What Is a Google Analytics ID on Tumblr?

Adding a Google Analytics ID to your Tumblr is one of the fastest ways to understand who is visiting your blog and what content they love most. It elevates your tracking from simple notes and reblogs to deep, actionable insights. This guide will walk you through exactly what that ID is, how to find it, and where to put it in your Tumblr theme settings.

What Exactly Is a Google Analytics ID?

Think of a Google Analytics ID as a unique mailing address for your website or blog. When someone "visits" your Tumblr, Google Analytics uses this specific ID to know where to send and store all the data about that visit. It ensures that traffic from your blog is recorded in your account and not mixed up with anyone else's.

Google has two main types of these IDs:

• Measurement ID (Format: G-XXXXXXXXXX): This is the current and primary identifier for a Google Analytics 4 property. If you're setting up new analytics today, this is the ID you will use.
• Tracking ID (Format: UA-XXXXXXXX-Y): This was the identifier for the older Universal Analytics (UA). While UA was officially discontinued in July 2023, some older Tumblr themes may still have a settings field specifically asking for this "UA-" format. For almost all cases now, you should be using your "G-" ID.

This ID is the key that unlocks a much deeper understanding of your blog’s performance. It’s what allows Google to track page views, visitor demographics, where your traffic is coming from, and much more.

Why Your Tumblr Blog Needs More Than Built-in Stats

Tumblr’s native analytics are great for a quick glance. You can see your follower count grow and track notes (likes and reblogs) on a particular post. It’s simple and satisfying. But it doesn’t tell you the whole story.

You’re left with questions like:

• How many people saw my post but didn't reblog or like it?
• Where did my visitors come from? Twitter? A Google search? A link from another blog?
• Are my visitors mostly from the US, or is my content resonating in other countries?
• Which of my posts are being read the most, even if they aren't getting the most "notes"?

Connecting Google Analytics answers these questions and more. It helps you shift from simply creating content to strategically growing your audience.

Benefits of Using Google Analytics with Tumblr

• Understand Your Audience on a Deeper Level: Get real data on the age, gender, location, and interests of the people visiting your blog. You might be surprised to find you have a huge following in a city or country you never expected! This knowledge helps you create content that truly connects.
• Pinpoint Your Best Traffic Sources: Discover whether your traffic is coming from organic search, social media, direct links, or referrals. If you see that most of your visitors are coming from Pinterest, you know to double down on your efforts there.
• Identify Your True "Hit" Posts: A post with hundreds of notes might seem like your most popular, but an analytics-driven view can reveal a "sleeper hit" - a post that quietly gets thousands of views from Google search every month. This helps you understand what content truly has long-term value.
• Track Visitor Behavior: Learn which posts people are reading first when they land on your blog. See how long they stay and what other pages they visit. This is incredible feedback on what captures and holds their attention.

How to Find Your Google Analytics ID (for GA4)

Before you can add the ID to Tumblr, you need to find it in your Google Analytics account. If you don't have an account yet, the first step is to create one.

Step 1: Set Up a Google Analytics Account

If you don’t already have a Google Analytics account, you'll need to create one. It's free and straightforward.

1. Go to the Google Analytics website and sign in with your Google account.
2. Click "Start measuring."
3. Account Setup: Give your account a name. This is an umbrella for all the websites you might track. "My Websites" or your business name works great.
4. Property Setup: This is for a specific site - in this case, your Tumblr blog. Name it something clear like "My Tumblr Blog." Set your reporting time zone and currency.
5. Business details: Provide some basic information about your industry and size.
6. Choose a platform: Select "Web."
7. Set up your data stream: Enter your Tumblr blog's URL (e.g., yourblog.tumblr.com) and give the stream a name (e.g., "Tumblr Stream"). Ensure "Enhanced measurement" is on, then click "Create stream."

Once you create the stream, Google Analytics will open a page with your stream details. Your Measurement ID will be right there in plain sight!

