We knew it was coming. Back in late 2011, Google Analytics launched a new interface with the ability to toggle back and forth between the old and new interface. Slowly we were encouraged to get used to the new version, learn where your reports lived, take advantage of the new features, etc. Well the day has finally come where Google Analytics can only be accessed with the new interface. But with this new Analytics comes some great features that we all can (and should) get used to.
SOCIAL
Social Reporting capabilities found new meaning in Google Analytics. Although we highly encourage the use of unique UTM codes for any and all social activity, Social Reporting can now be found under traffic sources and offers additional key metrics. In particular, assisted social conversion and last interaction social conversions provide you with the data to determine how much social really is affecting your overall site usage and goal completion.
REMARKETING
We consistently see Remarketing campaigns as top conversion drivers for PPC campaigns. (both in ecommerce and lead-gen) Unfortunately for the over-worked web developer, implementing remarketing requires additional code on each page of the site. Often times sections of the site are assigned different remarketing codes thus making the implementation process confusing for all parties involved. Lucky for us (and the aforementioned over-worked developer) Google Analytics announced the rollout of Remarketing with Google Analytics beta. By setting up Remarketing through Google Analytics, you have the ability to remarket not just by predefined lists, but by familiar Google Analytics metrics like time on site, pages viewed, goal completions, etc. and automatically send those Remarketing Lists to the linked Google Adwords account. It also doesn’t require additional code to the site since it runs off the preexisting Analytics code. Right now, this new Remarketing feature is just in beta and will be rolled out to every Analytics account with at least one Adwords account linked to it. Be sure to look for it under the Admin tab as you’re logged in as an account administrator.
The above mentioned changes to Google Analytics are designed to not only improve user engagement, but also provide you with more insight as to how people get to your site and what they are doing when they get there. Start getting familiar with the Social Reporting capabilities within Analytics now and be on the lookout for your account’s Remarketing Beta rollout.