SEO Basic Tasks: Let Me Look at Your Analytics

When I perform an analysis of a website, in terms of SEO, I have to take a look at the reports Google Analytics offers. Otherwise my analysis will only be a superficial one and it will offer information and suggestions without seeing the whole picture.

And here is where the problems begin. When I tell people that I have to look to their analytics they usually understand that I need their Google Account and password. And of course that they get suspicious. That is the reason for writing this article.

When an SEO needs access to your Google Analytics you just have to create another user and grant permissions to only see the reports. In time, if you begin to trust that person you may grant him administrator rights, or you can continue to act on his instructions.

There are few simple steps that you need to take in order to add a user:

1. Access your Google Analytics profile and click User Management (at the bottom of the page)
2. Then, click Add User
3. Enter the e-mail address of the SEO person (must be a Google account), specify his rights (View Reports Only) and select the Website Profile to which you want to grant access
4. Click Save Changes

So, as you see:

1. It’s simple
2. It’s completely safe
3. You don’t have to give the SEO person your Google Account and password
4. The right of just Viewing the Reports means that no modifications are allowed
5. After the job is done you can remove the user

What do you think?

Let me know if you knew about this, or if at some point someone requested access to your Google Analytics and you didn’t knew how to do it in a safe way. Share your experience in comments.