Step 2: Find Your Existing Measurement ID

If you've already created an account and property, here's how to quickly locate your "G-" Measurement ID:

1. Log in to your Google Analytics account.
2. On the bottom left, click the gear icon for Admin.
3. Make sure you've selected the correct account and property in the columns at the top.
4. In the "Property" column, click on Data Streams.
5. Click on the web data stream you created for your Tumblr.
6. Your Measurement ID (starting with "G-") will be displayed in the upper right-hand corner. Copy this ID!

How to Add Your Google Analytics ID to Tumblr

Now that you have your G-XXXXXXXXXX ID, it's time to connect it to your Tumblr blog. Most modern Tumblr themes make this very simple.

Method 1: Using Your Theme’s Built-in Setting (Easiest)

The vast majority of updated themes have a dedicated field for your Google Analytics ID.

1. Log in to your Tumblr dashboard.
2. Click the account icon (person silhouette) at the top right, then select the blog you want to track under the "Tumblr Blogs" section.
3. Click "Edit Appearance."
4. This will open the theme customization sidebar on the left. Stay on the "Website Theme" settings and click Edit Theme.
5. Scroll down through the customization options in the sidebar. Look for a field labeled "Google Analytics ID," "GA4 Measurement ID," or something similar.
6. Paste your copied Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX) into this field.
7. Click the Save button at the top of the sidebar.

Method 2: Manually Adding the Tracking Code to your Theme's HTML

If your theme is older or doesn't have a specific field for the Analytics ID, you can add it directly to the code. Don't worry, this sounds more intimidating than it is!

First, get the full code snippet from Google Analytics:

1. Go back to your data stream details in Google Analytics (Admin > Data Streams > Click your stream).
2. In the "Installation instructions" tab at the bottom, select "Install manually".
3. Google will show you a block of code (the gtag.js snippet). Click the copy icon in the top right to copy the entire snippet.

Next, add the code to your Tumblr theme:

1. Follow steps 1-4 from Method 1 to open your theme customization options.
2. At the top of the sidebar, right under your blog's title, click "Edit HTML".
3. A code editor will appear. This is the HTML, CSS, and Javascript for your theme.
4. Look for the closing <\/head> tag near the top of the code.
5. Place your cursor just before the <\/head> tag and paste your copied code snippet on the line above it.
6. Click "Update Preview" to make sure the site doesn't break, then click Save.

Pro Tip: Before editing your theme's HTML, copy and paste the entire original code into a text file on your computer. This serves as a quick backup in case something goes wrong and you need to restore it.

How to Verify Your Google Analytics Is Working

Once you’ve saved your changes in Tumblr, you should confirm that Google is receiving data.

The easiest way is to use Google's Realtime report:

1. Open your Google Analytics account.
2. Navigate to Reports > Realtime.
3. In a separate browser window or using your smartphone, visit your live Tumblr blog (not the customization preview page).
4. Go back to the Realtime report page. Within a minute or two, you should see yourself appear as at least one user, often with your location pinpointed on the map.

If you see your visit registered, congratulations! Your tracking is set up correctly. Now you can sit back and let the data flow in. Note that it can take 24-48 hours for data to start fully populating into the standard reports beyond the Realtime view.

Final Thoughts

By connecting Google Analytics to your Tumblr, you trade guesswork for concrete data. It transforms your blog from a simple collection of posts into a platform you can intentionally grow by understanding what truly resonates with your audience and how they find you.

As you gather more and more data, the next step is analysis, but pulling reports across different platforms can quickly become a manual chore. A lot of our users connect their Google Analytics because we make it incredibly easy to create dashboards and reports. Instead of grappling with a complex interface, you can just ask questions in plain English like, "show me my most popular Tumblr articles this month" or "compare traffic from social media vs. search." Graphed turns piles of data into clear, automated reports so you spend less time reporting and more time creating.