The Site Kit
Only yesterday, at roughly 23:00 GMT, Google officially released a plugin for WordPress called Site Kit. Site Kit, which had been in Beta for 6 months before yesterday, enables users who have WordPress websites to install the plugin, and link their Google products to their WordPress website all in one place.
When taking on clients, Fifteen have discovered that historically, businesses have not had a one size fits all approach for the installation of their Google Analytics, Tag Manager, Search Console etc. Instead, we’ve found clients installing the code manually, using a range of plugins that have led to problems being discovered with the installation further down the line.
With the release of Google’s Site Kit, we’re instantly going to be able to offer a new approach for clients looking to ensure all of their Google products are installed simply and efficiently. Google Site Kit offers a single plugin for the installation of:
- Google Analytics
- Google Tag Manager
- Search Console
- Google AdSense
- Google Optimize
- PageSpeed Insights
The plugin is also extremely flexible; for clients who currently have the full suite of Google products installed, you’re able to connect these products to the “dashboard” without inserting the snippet to the site. This helps avoid any double tracking too!
“Matt, what is the dashboard?” I hear you ask…
The Dashboard
Beyond the technical benefits of the plugin, there are also a huge number of benefits for the client.
The “dashboard” offers top-level insights to the client as to how well their site is performing, which includes data from Google Analytics, Search Console and PageSpeed Insights.
We appreciate that not all of our client base is 100% tech-savvy (thankfully, otherwise I’d imagine a number of us would be out of the job!) so this dashboard offers them the information they’re likely to want to see regarding search queries, popular content and strongest channels. It also offers the information over the last 7, 14, 28 or 90 days for comparison.
Beyond the Dashboard
Each of Google’s insightful tools also gets its own section within the plugin:
Within each of these, the client is offered extended information about the performance of their site. From here they’re also linked directly to their Google Analytics, Search Console account etc.
Our Verdict
We’re thrilled to see that Google has finally taken the leap and released a solution that encompasses all of their technologies in one, smart WordPress plugin. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s definitely been worth the wait.
We’re excited that we can offer this plugin, and we’re integrating it into our boilerplate straight away.
On top of this, there are now even fewer excuses for agencies not to integrate transparency of performance data into their digital strategy. Providing client direct access to all of the analytics data directly in their WordPress installation means there are no logins to hide behind!
If you’d like any assistance transitioning to this new plugin, or would simply like to know more, feel free to get in touch with me ([email protected]) or the team at Fifteen Design.