Tag Archives: Google Analytics

Google Analytics is Enhancing Support for AMP

Over the past year, developers have adopted the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) technology to build faster-loading pages for all types of sites, ranging from news to recipes to e-commerce. Billions of AMP pages have been published to date and Google Analytics continues its commitment to supporting our customers who have adopted AMP.

However, we have heard feedback from Google Analytics customers around challenges in understanding the full customer journey due to site visitors being identified inconsistently across AMP and non-AMP pages. So we're announcing today that we are rolling out an enhancement that will give you an even more accurate understanding of how people are engaging with your business across AMP and non-AMP pages of your website.

How will this work?
This change brings consistency to users across AMP and non-AMP pages served from your domain. It will have the effect of improving user analysis going forward by unifying your users across the two page formats. It does not affect AMP pages served from the Google AMP Cache or any other AMP cache.

When will this happen?
We expect these improvements to be complete, across all Google Analytics accounts, over the next few weeks.

Are there any other implications of this change?
As we unify your AMP and non-AMP users when they visit your site in the future, you may see changes in your user and session counts, including changes to related metrics. User and session counts will go down over time as we recognize that two formerly distinct IDs are in fact the same user; however, at the time this change commences, the metric New Users may rise temporarily as IDs are reset.

In addition, metrics like time on site, page views per session, and bounce rate will rise consistent with sessions with AMP and non-AMP pageviews no longer being treated as multiple sessions. This is a one-time effect that will continue until all your users who have viewed AMP pages in the past are unified (this can take a short or long period of time depending on how quickly your users return to your site/app).

Is there anything I need to do to get this update?
There is no action required on your part, these changes will be automatically rolled out.

Will there be changes to unify users who view my pages both on my domain and in other contexts?
Some AMP pages are not visited directly on the domain where the content is originally hosted but instead via AMP caches or in platform experiences. However we decided to focus on fixing the publisher domain case first as this was the fastest way we could add value for our clients.

We are committed to ensuring the best quality data for user journey analysis across AMP and non-AMP pages alike and this change makes that easy for AMP pages served on your domain. We hope you enjoy these improvements - and as always, happy analyzing!

Posted by the Google Analytics team

Google Tag Manager: Announcing Centralized Google Analytics Settings

Google Tag Manager and Tag Manager 360 make it easier than ever to deploy and manage tags for all of your various marketing and measurement tools at scale. Whether you’re doing a basic tag implementation across a single website or a more extensive implementation across a network of sites and apps, Google Tag Manager has your back.

A Better Way to Manage Google Analytics Tags

Measuring websites and apps effectively often requires multiple Google Analytics tags. You may have a basic Universal Analytics pageview tag to measure views of all your content, as well as event tags for clicks on certain buttons, links leading away from your site, form submissions, and so on.

Keeping the settings for all of these tags in sync can be a challenge. You have to ensure your Tracking ID is set correctly and that any custom settings are consistent. Making changes to things like Custom Dimensions and Metrics across multiple tags can require repetitive work or cumbersome workarounds.

That’s why we’re excited to announce that rolling out this week, Universal Analytics tags in Web and Mobile* containers will support a new feature: Google Analytics Settings Variables.

A Google Analytics Settings Variable acts as a central location to configure sets of Google Analytics settings for use across multiple tags. Instead of having to enter your Google Analytics settings over and over again in each new Universal Analytics tag, you’ll simply be able to select (or create) a Google Analytics Settings Variable to apply to the tag:



With this enhanced workflow, you can focus on what you want to measure, rather than what settings you need to enter. If your organization has an analytics team or works with a Google Analytics Certified Partner, you can leave the settings to the experts without fear that you’ll mess things up.

You can have as many Settings Variables as you’d like for different combinations of settings, and it’s easy to override specific fields in a given tag with the click of a checkbox.

While this feature will appear in all Universal Analytics tags, existing tags will of course continue to work. And, if you so choose, you can continue to set up your tags without use of Google Analytics Settings Variables by checking the override box without selecting a Settings Variable.

We hope that Google Analytics Settings Variables will save you time, reduce errors, and give you more confidence in setting up Google Analytics through Google Tag Manager.

Want to learn more about Centralized Google Analytics Settings? Check out our Quick Tip video or visit our help center!

*Only available in iOS and Android containers implemented with Firebase.

