How Google Analytics 360 Can Help Real-Time Decisions

Chuck Forbes - April 11, 2017

Making changes to your business in real-time is an option that every brand wants at their fingertips. To make those changes, you need supporting data that solidifies your decisions. Google Analytics 360 may not be instant, but it is pretty close! For those who use Google Analytics 360, you have access to fresh data as quickly as every ten minutes. Certainly beating out any 24-48 hour window of your old analytics, 360 may be a good solution for those brands who get a lot of promotion or mention on social media.

Lets discuss an example:

Daisy is the CEO of her clothing line and sells high-end dresses to people across the country from her website. Her website consists of many daily specials, new dresses and trends to come. Without warning, Beyonce happens to receive a dress from her designer purchased from Daisy’s line. Beyonce loves it so much she decides she wants to give Daisy and her brand a shoutout on Twitter. A few minutes later Beyonce posts a picture and tags Daisy’s brand on Twitter…let the madness begin!

This is a very crucial timeframe for Daisy and her company – certainly Beyonce endorsing her dress is huge long-term, but right now the iron is hot and Daisy needs to capitalize on the buzz. By using Google Analytics 360 and seeing fresh site data, her analytics director starts to see a huge sudden spike in traffic and calls Daisy in to discuss. Soon they realize it’s from Beyonce – what do you do now?

First, take 30 seconds to scream and freak out with happiness because Beyonce just endorsed your brand. But only take 30 seconds, because we need to optimize the site. A few examples of what Daisy can do are:

• Move the dress Beyonce wore in the Twitter pic to the very top, prominently displayed for all to see because the recent traffic spike is due to users not only interested in Daisy’s brand, but also that particular dress.
• Organize her on-site Twitter feed to be easily identified on her homepage with the Beyonce photo from and center. This will drive engagement and followers to her account but also reinforce the awesome endorsement Daisy just got.
• Create a cart promotion that includes a free item or discount when a user purchases that dress at full price. Chances are if Beyonce has it on, it’s not that cheap – Daisy can make a big profit by selling that dress as is, but make an even larger profit by getting people to buy that dress with other products.

When you log into Google Analytics 360, look for the below clock icon in the top right corner:

This will ensure that you are looking at the most recent data available, and if you hover over the icon it will tell you just how fresh the data is.

Daisy’s dress company is just one example of how 360 Analytics can help you make quicker decisions as a marketer. Most of the time, we are looking at data gathered over a longer period of time and analyzing trends to make decisions moving forward. This data can take a long time to collect and once an optimization is made – it could be time to make another one! Google Analytics 360 allows you to capitalize on what your users are telling you right now and potentially make more money by analyzing ‘hot’ periods of time when visitors are more apt to make a purchase based on a recent event.

If Google Analytics 360 sounds like a fit for your business, contact MoreVisibility today.