How to view and set up Google Form analytics

Google Forms is a simple and effective form builder that lets users create surveys, questionnaires, signup forms, applications, payment forms, and virtually any type of portal for gathering information. As respondents fill out Google Forms, their submissions are automatically collected in a Google Sheets spreadsheet, making the data accessible and easy to organize. But what if you need help analyzing those responses?

Google Form analytics make it easy to visualize response data and glean maximum insights from form recipients. You can also connect your Google Forms to Google Analytics to automate tracking of metrics like response rates, completion times, drop-off points, and most commonly selected options, making it easy to optimize forms for a better user experience and higher conversion rates.

So, how do you set up Google Form analytics? Here’s what you need to know.

How to access Google Form responses

Google Form analytics make it easy to review your form responses. Here’s how to access the data:

1. Find your Google Form in Google Drive.

2. Open your Google Form.

3. Click on Responses above the form to navigate to the form’s analytics.

4. Scroll down to see the summary analysis that displays data in easy-to-read charts.

5. Navigate to the Question tab below Responses to see response data for each individual question.

6. Navigate to the Individual tab to see response data for each individual respondent.

Google Forms allows you to review form responses in any format you need, but what if you need to get more detailed analytics on who is engaging with your forms and how? Read on to learn more.

How to get Google Forms responses in Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a versatile platform that allows website owners to track and measure their site’s performance in terms of various web traffic and engagement metrics. While there’s no way to directly link your Google Forms to Google Analytics, you can embed your form as an iframe on a webpage and then gather page-level performance data with Google Analytics.

Here’s how to set up a Google Analytics account to do that:

1. Enter “analytics.google.com” into your web browser search bar.
2. Click the blue Start measuring button.

3. Type a name for your account in the text box.

4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Next.
5. Follow the rest of the prompts as they appear on screen to customize Property creation, Business details, Business objective, and Data collection.

6. Click on the Data streams button under the property dropdown menu on your Google Analytics dashboard.
7. Click the Web option to choose a website as your platform.
8. Paste your website link into the Website URL textbox to name your stream.
9. Click the Create stream button. You’ll be taken to a completion page informing you that it will take up to 48 hours to begin collecting data.

Once you complete this last step, your Google Analytics account is ready to start tracking traffic and engagement. That means you can embed your Google Form as an iframe into one of your web pages and connect Google Analytics to it to begin tracking.

Why Jotform is the leading alternative to Google Form analytics

Want to use Google Analytics to track data directly from your form? Your best bet is a Google Forms alternative like Jotform.

Jotform boasts over 20 million users, buoyed by a company-wide dedication to being the best, most secure, and user-friendly online form builder. The platform offers more than 10,000 fully customizable templates to kickstart form creation. Jotform forms also seamlessly integrate with the Google product suite, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal disruption to your existing workflow. With top-notch security measures and mobile-friendly features, Jotform is a comprehensive solution for collecting data efficiently.

How to use Jotform analytics

Viewing form responses in Jotform is easy. Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to My Forms in Jotform.
2. Scroll to the form you want to review submissions for.
3. Click the Submissions link below the form title. This will open a table that lists every form submission, with a column for each question.
4. To visualize the data with the Report Builder, click the + Add Tab button.
5. Click the Reports icon, then the Next button.
6. Select the form you want to create a report for from the menu and click Next.
7. Select the report style you want to work in (either Blank, Extended, or Compact) from the next menu and click Next. This will generate an editable slide deck with the data automatically populated.
8. Edit the slides and data visualizations according to your needs.

Using analytics with Jotform is easy, and thanks to a Google Analytics integration, tracking form analytics with Jotform is also simple.

How to track Jotform submissions with Google Analytics

With Jotform, it’s easy to implement robust tracking of your form’s performance data with Google Analytics:

1. Follow the steps in this guide for information on how to set up your Google Analytics account, Google Tag Manager (GTM), and triggers. Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to embed your Jotform form as well as GTM on your website.
2. Open the Jotform Form Builder and click on the Publish tab.
3. Click the Embed option on the left menu, then select Source Code.
4. Copy your form’s full source code.
5. Open your website editor and embed the code on your desired page.
6. Next, return to your GTM account and click the container you’d like to install onto your website.
7. Copy the container code, then add the code to your website’s head and body tags as prompted.
8. Click the Save button to save your new configurations.

Google Forms makes it easy to visualize response data from your forms and make better, more informed decisions. Leveraging Google Analytics also provides insight into your forms’ performance metrics — but pairing the two products isn’t as simple as it appears. Jotform is a great alternative solution.

For an easier, more versatile form analytics experience, Jotform’s Report Builder gives you the tools to create highly customizable data visualizations with the exact aesthetics you want. And since Jotform integrates seamlessly with the Google Analytics platform, you can get the performance metrics to optimize your forms, without the limitations of Google Forms.

Photo by Lukas