A lot of people might have never used Google Analytics. The company's online tool monitors traffic on a specific Web site. That's the simplest way to look at what the software does. It goes much deeper, especially now that Google has decided to haul the software onto a completely new platform, with new value-additions.
Coupled with the features that were announced a few months ago, the new Google Analytics shed its old skin last week. What does the new version have in store for you?
Real-time analysis
The brand-new avatar of Google Analytics features real-time analysis of your Web site traffic. This set of reports tells you what's happening on your Web site as it happens. So, for your online magazine, newspaper, retail brand or even a personal blog, you can co-relate the kind of stories posted and the numbers of clicks they bring in. It lets you track user habits and get a rough idea about what time of the day your target audience might be at its busiest best.
Social trends
Most brands, businesses and Web sites now also depend on social networking platforms to attract attention to their product. Hence, Google has also added a tool to assess how much of your traffic comes in from social networking sites. It'll give you a percentage of direct and indirect hits to the content hosted on your Web site. To quantify the trends, you are presented with an overview that shows you the conversion value (in US Dollars) generated from your social channels. This'll help businesses and organisations understand virtual, social activity happening both on and off of their own Web site.
Going mobile
Earlier this month, Google Analytics also launched its first mobile app on the Android platform. Hosted on Google Play Store, the Google Analytics app is aimed at marketers as well as app developers. For those who'd want to keep track of their Web clicks, this free app offers a quick, convenient glance on a smartphone. The software also works to gauge the performance of mobile apps better. According to JiaJing Wang, Product Manager, Google Analytics Team, “It tracks the mobile customer's journey - from discovery to download to engagement. This enables the creation of app experiences that are more useful and engaging through data-driven decisions at each stage of the app lifecycle.”
Key information such as number of downloads; new users signing up, app sales and in-app purchases will also be only a click away.