Marcelo Quintana
Google Analytics has come a long way since its launch as "Urchin Software" in 2001. The 4th generation of Google Analytics is now the most advanced version yet, combining the power of artificial intelligence with audacious new features to measure user behavior in real time, not just after the fact. To understand why Google updated its analytics suite and what these changes mean for businesses using it, you need to know about the history of Google Analytics and its latest features. Read on for everything you need to know about the 4th generation of Google Analytics and how it can help your business succeed.
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a free analytics service that helps you track how visitors engage with your website or app. The core strength of Google Analytics is in its simplicity: it is easy to set up and use, and it works well out of the box. But its simplicity also makes it easy to overlook how powerful it can be when combined with other marketing tools. When used alongside other Google products, like Search Console, AdWords, and Google Ads, it can help you paint a complete picture of your customers' behavior across multiple platforms.
What's New in Google Analytics?
The latest version of Google Analytics introduces several new features that enhance the power and accessibility of the tool. Some of the biggest new features include: - Real-time Measurement and Big Data - AI-Powered Audience Recognition - Google Analytics for YouTube - Key takeaway
Real-time Measurement and Big Data
Real-time measurement means that Google Analytics can now display data to you in near-real time, as soon as you collect it. For example, as soon as your server receives a request from a user, Google Analytics software can record the details of that visit. In the old platform, data could take up to 24 hours to be recorded for analysis, but the new platform can record data in less than a second, so you can see results almost instantly. Given this ability to process and record data so quickly, the new platform also has the ability to process much more data than before. The new platform can handle up to 10 times more data than the old one, so you can track more user behavior without slowing down.
AI-Powered Audience Recognition
Google has integrated artificial intelligence into the core of Google Analytics, enabling recognition of each and every visitor to your site. The new platform can automatically identify the device type, browser type, and location of every user visiting your site. It can also identify the source of each visitor, whether that is organic search, paid search, social media, or other. This recognition happens in real time, allowing you to see how each customer navigates through your site and where they drop off.
Google Analytics for YouTube
The Google Analytics suite can now track visitor activity across different platforms, including YouTube. Google Analytics for YouTube allows you to track how your videos are performing, including their watch duration, audience retention, and shareability. For businesses with a large presence on YouTube, these new features can help you to understand which videos are performing well and which ones need improvement.
Key takeaway
The 4th generation of Google Analytics is a huge leap forward from the previous version. It features real-time measurement, artificial intelligence-powered audience recognition, and 10 times more data processing capacity. These new features allow Google Analytics to paint a much more comprehensive picture of your customers’ behavior. If you have not updated your Google Analytics platform in a while, it is time to make the switch to the latest version. The improvements are significant enough that you will not be able to access some of these new features unless you use the latest version of Google Analytics.
Why is it important?
Google Analytics is one of the most important analytics tools out there. It is used by more than 75% of businesses that employ analytics, making it the most widely used platform by far. Because so many businesses rely on Google Analytics, any improvements to the platform will have a significant impact on a large segment of businesses. Any improvement to Google Analytics is therefore worth paying attention to, as it can bring benefits to you and your business.
What's the difference between Google Analytics and Google Search Console?
Google Analytics measures your entire website or app, while Google Search Console measures the health of your site's pages. Both tools are important to the modern digital marketer, but they are used for different purposes. Search Console checks your pages for issues that could be hurting your ability to rank in search results. Analytics, on the other, hand looks at the entire picture, providing you with insights into things like which channels are bringing traffic to your site, what people do when they're there, and where they go when they leave.
