You have a website but you do not know if it is working. You get no calls, you do not know how many visits you have or where they come from. Relax: with 5 basic metrics and 10 minutes a week you can know exactly what is happening and what to improve. In this guide we explain how to set up Google Analytics 4 without jargon and which numbers to really look at to make decisions that generate more clients.
The 5 metrics every freelancer should watch
Forget about 90% of the data Google Analytics shows. For your business only 5 figures matter: monthly visits, traffic sources, bounce rate, conversions and the keywords people find you with. With these 5 metrics reviewed once a week you will know if your website generates business or if it needs adjustments. The rest are distractions that will not help you make decisions.
Visits: how many people reach your website
The most basic metric and the first one you should look at. If your website has fewer than 50 visits a month, you have a visibility problem: nobody finds you on Google. If you have between 100 and 500 monthly visits, you are in the normal range for a local freelancer. If you exceed 1,000 monthly visits without paid campaigns, your SEO is working well. What matters is not the absolute number, but the trend: does it rise every month or stagnate?
Traffic sources: where your visitors come from
Google Analytics tells you exactly where your visits arrive from: Google organic search, social media, direct links, paid ads or referrals from other websites. If 80% of your visits come only from Instagram, you depend dangerously on a single source. The ideal for a freelancer is to have a balanced mix: 50% Google organic, 20% social media, 15% direct, 15% other channels. If your Google organic is below 30%, your local SEO needs work.
Bounce rate: how many leave without doing anything
The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who reach your website and leave without clicking on anything. A bounce rate above 70% indicates a problem: the website loads slowly, the content does not match what they were looking for, or the design does not build trust. A rate between 40% and 60% is normal for a local services website. Below 40% is excellent. If your bounce is very high, check the loading speed, the clarity of the main message and whether your website is really useful to those who visit it.
Conversions: how many contact you
This is the metric that really matters. How many visitors end up filling in a form, calling you or messaging you on WhatsApp? A good freelancer website converts between 2% and 5% of its visits into contacts. If you have 500 visits a month and get 10-25 contacts, you are within the normal range. If you have 500 visits and only get 1-2 contacts, something is wrong: probably a visible WhatsApp button, a simple form or a clear call to action is missing.
Google Search Console: which keywords people find you with
Google Search Console is the twin tool of Analytics, and it is completely free. It shows you exactly which keywords clients use to reach your website. If you are a plumber in Alicante and discover that people find you searching 'urgent unclogging Alicante', you know you have to create specific content on that topic. This information is worth gold: it is the client's mind revealed in real data.
How to set up Google Analytics in 10 minutes
Create a free account at analytics.google.com with your Google email. Add your website as a property. Copy the tracking code (a piece of code starting with G-) and paste it into your website (if your website is made with WebAutonomos, we set it up for you at no cost). Wait 24 hours and you will have your first data. Then set up Google Search Console the same way. Done: you can start measuring.
Measuring is not complicated if you focus on what matters. 5 metrics, 10 minutes a week, and you will know exactly if your website is generating business or if it needs adjustments. What is not measured is not improved. And what is not improved stops generating clients.