does not contain any personal information or non-public sales information.
Please use the summary table exported from GA4 to organize improvement suggestions for your accommodation site.
Purpose:
- Check frequently used entry pages
- Search for pages where it may be difficult to proceed to the reservation information
- Select pages to prioritize and check on your smartphone
Conditions:
- Do not attempt to identify individuals
- Do not conclude that this is the actual number of reservations made.
- Do not draw strong conclusions from a small number of cases.
- Do not change site or GA4 settings
- Show lines of evidence, possible reasons, and confirmation methods separately.
Introduction/Operation Checklist
- The inn has made a Google account that can be continuously managed as an administrator.
- Added production company and person in charge with individual account
- Minimum permissions set according to purpose
- I have confirmed the privacy policy and information on cookies, etc.
- Do not include your name, email, phone number, or reservation number in the URL or event
- Reservation/inquiry form submission details are not passed to GA4
- Unified tag installation method
- Confirmed page views in real-time report
- Checked for double counting
- The meaning of key events was recorded in the operation record.
- Record and compare one improvement once a month
Summary
GA4 is a tool that allows you to see major trends in which pages people visit your accommodation site and proceed to the reservation information page. Maintain the property name, install tags using one method, and verify their operation with real-time reports.
Most importantly, do not send personal information of guests to GA4.Rather than collecting all the information you can, choose only the measurements you need to make your site easier to understand.
Reference materials
- Google Analytics Help: Set up Analytics for your website or app
- Google Analytics Help: Troubleshoot website tagging
- Google Analytics Help: Add, edit, and delete users and user groups
- Google Analytics Help: Best practices for not submitting personally identifiable information
- Google Analytics Help: Events
- Google Analytics Help: Permissions
Note: Screen name, measurement specifications, and legally required responses are subject to change. Please check Google official information when installing, and if you are unsure about privacy measures, please consult an expert.
