Launch a Landing Page and Track Visitors

Build a live landing page and connect Google Analytics to track visitors.

Introduction

30 Second Summary

Every website you visit is being measured. Someone knows how long you stayed, what you clicked, and whether you left after three seconds.

In this project, you will build a live landing page for a fictional tech startup and connect it to Google Analytics 4 to track real visitors in real time.

What You'll Build

You will share your published page link with a friend, watch them appear on your real-time analytics dashboard, and then read the report that tells you exactly where they came from and how long they stayed.

By the end of this project, you'll have:

A live landing page published to the internet that you can share with anyone and watch them arrive in your dashboard.
Real-time proof that analytics is working: visit your page and watch yourself appear as an active user in the Google Analytics dashboard.
The ability to read an analytics report and explain what "users," "sessions," and "engagement rate" mean for business decisions.
An understanding of where your traffic comes from and why that matters for marketing decisions.
Secret Mission: Create a trackable link with UTM parameters to prove which sharing channel drives the most traffic.

Are there any prerequisites?

All you need is a Google account (Gmail). Google Sites and Google Analytics 4 are both completely free to use. No coding or prior marketing experience is required.

Before We Start

Before we dive in, let's lock in what you're about to build and why it matters for your future business.

Set Up Google Analytics 4

Before you can measure how people interact with your page, you need the measurement tool in place. Google Analytics is the industry standard used by virtually every website on the internet.

Setting it up first means your landing page can start tracking visitors from the moment it goes live. In this step, you will create your analytics account and grab the unique ID that connects it to your page.

In this step, get ready to:

Create a Google Analytics account.
Set up a GA4 property with a web data stream.
Copy and save your Measurement ID for later.

Create a Google Analytics account

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the current version of Google's free analytics platform. Every new analytics property you create today is a GA4 property.

Open your browser and go to analytics.google.com.
Sign in with your Google account.
Click Start measuring to begin the account setup wizard.
In the Account name field, enter My Marketing Projects.
Leave the default data-sharing settings as they are.
Click Next.

What is a Google Analytics account?

An account is a container that holds one or more properties. Think of it like a folder for all the websites or apps you want to track. You only need one account for all your marketing projects.

Create a GA4 property and data stream

A property represents a single website or app you want to measure. A data stream is the pipeline that sends visitor data from your site into the property.

In the Property name field, enter FocusFlow Landing Page.
Select your reporting time zone and currency from the dropdowns.
Click Next.
Select Technology as your industry category.
Select Small as your business size.
Click Next.
Select Generate more leads as your business objective.
Click Create.
Accept the Terms of Service when prompted.

After accepting the terms, Google Analytics prompts you to set up a data stream. This is where you tell Analytics what kind of data source to listen to.

Click Web as your platform.
In the Website URL field, enter example.com as a placeholder. You will update this with your real URL after building your landing page.
In the Stream name field, enter FocusFlow Web Stream.
Leave Enhanced Measurement enabled (the toggle should already be on).
Click Create stream.

What is Enhanced Measurement?

Enhanced Measurement automatically tracks common visitor actions like page views, scrolling, outbound clicks, and file downloads. You do not need to write any code for these. GA4 handles them out of the box.

Copy your Measurement ID

After creating the stream, Google Analytics takes you to the stream details page. Your Measurement ID is displayed near the top.

Locate the Measurement ID on this page. It starts with G- followed by a string of characters (for example, G-ABC123XYZ).
Click the copy icon next to the ID to copy it to your clipboard.
Paste it into a note or text file where you can easily find it. You will need this ID in Step 3 to connect analytics to your landing page.

What is a Measurement ID?

Your Measurement ID is the unique code that links your website to this specific GA4 property. When you add it to your site, every visitor's actions flow into your analytics dashboard automatically.

What do you expect to see if you navigate to Admin and look for your data stream?

In the left sidebar, click Admin (the gear icon near the bottom).
Under Data collection and modification, click Data Streams.
Confirm you see your FocusFlow Web Stream listed with a Measurement ID starting with G-.

Don't see your data stream listed?

Make sure you are viewing the correct property. Check the property selector at the top of the Admin page and confirm it says FocusFlow Landing Page. If you see a different property name, click the selector and switch to the correct one.

Help me find my data stream

Your analytics tool is ready and waiting for data. Next up, you will build the landing page that feeds it.

Build and Publish Your Landing Page

Your analytics property is set up and ready to collect data. But right now, there is nothing to measure.

A landing page is the first touchpoint between your business and a potential customer. In this step, you will build and publish one using Google Sites, giving you a live URL that anyone on the internet can visit.

In this step, get ready to:

Create a new Google Site and set up your page header.
Add marketing content including a features section and call-to-action button.
Publish your landing page live on the internet.

