How to Use Google Analytics on Tumblr

Putting Google Analytics on your Tumblr might sound tricky because Tumblr doesn’t offer a simple, one-click integration for the new Google Analytics 4. Don't worry, it’s still entirely possible and only takes a few minutes. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, from creating a Google Analytics property to adding the tracking code to your Tumblr theme.

Why Bother With Google Analytics on Your Tumblr Blog?

Tumblr has its own analytics dashboard, but it’s pretty basic. It tells you your post count, likes, reblogs, and a rough idea of your traffic. While that's a nice start, it barely scratches the surface of what you can learn about your audience and content.

By connecting Google Analytics, you unlock a much deeper level of insight that can help you grow your blog more effectively. Here’s what you gain:

Understand Your Audience in Detail: Go beyond simple follower counts. See where your visitors are from (country, city), their age and gender demographics, the technology they use (mobile vs. desktop), and even their interests. This helps you create content that truly connects with the people reading your blog.
Pinpoint Your Best Content: Learn which specific posts, tags, or topics attract the most traffic. You can see which pages people spend the most time on, helping you identify what’s truly captivating your audience so you can create more of it.
Track Your Traffic Sources: Discover how people find your Tumblr. Are they coming from Google search, a link on Twitter, an Instagram bio, or another blog? Understanding your top traffic drivers shows you which marketing channels are working and where to focus your promotional efforts.
Measure True Engagement: See how long people stay on your blog and what they interact with. Google Analytics tracks user flows, helping you understand the path visitors take from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

Getting Started: What You’ll Need

There aren't many requirements for this setup, which is great news. Before you begin, just make sure you have these two things ready:

A Tumblr blog that you have ownership of.
A Google Account (like your Gmail). If you don’t have one, you can create one for free.

That's it. You'll be ready to create your Google Analytics property and find the code you need to add to your blog.

Step 1: Create a Google Analytics 4 Property for Your Blog

First things first, you need to create a dedicated property for your Tumblr blog within your Google Analytics account. This is where all the data from your blog will be collected and analyzed.

Log into the Google Analytics website with your Google account.
Once you're in, click on the gear icon labeled "Admin" in the bottom-left corner.
In the "Property" column (the middle one), click the blue button that says "+ Create Property".
Give your property a name. Something simple like "My Tumblr Blog Analytics" works perfectly. Select your reporting time zone and currency, then click "Next."
Google will ask for some optional business details. You can just select "Other" for business category and then click "Create."

And with that, you have a brand-new GA4 property ready for your data!

Step 2: Set Up a Data Stream and Get Your Tracking Code

A "data stream" is simply the source of data for your property. Since you're tracking a website (your Tumblr blog), you'll need to set up a web stream. This process is also what generates the essential tracking code snippet.

After creating your property, you'll be taken to the "Data collection" page. You'll be prompted to "Choose a platform." Click on "Web."
In the "Website URL" field, enter the full URL of your Tumblr blog (e.g., https://myawesomeblog.tumblr.com). Make sure to select https:// from the dropdown before entering the address.
Give your stream a name, like "Tumblr Webstream."
Click "Create stream."
You'll now see a page with your "Web stream details." At the bottom of this page, find the section called "Installation instructions." Click on the "Install manually" tab.
Here you'll find the JavaScript code snippet you need. It starts with <-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->. Click the copy icon in the top right of the code box to copy the entire snippet to your clipboard.

This code is the bridge between your Tumblr blog and Google Analytics. When a user visits your blog, this script will run and send information about their visit to your GA4 property.

Step 3: Add the Google Analytics Code to Your Tumblr Theme

Now for the most important part: placing the code you just copied into your Tumblr theme's HTML. This requires editing your theme file directly, but it's just a simple copy-and-paste job.

Open a new browser tab and log into your Tumblr account.
Click the Account icon (the silhouette of a person) in the top-right corner, and select your blog from underneath the "Settings" link.
On the right side of the screen, scroll down to the "Theme" section and click the "Edit appearance" button.
Your blog's live preview will open up. In the customization panel on the left, click "Edit Theme" near the top, under your blog's title.
Now, click "Edit HTML." This will open the raw code that powers your blog's theme. Be careful here, as deleting anything by accident can break your site's appearance.
Look for the opening <head> tag near the very top of the code. It should be one of the first lines of code you see.
Place your cursor right after the <head> tag, press Enter to create a new line, and then paste the entire Google Analytics code snippet that you copied earlier.

When you're done, it should look something like this (your Measurement ID will be different):

Once you've pasted the code, click the "Update Preview" button, and then click the green "Save" button at the top-left of the panel. Now your Tumblr theme has been updated, and the Google Analytics tracking script will load for every visitor.

Step 4: Verify Your Installation Is Working

Before you celebrate, it's a good idea to make sure Google Analytics is actually receiving data from your blog. The best way to do this is with the "Realtime" report.

Go back to your Google Analytics tab in your browser.
On the left-hand navigation menu, go to Reports > Realtime.
Now, open your Tumblr blog in a new tab or visit it on your phone. To be safe, try browsing a few different posts.
Switch back to the Realtime report in Google Analytics. Within about a minute, you should see the number in the "Users in last 30 minutes" card jump to at least "1." You might also see your city appear on the map and the page URLs you've visited show up in the "Views by Page title and screen name" card.

If you see your activity appear, congratulations! You have successfully installed Google Analytics on your Tumblr. Keep in mind that while the Realtime report is immediate, it can take 24-48 hours for data to start showing up in the other standard reports.

What to Track: 3 Quick Reports to Get You Started

You’ve done the setup, now comes the fun part: using the data. Here are three go-to reports to start exploring:

1. Traffic Acquisition Report

Where to find it: Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition

This report tells you exactly how people are finding your blog. You’ll see channels like "Organic Search" (Google), "Social" (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), "Direct" (people typing your URL), and "Referral" (links from other websites). This is crucial for knowing where to focus your energy to attract more readers.

2. Pages and Screens Report

Where to find it: Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens

This is where you identify your most popular posts. The report lists all the pages on your blog (identified by their URL slug) ranked by the number of views, users, and average engagement time. Find your top posts here and analyze what makes them successful to repeat that success in the future.

3. Demographics Report

Where to find it: Reports > User > User attributes > Demographics details

Get a snapshot of who your audience is. This report breaks down your visitors by country, age group, and gender. If you discover a large portion of your audience comes from a specific country or age bracket, you can tailor your content and post timing to better serve them.

Final Thoughts

Connecting Google Analytics to Tumblr is a quick one-time setup that pays huge dividends. By pasting a single code snippet into your theme's HTML, you replace Tumblr’s basic stats with a professional-grade analytics toolkit, giving you a deep understanding of your audience and content performance.

Of course, getting the data into Google Analytics is just the beginning. The real value comes from making sense of it. To speed up that process, we built Graphed. After easily linking your Google Analytics account, you can skip digging through GA4 menus and just ask for what you need in plain English. Queries like, "Show me my top 10 most visited pages from last month" immediately generate a clean report, turning hours of analysis into a 30-second task.