Blog

Site Kit by Google – Google’s All-in-One WordPress Plugin

What is Google Site Kit?

According to its developers, Google, Site Kit by Google  is a one-stop solution for WordPress users to use everything Google has to offer to make them successful on the web. To others, Site Kit is a brand new SEO/analytics plugin for WordPress, developed by which enables you to connect and monitor your site across Google’s online marketing services. Site Kit enables you to connect your WordPress website with these six Google services like;

  1. Search Console. With Search Console, you can monitor your site’s traffic, its performance, and indexing status.
  2. AnalyticsGoogle’s popular web analytics tool provides you with massive amounts of data about your site’s visitors, which is invaluable for marketing and optimization.
  3. AdSense. If you want to monetize your website using ads, AdSense is one of the most popular platforms you can use to insert ads.
  4. PageSpeed Insights. This tool enables you to test your website’s performance. It returns an overall score, as well as a broad range of suggestions on how to improve your desktop and mobile experiences.
  5. Tag Manager. This service enables you to add tracking pixels and snippets to your website without modifying code manually.
  6. Optimize. With Optimize, you can run in-depth A/B tests for your website. It integrates with Google Analytics to give you better insights into results.

It’s important to understand that Site Kit is not a replacement for any of the services we listed above. Rather, it simplifies the process of integrating them with WordPress. For example, if you haven’t already manually added Google Analytics to your site, Site Kit can help you add the tracking code.

Once your services are integrated, Site Kit also enables you to access key metrics from inside your WordPress dashboard. With Google Analytics, for example, you can view your overall traffic, impressions, clicks, and goals.

You don’t need a plugin to help you connect any of those services with your WordPress website, but Site Kit makes the process a lot easier. All you have to do in most cases is click some buttons to provide a few authorizations.

How to use Google Site Kit in Your WordPress Site.

Step 1: Install and activate Google Site Kit

Installing Site Kit is as simple as installing the other WordPress plugins. Just install directly from the dashboard or download from the WordPress depository and then upload to your dashboard. Click on the Start Setup button to continue.

Step 2: Verify ownership of your website and connect Search Console

After you start the setup wizard, Site Kit will ask you to sign in using your Google account to verify ownership of your WordPress website. You will then need to authorize a handful of permissions to let Site Kit access key data about your website and your Google account. Click on Allow for each prompt to continue.

If you’ve already connected your WordPress site to Search Console, at this point Google Site Kit will automatically integrate it. Otherwise, you’ll be prompted to set it up.

Step 3: Integrating your preferred Google services.

Google Site Kit requires you to integrate Search Console with WordPress, but once you’ve completed the setup wizard you can customize which services you want to add. Right away the plugin provides links to connect AdSense, Analytics, and PageSpeed Insights.

 

Step 4: View your dashboard and reports.

Google Site Kit displays data in a few different ways. First, you can see an overview of all your services from Site Kit > Dashboard. For services such as Search Console and Google Analytics, Site Kit has to collect data for a while before it shows you any numbers.

 

Is Google Site Kit worth it for your website?

Overall, there aren’t many bad things to say about using Google Site Kit for WordPress. At most, it might be a bit overkill if you only plan on connecting one Google service. However, if you plan to take advantage of several of them, Site Kit is a big timesaver. Plus, integration couldn’t be easier. In the case of PageSpeed Insights, for example, it only takes a single click.

Another positive is that Site Kit doesn’t pressure you to connect more services at any point. If you only want to use Search Console, for example, you can do that without pesky popups in your dashboard recommending Analytics.

Additionally, Site Kit shouldn’t slow your loading times – it doesn’t add any new content to the front-end of your site beyond the basic scripts needed to make the service function.

In Conclusion

If you’re looking to integrate webmaster services with your website, Google Site Kit for WordPress simplifies the process dramatically. During our review, we managed to connect all the tools we wanted within minutes using simple wizards.

Overally, Site Kit can be a valuable addition to your WordPress plugin lineup, especially if you use multiple services. That said, it doesn’t replace the need to visit each the actual website for each service from time to time. For example, while you can get a peek at your most important Google Analytics metrics from your WordPress dashboard, you’ll still need to use the Google Analytics dashboard to access all the information.