Keeping up with what your fans and followers do as they move from one screen to another has sometimes been difficult. For Google Analytics users, this process will get a bit easier with the launch of Universal Analytics in public beta. Originally available only to paying customers, Universal Analytics is now available to all users.
Google announced the availability of Universal Analytics in public beta on Friday. Universal Analytics was originally offered to paying customers but everyone can now get access via their free Google Analytics account.
What Google’s Universal Analytics Offers
If you’re new to this terrain, Google Analytics offers a free way to find out what’s happening on your website by simply adding a simple code to each page. Often this process is automated by blog platforms and webhosts so that you can just add your account code via your control panel.
You’re then able to track a somewhat overwhelming array of information about how many visitors you have, how many visits are made, what countries they come from, how long they stay on the site and what devices they use to view the site. There has been a mobile element available but Universal Analytics should improve this process, according to Google Analytics help, via:
- New data collection methods
- Simplified feature configuration
- Custom dimensions & custom metrics
- Multi-platform tracking
- Newbies will have the choice of Universal Analytics or Classic Analytics when they set up their site. You can also choose to track Android and iOS app activity but that’s separate from desktop and mobile web activity.
Old timey users will have to set up a new web property to use the new features. They say there’s going to be some kind of migration guide which may mean they’re going to introduce an easy way to switch over your old web property records to the new system but you’ll still need to add the new code to your site to get new features.
Visualize Your Google Analytics
Google Analytics isn’t the most user friendly tool for quickly grasping the big picture. Visual.ly recently introduced a free Google Analytics Report. This will make it not only easier to get a quick overview of what’s happening but will also be useful in creating reports for presentation.
Here’s more from the official announcement:
A typical consumer today uses multiple devices to surf the web and interact in many ways with your business. For most large businesses, already swimming in many sources of data, it’s an enormous challenge, but also an incredible opportunity.
Back in October, we announced the limited beta release of Universal Analytics as a way for businesses to understand the changing, multi-device customer journey. Today, we’re excited to welcome and invite all Google Analytics customers to try Universal Analytics.
The benefits of using Universal Analytics to businesses are:
- Understanding how customers interact with your businesses across many devices and touch-points,
- Insights into the performance of your mobile apps,
- Improvements of lead generation and ROI by incorporating offline and online interactions so you can understand which channels drive the best results,
- Improved latency on your site by reducing client-side demands.