December 5, 2016
Our Online Dialogue colleague and strategist Wilbert Pot has for Webanalists.com wrote an article about the stunning features of the upcoming new Google Analytics release.
Analysts, marketers and decision makers want insight into online customer and user behavior over a longer period of time and across multiple devices, whereas most analytics packages are based on measuring individual sessions on a single device. Google engineers are working hard to enable measurement of visitor behavior across multiple visits and devices in a new version of Google Analytics.
Earlier I wrote about the new features of the current version that Head of Engineering Paul Muret revealed during last Google Analytics User Conference. What I didn't write an article about yet was the final session in which he - in the privacy of the conference - together with Principle Engineer Sagnik Nadi gave his take on the Google Analytics of the future.
This distant future seems to be fast becoming a reality. Insiders are talking about a launch in the fourth quarter of this year. In fact, one has already completed a successful pilot of this new way of measuring on Youtube and Youtube Brand Channels.
Google is making the new version of Google Analytics a ‘Customer Centric Analytics platform,’ putting the user at the center.
The new version of Google Analytics has the following two major innovations:
The online buying process today is very diverse and consumers often use multiple devices in the orientation process. An example of the journey of a multi-device customer:
On Monday during her lunch break at work, Judith sees an offer of a vacation to Portugal pass by. In the evening, she shows the offer via iPad to her husband and children, in which they explore the surroundings of the hotel together. Over the weekend, she ties the knot and books the trip on the laptop. An hour later, Judith opens the e-mail confirmation on her iPhone and downloads the travel documents.
In the above example, most web analytics packages record 4 unique visitors using 4 different devices, while it is actually only 1 visitor. Google indicates that with the ability and addition of the new methodology with one unique ID, such a user can be better tracked.
For measuring visitor behavior, Google Analytics now places at least 3 to 4 cookies. With each pageview, the cookies are read again, updated and the information is sent to Google. The Google Analytics servers receive and process this information from millions of websites at once, which is a fairly intensive load even for Google.
In addition, we in the Netherlands know better than anyone else that, with the implementation of the new Cookie Law, measuring with cookies is becoming increasingly difficult and less reliable.
The solution Google has for both problems is to work with a single visitor ID. How exactly this works they did not yet specify. The visitor ID can be generated by Google, but it is also possible as a website owner to determine a unique attribute yourself and assign it to visitors within Google Analytics. For example, an ID of logged-in users, a campaign code or another unique code, allowing Google to reconstruct the user's journey in an easier way.
There is also the possibility as a website owner/user to add and link external data with web analytics data, such as data from a CRM database (phone calls, app usage, quotations) or extending the online lead-funnel with offline sales. This enables sharper conversion attribution and further segmentation on visitor behavior. Google's condition for this new functionality is that the data processing takes place on Google's servers.
On May 1, Google released Big Query launched, which allows companies to use the computing power of Google Servers to perform complex calculations. In the Netherlands, Center Parcs the scoop. They deployed it to analyze reservations and marketing activities faster.
It is expected to link Google Analytics and Big Query. “Because the data processing is done after the fact, the user can shape the information the way he wants it.” said Paul Muret. This means Google can provide custom reports. Users can also configure and customize data processing and visualization themselves.
After the session, it started bubbling with me right away: masses of new opportunities to further tie data together for additional insight and faster decisions. Imagine adding key operational metrics to your communications efforts, assigning kpi's directly to a sub-organization, department or employee, or linking financial data directly to different campaign forms and channels.
Google Analytics will then become Business Analytics instead of Web Analytics: a package that ‘Big Data’ enthusiasts, decision makers and marketers will love. Google will take a big lead over competing services with these rigorous changes to its Web statistics product.
The new opportunities also raise additional questions. Of course, it demands something of the online ‘maturity’ of a company. After all, analyzing in the new way means that as a company you have to think carefully about how you shape the online communication playing field and how you structure data to get the right insights: Garbage in, Garbage out. For example, establishing a unique ID that allows you to continuously track visitors across different session, without cookies, is now technically not exactly a breeze. Configuring data streams and visualizing information yourself can cause interpretation errors in the process.
For companies that do not want to use the new measurement method and capabilities, it also remains possible to simply continue measuring in the current way.
I eagerly await how this ‘tip of the hat’ will eventually be rolled out in practice. Of course, I am also curious to hear your opinions. What opportunities and pitfalls do you still see?
Originally posted on August 2, 2012 at webanalists.com
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