Create your Google Site

Open a new browser tab and go to sites.google.com.
Under "Start a new site" at the top of the page, click Blank to create an empty site.
Click the Untitled Site text in the top-left corner of the editor.
Type FocusFlow and press Enter.
In the main header area of the page, click the default heading text to select it.
Replace it with: Stay Focused. Ship Faster.
Click below the heading to add a subtitle text field.
Type: The productivity app that blocks distractions and tracks your deep work hours.

You should now see your site header with the headline and subheading displayed in the editor.

What is a landing page?

A landing page is a single-purpose web page designed to convert visitors into leads or customers. Unlike a full website with many pages and navigation, a landing page focuses on one message and one action you want the visitor to take.

Add your page content

Your header grabs attention, but visitors need to see why your product matters. Now you will add a features section and a button that tells visitors what to do next.

Click below the header section to place your cursor in a new content area.
In the right panel, click Insert, then click Text box.
In the text box that appears, type the section heading: Why FocusFlow?
Press Enter and add these three lines on separate lines beneath the heading:

Block distracting websites with one click
Track your deep work streaks automatically
Weekly reports show your productivity trends

Below the text box, click Insert in the right panel, then click Button.
In the button name field, type: Join the Waitlist
In the URL field, paste: #
Click Insert to add the button to your page.

Your editor now shows the full page: a headline, subheading, features section, and a button.

What is a call-to-action?

A call-to-action (CTA) is the specific action you want a visitor to take on your page. It is usually a button or link with clear, action-oriented text like "Join the Waitlist" or "Get Started."

Every effective landing page has exactly one primary CTA. This focus prevents decision paralysis and makes it easy to measure whether your page is working.

Publish your site

Your page looks great in the editor, but nobody else can see it yet. Publishing makes it live on the internet with a real URL.

Click the Publish button in the top-right corner of the editor.
In the web address field, type: focusflow-landing
Click Publish to confirm.

What happens when you publish?

Google Sites creates a live URL at sites.google.com/view/focusflow-landing (or whatever web address you chose). Anyone with this link can now view your page. No hosting setup or domain purchase required.

Before you open your published page, what do you expect to see when you visit the URL?

Click the published URL link that Google Sites displays after publishing to open your live page in a new tab.

Your landing page loads showing your headline, features section, and the "Join the Waitlist" button. This page is now live on the internet.

Page not loading or showing old content?

If the URL shows an error, double-check the web address you entered during publishing. It must be lowercase with no spaces.
If you see the page but your latest edits are missing, go back to the editor and click Publish again. Edits only go live after you publish.
If the web address was already taken, go back to the editor, click the dropdown arrow next to Publish, select Publish settings, and choose a different web address.

Still stuck? Help me troubleshoot my Google Sites publishing issue.

You now have a live landing page on the internet that anyone can visit. Next up, you will connect Google Analytics so you can see exactly who visits this page and what they do on it.

Connect Analytics and See Your First Visitor

Your landing page is live on the internet and ready for visitors. But right now, you are completely blind to what happens when someone arrives.

Did anyone visit? Did they read your content or bounce immediately? Did they click your call-to-action? You have no way to know. Connecting Google Analytics gives you eyes on your page for the first time.

In this step, get ready to:

Add your Measurement ID to Google Sites and republish your page.
Verify analytics is tracking by seeing yourself appear in the Realtime report.

Add your Measurement ID to Google Sites

Your Measurement ID is the bridge between your landing page and Google Analytics. Once you paste it into your site's settings, every visitor's action starts flowing into your analytics dashboard.

Return to your Google Sites editor at sites.google.com and click your FocusFlow site to open the editor.
Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right area of the editor.
In the Settings window, click Analytics in the left menu.
Paste your Measurement ID (the G-XXXXXXXXXX code you saved in Step 1) into the Analytics Property ID field.
Close the Settings window.
Click Publish in the top-right corner to push the update live.

Why do I need to publish again?

Google Sites only applies changes to the live version of your site when you click Publish. Until you publish, your analytics connection only exists in the editor draft. Visitors to your live page would not be tracked.

Not sure where to find your Measurement ID?

If you lost the ID you saved earlier, switch back to Google Analytics. Go to Admin (gear icon at the bottom-left), click Data Streams under Data collection and modification, then click your stream. The Measurement ID is shown under Stream Details.

help me find my Measurement ID in Google Analytics

Verify tracking is working

The Realtime report in Google Analytics updates within seconds. You can confirm the connection is working by visiting your own page and watching yourself appear as an active user.

Switch back to Google Analytics in a separate browser tab (analytics.google.com).
In the left sidebar, click Reports.
Click Realtime.

Before you visit your landing page, what do you think the Realtime report will show right now?