Posted by Scott Herman, Product Manager, Google Tag Manager

Across the U.S., businesses are using the web to grow


When their 10-year-old daughter asked if she could raise alpacas on the family ranch, Jim and Kelley Hobart figured, “Why not?” They welcomed the animals onto their land and soon thereafter discovered the many benefits of alpaca wool. It was soft, durable, warm and eco-friendly—it had to be shared with the rest of the world. To the delight of their daughter and alpaca lovers everywhere, the Hobarts launched Alpaca Direct in 2005, producing quality yarns and apparel made from the unique fiber.



Jim and Kelley never imagined that a curious request from their youngest daughter would transform into a full-fledged business, or that a small storefront in Hayden, ID, would become a popular travel destination for knitting enthusiasts worldwide. Yet today Alpaca Direct is at the heart of a vibrant and global knitting community. With the help of the web, they’ve brought the warmth of alpaca wool to more than 100,000 customers across 30 countries. As Kelley says, “With Google tools, we can do that, and [customers] can be part of our community.”


In 2016, Google’s search and advertising tools helped provide $222 billion of economic activity for 1.5 million businesses, website publishers, and nonprofits across the U.S. Our 2016 Economic Impact Report explores that economic impact state-by-state and the local businesses that are helping to drive it.   



While working on a small leather goods line in New York City, Tanya Menendez and Matthew Burnett realized how difficult it was to find local manufacturers. In an effort to democratize that access, the two started Maker’s Row, an online marketplace that helps small businesses find American factories to make their products. They use AdWords to both establish factory partnerships and find new customers, and YouTube to, as Tanya describes, “put a face behind the products that are made in the United States.” In five years, the company has helped 120,000 small businesses source and create products in 11,000 American factories.






After serving as a U.S. Marine for six years, Nick Baucom founded a company, Two Marines Moving, in Alexandria, Virginia. His goal was to keep his fellow veterans gainfully employed, while giving local residents a moving option they could trust. Today, Two Marines Moving employs more than 100 veterans. They use Search and AdWords not only to find customers,  but also to recruit employees. Nick has opened a second location in Florida and hopes to create job opportunities for 500 veterans in the next five years, vowing that “veterans will always have a home here.”





Across the U.S., businesses large and small are using the web to find their customers, grow, and make an impact. We’re proud to be part of their stories.


Posted by Claire Mudd, Director, Americas Small Business Marketing

Create and share winning content

6 minute read




Content is everything we consume online. Users arrive on a site to be educated, entertained, inspired, or complete a task.

Content is how you win new site visitors, and how you entice them to return. So it’s important to remember that, though ads are driving revenue, content should be the focal point of every page.

With that in mind, part three of our series for new publishers focuses on how to plan, write, and promote great content. If you missed part one (AdSense 101) or part two (AdSense best practices), then check them out and get caught up.

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The keys to engaging, shareable content

Be targeted, consistent, and frequent: Take the time to figure out who is reading your content and which topics they engage with most (we’ll get into the mechanics of this later on). Update your site as often as possible with fresh content, tailored to your audience.

Use video where possible: People crave video, users from around the world are now watching a billion hours of YouTube’s incredible content every single day! Video personalizes your brand and can boost the amount of time user’s spend on your site.

Be readable: Successful online content is scannable and snappy; follow these best practices to make sure your articles look enticing to viewers:
  • Don’t use more than 7 sentences per paragraph 
  • Keep your column width between 700 and 800 pixels 
  • Organize your content with headers and subheaders.
Stay on top of trends: Use online tools like Google Trends to identify subjects your audience is interested in, and discuss them while they’re still fresh. Trends is also really useful for location targeting - identifying popular topics and keywords in your target areas. 

Incorporate evergreen content: Evergreen content is information that stays useful and relevant no matter when it’s consumed. While trending topics should be used to generate buzz, evergreen content will bring a consistent source of referral traffic that may boost your position on organic search pages.

Figure out what works, and do more of it

If you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to link Google Analytics and AdSense. Otherwise, the following recommendations will not be applicable for you.

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Content groups allow you to bundle your content into different lists, to analyze the themes that drive most engagement with your audience. For example, if you run a digital marketing blog, you could create content groups around SEO, social media, PPC campaigns etc. 

After setting your groups, use the AdSense page report to view and compare metrics. You may discover that your audience is interested in one particular theme - if so, try to focus on that topic more at the expense of groups with less engagement. For example, if your foodie blog has more views on food truck review articles than any other group, then adapt your content strategy to include more of that content.





