Industry News & Trends

New Version of Google Analytics Released

Jeff Kershner
Posted onNov 20, 2011 at 12:45 AM

If you’ve been watching your inbox, you may have received an email informing you that your Google Analytics is about to receive an upgrade, and activation should be happening soon.

In addition to a redesigned interface there are a slew of new features. Here are a few to keep an eye open for…

Google Analytics Real-Time – exciting!

Real-Time reporting shows you what’s happening on your site – right now! The reports are updated continuously and each pageview is reported seconds after it occurs on your site. You’ll find Real-Time reports in the ‘Home’ tab.


Multi-Channel Funnels

See which channels your customers interacted with during the 30 days prior to converting. Conversion path data includes interactions with many media channels, including clicks from paid and organic searches, affiliates, social networks, and display ads.

Mobile Reporting

More and more, visitors are using mobile devices to browse the web. Mobile reports in the new version of Google Analytics help you understand how mobile visitors are interacting with your site. You can even see which mobile devices your visitors use and optimize for those devices.

Flow Visualization

Flow Visualization is a beautifully designed and highly sophisticated tool for graphically showing how visitors navigate through your site. Google has completely re-imagined and redesigned the navigation tools available in the old version of Google Analytics.

Want help adjusting to the new version?
The Google Analytics Help Center is up to date on all the step by step of how to navigate Analytics using the new version.
You can stay up to date on the new features, be sure you opt-in to receive Newsletters in your Google Analytics account settings.
Jeff Kershner
Founder of DealerRefresh - 20+ Years of dealership Sales, Management, Training, Marketing and Leadership.
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    Jim Bell
  • November 20, 2011
Being like yourself an analytical junkie, I can't wait to get in and take a look at this. Unfortunately, it won't be until tomorrow for me. I'm gonna be like a kid in a candy store.
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    JQ
  • November 20, 2011
Jeff, (and really really really smart people, et al)

How far are we from identifying 'browsers' in real time?  (people, not Safari, etc.)

I know that we can "score" a lead in darn-near real time -- sooooo much data is "scored" instantly (if you are unaware of the Polk scoring program: GET aware!!!), so it seems the next logical step is the "skipping" of the lead form altogether.

Setting aside the "creepiness factor," how far away are we from being able to identify people on our sites?  What if Hook Logic could actually identify a person browsing on our site (already being done by behavioral targeting networks) and send them a $25 Gift Certificate to the site they just visited prior to mine (as long as they visit my store for validation first?).  Wow... talk about holiday traffic...

And better yet... 

A "browser" leaves my site... my BDC gets an email address, and a note that this person has visited Target.com, Khols.com, and Walmart.com in the last 40 days.  So an email goes to that person offering a $25 Gift Card to All of the Above, and a $500 coupon to purchase a Hyundai. 

Sorry.... I've obviously expressed my Holiday Wishes here... but it kinda seems to me that we are a couple of strategic relationships away from this kind of information being a reality.

Wish I knew someone who specialized in strategic relationships...
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    Brian Pasch
  • November 20, 2011
Jeff, I just started playing around with the new data tools and it is very exciting to see the visual data elements that make it so much easier to show trends and patterns to non-technical executives.
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I love all the new features available. The real time visitor tracking is a great way to instantly measure the effect of social media interaction like a Tweet or something.
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