Open your published landing page in another browser tab by going to sites.google.com/view/focusflow-landing (or whatever URL you chose when publishing).
Browse the page for a few seconds. Scroll down to your features section and back up.
Switch back to the Google Analytics tab with the Realtime report.

Within 30 seconds, you should see "1" under Users in last 30 minutes. That is you. Google Analytics is now tracking your page.

What does the Realtime report show?

The Realtime report displays activity happening on your site right now. It shows how many users are active in the last 5 minutes and last 30 minutes.

This is different from standard reports, which show patterns over time. Realtime is your instant proof that the connection works.

Not seeing the "1" appear?

If the Realtime report still shows 0 users after 30 seconds, check these common causes:

Make sure you clicked Publish after adding the Measurement ID. Changes only go live after publishing.
Check that you pasted the full Measurement ID starting with G- into the correct field.
Disable any ad blocker or privacy browser extensions, then reload your landing page. These extensions can block analytics tracking requests.
Try opening your landing page in an incognito or private window without extensions enabled.

my Realtime report shows 0 users even after visiting my page

Your page now has eyes. Every visitor who arrives gets tracked automatically. Next up, you will drive some real traffic and learn what happens when you open the full analytics reports for the first time.

Drive Traffic and Hit the Reporting Wall

Your analytics connection is confirmed. You watched yourself appear in the Realtime report the moment you visited your page.

Realtime only shows what is happening right now. The standard reports are where the real power of Google Analytics lives, capturing patterns over days, weeks, and months.

In this step, get ready to:

Generate real traffic from multiple users and devices.
Open the standard reports and find your landing page data.
Understand why the data looks sparse with only a few visits.

Generate some real traffic

Analytics needs real data from multiple sources to be useful. Right now your page only has your own test visits from a single device.

Share your published landing page URL with at least one friend or family member. Ask them to visit it and spend a few seconds browsing.
Visit your own page from your phone using cellular data (not WiFi). This creates a second "user" from a different device and network.
On one of your visits, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page.
On a different visit, leave the page within a few seconds without scrolling.

Why vary your browsing behavior?

Different behaviors create different data points in your reports. A visitor who scrolls to the bottom has higher engagement time than one who leaves immediately.

This variation helps you see how Analytics distinguishes engaged visitors from quick drop-offs when you read reports later.

Return to the Realtime report in Google Analytics.

As your friend visits or as you browse from your phone, the active user count increases within seconds. This confirms your new traffic is being recorded.

Open the standard reports

The Realtime report is a live feed that resets to zero when nobody is on the page. Standard reports aggregate your data into permanent summaries that are far more useful for making decisions.

In Google Analytics, click Reports in the left sidebar.

You'll see multiple report categories. Unlike the simple Realtime view, these reports contain dozens of metrics and dimensions.

Before you navigate further, predict: will your landing page data look as simple as the Realtime view, or more complex?

Click Engagement in the left sidebar.
Click Pages and screens.
Find your landing page URL listed in the table.

Your landing page appears in the table with metrics for Views, Users, and Average engagement time. The numbers are small, and that's exactly the point.

Don't see your landing page listed?

Standard reports can take up to 24 hours to display new data after connecting Analytics to Google Sites. If your page is not listed yet, wait a few hours and check again.

Confirm your Realtime report still shows active users when you visit the page. If Realtime works, your data will appear in standard reports soon.

Why isn't my landing page showing up in the Pages and screens report?

Understand why this data looks sparse

With only a handful of visits, your numbers are small and patterns are not visible yet. This is completely normal.

What is Enhanced Measurement tracking for you?

Google Analytics automatically tracks page views, scroll depth, and time on page through Enhanced Measurement. You did not configure any of these manually.

The data is already flowing in the background. Understanding what these numbers mean for your business is the real skill, which you'll build in the next step.

The key takeaway: analytics becomes powerful with more traffic over time. A few visits give you small numbers. Hundreds of visits reveal real patterns you can act on.

You've hit the reporting wall. Raw numbers stare back at you, but they don't tell a story yet. In the next step, you'll learn to read these reports like a marketer and turn data into decisions.

Read Reports Like a Marketer

Your landing page has been collecting data from every visitor who shows up. But raw numbers on a screen mean nothing without interpretation.

"47 page views" tells you nothing until you know how many of those visitors actually engaged, where they came from, and whether they clicked your call-to-action. In this step, you'll learn to turn data into decisions. This is the core skill that separates marketers from guessers.

In this step, get ready to:

Read the Acquisition report to see where your visitors come from.
Read the Engagement report to understand how visitors interact with your page.
Form your first marketing insight using the Build > Measure > Learn > Improve cycle.

Read the Acquisition report

The first question every marketer asks is: where are my visitors coming from? The Traffic acquisition report in Google Analytics answers this question with hard data.

