What it tells you
- How many people visit and whether that is growing.
- Where they come from: Google search, Google Ads, social media, other websites, direct. This is how you learn which marketing is worth paying for.
- Which pages they use and which they leave from.
- Conversions: form submissions, phone taps, bookings, purchases, once you set those up as events. This is the number that matters.
- Devices and locations, which tells you how much mobile matters and whether your location pages reach the right towns.
Analytics versus Search Console
Google Search Console is a separate free tool that shows how your site appears in Google search: which searches show it, at what position, how often it is clicked, and any indexing or technical problems. Analytics shows what happens after the click. You want both, and they take an hour to set up together. Search Console is the first place to look for why a website is not showing up on Google.
Privacy, consent and alternatives
Analytics uses cookies and sends visitor data to Google, so your site needs a privacy policy that says so, and visitors in places with consent laws (the EU and UK, and Quebec under Law 25) should be asked before it runs. Privacy-focused alternatives such as Plausible, Fathom and Matomo collect less, cost a little, and avoid most consent requirements; they are a good fit for businesses that only need the basic numbers. Whatever you choose, set it up before launch so you have a baseline, and keep the account in your own name.