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Spring is here, and what better time for a spring cleaning than the gorgeous month of May?
As the Google Analytics ecosystem continues to evolve, new features are released and enjoyed by the large growing field of web analytics enthusiasts who need actionable data for their web sites. Part of this evolution is a refresh – a spring cleaning if you will – of the Google Analytics Authorized Consultant brand. We at MoreVisibility are now a Google Analytics Certified Partner (GACP), and part of a network of elite-level organizations who help organizations take their web analytics maturity to the next level and beyond.
Earlier this month at the eMetrics Marketing Optimization conference in San Jose, California, Brett Crosby made some other exciting announcements that further push the Google Analytics product into the new decade. The first of those announcements was the introduction of a new Google Analytics App Gallery, where tools developed via the Google Analytics API are showcased and available for all Google Analytics accounts. These thirty-eight flavors of awesome Google Analytics apps allow you to work with your analytics data in an Excel spreadsheet, analyze data from your WordPress blog or track click-to-call actions from phone numbers on your marketing ads or web site. If you're a developer, you will love the open-source nature of the Google Analytics API to develop and publish your own apps.
A new Google AdWords sub-section of reports was also introduced. These reports are a big step forward in the level of detail provided by Google Analytics on your AdWords marketing initiatives. Over the coming weeks, the old three report sub-section will vanish and a new eight report deep section will appear in its place! However, the new AdWords reporting section isn't only about size. The new AdWords section focuses heavily on your ability to segment vital marketing data by the dimensions that are useful and meaningful for advertisers globally. Therefore, you'll find brand new dimensions such as "Ad Distribution Network", "Targeting Type", and "Matched Search Query", among many others. You'll also be able to view your AdWords data by Day Part, Destination URLs and Placements, which can help narrow your focus and optimize your AdWords campaigns from insights obtained via Google Analytics.
Again, not forgetting about developers, AdWords data is now available via the Google Analytics API. This is great for any organization compiling reports and formatting data to their end-clients, without having to rack up additional costs or having to toggle between interfaces.
Speaking of AdWords, it was also announced earlier this month that Search Funnels, the highly anticipated new report section, is now available in all AdWords accounts. Search Funnels allow you to see keywords that assist in the conversion process. A good percentage of your web site's users are using multiple search queries on Google before they convert on your site. Wouldn't you like to know what keywords are assisting your top keywords in the conversion process? The new Search Funnels report highlights these keywords because, if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't have as many conversions as you do today.
The final spring enhancement to the Google Analytics ecosystem is the announcement of a new JavaScript tracking code that loads asynchronously into the web browser, instead of waiting for the web page to load to execute the code. This is being referred to as the "async" tracking code, and we are very excited about it. It's faster, it's lighter in file size, and it's more accurate than the previous two generations of tracking technology. It's also more customizable than ever before, which ties directly into Google's philosophy of allowing freedom for development and offering technology on the bleeding-edge of the internet. MoreVisibility can help you transition your tracking code seamlessly and without data interruption.
Stop and smell the flowers this spring, while enjoying your new Google Analytics features!