In the left sidebar of Google Analytics, click Acquisition.
Click Traffic acquisition.
Look at the Session default channel group column in the table.

You should see at least one channel group listed. Most likely you'll see Direct (people who typed your URL or clicked your link directly). You might also see Referral if someone shared your page on a platform that links to it.

What do these channel groups mean?

Each row in the report represents a different way visitors found your page. "Direct" means someone typed your URL, used a bookmark, or clicked an untagged link. "Organic Search" would appear if someone found you through Google Search.

This is how real marketing teams know which channels are working. If you run ads on Google, you would see "Paid Search" here. If you post on social media, you would see "Organic Social."

Don't see any data in this report?

Standard reports can take up to 24 hours to display data after connecting Google Analytics to Google Sites. If the report is empty, wait a few hours and check again. Make sure you generated traffic in the previous step by visiting your page from at least two devices.

help me understand why my Google Analytics reports are empty

Read the Engagement report

Now you know where visitors come from. The next question is: what did they actually do on your page? The Engagement overview answers this.

In the left sidebar, click Engagement.
Click Engagement overview.
Find the Average engagement time metric on the page.
Locate Event count to see the events that fired on your page (like page_view, scroll, and click).

These events are tracked automatically by Enhanced Measurement, which you enabled when creating your data stream. You did not need to configure them manually.

What do these engagement metrics mean?

Average engagement time measures how long people actively interact with your page. Longer is better. If someone visited for 2 seconds versus 45 seconds, the 45-second visitor was actually reading your content.

Engaged sessions per user tells you how many meaningful visits each person makes. Events show the specific actions that happened, like page views, scrolls, and clicks. Engagement time tells you whether your page is actually compelling.

Put it all together: your first marketing insight

You have two pieces of the puzzle: where visitors come from, and how long they stay. Now it's time to combine them into an actionable insight about your FocusFlow landing page.

In the left sidebar, click Engagement, then click Pages and screens.
Find your landing page row in the table.
Note the numbers in the Views, Users, and Average engagement time columns.

Before you interpret, pause and think: if you were launching FocusFlow for real, what would you change about the page based on these numbers?

How to think like a marketer

If average engagement time is very low (under 10 seconds), your headline might not be grabbing attention. If many people view the page but nobody scrolls, your above-the-fold content might be confusing.

This is the marketing funnel in action: Build > Measure > Learn > Improve. You have just completed your first full cycle. Real marketing teams repeat this loop constantly, tweaking headlines, images, and CTAs based on what the data says.

You can now answer three questions about your page by pointing to specific numbers in your Analytics dashboard: How many people visited? Where did they come from? How long did they stay on average?

Secret mission

Track Where Your Traffic Really Comes From with UTM Parameters

When you share your landing page on Twitter versus in a text message, Analytics shows both as "Direct" traffic. You cannot tell which channel actually drove the visit. In this mission, you will use UTM parameters to tag your links and prove exactly where each visitor came from.

Clean Up Your Resources

Decide whether to keep your resources running, pause them to come back later, or delete them entirely. This project runs entirely on free Google services, so there are no ongoing costs regardless of which option you choose.

Resources you used:

Google Analytics account ("My Marketing Projects") with GA4 property ("FocusFlow Landing Page") and web data stream ("FocusFlow Web Stream").
Google Site ("FocusFlow") published at sites.google.com/view/focusflow-landing.

Keep everything running

No action needed. Choose this if you want to keep practising with Google Analytics, share your landing page with more people, or experiment with new content and UTM links.

Your Google Site stays published and accessible to anyone with the link.
Google Analytics continues collecting data from any future visitors at no cost.
Both services are completely free, so nothing will be charged to you.

Pause - I'll come back to this later

Unpublish your site so it is no longer accessible to visitors, but keep your Analytics data intact for when you return.

Go to sites.google.com and open your FocusFlow site in the editor.
Click the dropdown arrow next to Publish in the top-right corner.
Click Unpublish.
Your page is no longer live, but all your content and Analytics data remain saved. You can republish at any time.

Delete - I don't want to use this again

Remove all project resources permanently. Follow each step below to fully clean up.

Delete your Google Site:
Delete your GA4 property:
Delete your Google Analytics account (optional):

That's a Wrap!

Nice work! You just built a live landing page for FocusFlow and connected Google Analytics 4 to track every visitor in real time.

You've learned how to:

Build and publish a professional landing page with a headline, value proposition, and call-to-action button that anyone on the internet can visit.
Set up Google Analytics 4 and verify it tracks visitors to your page in real time.
Read Acquisition reports (where visitors come from) and Engagement reports (what they do on your page) to turn raw numbers into marketing decisions.
Secret Mission: Created UTM-tagged links to prove exactly which sharing channel drives the most traffic, measuring marketing effectiveness at a granular level.

Ready to quiz yourself?