The Landing Page report in Google Analytics helps you understand where users landed on your site, and where they left from. This will give you insights into the type of content that draws visitors from external sites, and may highlight content that should be re-worked due to poor metrics.

To get the most value from the Landing Page report, track the following:
  • Look for pages with high bounce rates. If you find that one or two areas of your site drive your users towards the exit, then ask yourself what you could do to improve them.
  • If you’ve got quality content that’s not attracting new visitors, then play with the headline or experiment with different primary images to promote it. 
  • Analyze page speed. 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load. If some of your pages are slower than others, then it’s likely they contain bloated elements. Consider compressing images or getting rid of animated files. Check out the tactical recommendations to increase page speed in part two of this series.
Plan ahead with your audience in mind

Use the Demographics and Interests tab in your Google Analytics account to understand who’s reading your content, and what their interests are (you’ll need to enable this feature before getting started).

The Demographics report will give you insights into the age and gender of your audience, and allows you to segment these groups to see how different people react to your content.

Use the Interest report to shape your content to your audience’s interests, and identify upcoming events they may be interested in. For example, if fans of your digital marketing blog are also interested in new technology and gadgets, you could mention these learnings across your social channels to increase your following.

At this point, you’ll have accumulated data from content grouping, as well as the Landing Page, Demographics, and Insights reports. Use it all to paint a picture of your average user, what they enjoy, what they dislike - then use those insights to build a content calendar.

A content calendar will allow you to plan a content strategy that’s focused on the topics you know your audience enjoys. Be sure to research seasonal events related to your industry or product, so you can discuss them while they’re still relevant.

Build an audience on social

Growing an audience on social media can provide publishers with a consistent source of referral traffic to their sites. As with content, the best way to compel users to follow your social accounts is to provide them with consistent value.
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Here’s some tips to help you set up and maintain a strong social presence:
  • Don’t be too self-promotional. You’ll want to link back to your content, but if that’s all you focus on, potential followers will lose interest. 
  • Use your content calendar to prepare posts around upcoming events in advance. Users care less about an Oscars tweet a week after the ceremony. 
  • Create relationships with influencers. Retweet them, mention them in a favorable way, and link to their content. These relationships can lead to guest-blogging opportunities or retweets from an account with a large audience. This tactic can help you break through your current organic reach to access new users. 
  • Build relationships with your users. Answer their questions promptly, engage with them in conversations. If your audience feels valued, they’ll be much more likely to help you promote your content. 
  • Use Google Trends to discover trending topics on a daily basis, and tie in posts with popular conversations. 
For a list of helpful tools to help you manage your social accounts and build your audience, read our ‘Amplify your content with social’ blog post.

And make sure to check in next week, when our series for new publishers continues with a post on improving performance to potentially maximize profits.

If you think AdSense is a fit for your site, then sign up now and get started.

‘Til next time.

Posted by: Jay Castro, @jayciro

Source: Inside AdSense


The New Google Analytics Home: Know Your Data

We’ve been improving Google Analytics with the goal of making it even easier for anyone to gain the insights they need. Last year, we introduced a fully redesigned mobile app for better insights on the go (which has now been downloaded over a million times!). We then introduced automated insights in the mobile app. Most recently, we simplified our web UI.


Today we're introducing additional enhancements designed to help you make better data-driven decisions based on a deeper understanding of your users.


A New Home


The first thing you'll notice when you sign into your account is that we've introduced a new landing page.


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The “Home” page in Google Analytics now offers an overview of key aspects of your business’ online presence. Here are a few highlights:


  • You can see snippets from a curated set Google Analytics reports, including real time data, with simple and streamlined controls.
  • Each snippet is preceded by a helpful question that frames the data, such as “When do your users visit?” or “Where do your users come from?”.
  • Want to dig deeper? Hover on any data point for more details or drill into the relevant report with the provided link on each card.
  • “Home” is automatically configured based on your setup: For example, if you have Goals or Ecommerce, you’ll see the page change accordingly.


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This is a new page in Google Analytics. Existing reports have not changed. The Audience Overview report, which used to be the default landing page, is still available: just open the “Audience” section in the side navigation and click on "Overview".


Discover


Looking for the latest enhancements to the basic Google Analytics experience? You'll find them in our new “Discover” page.


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As the name suggests, Discover offers products and experiences that you might find useful as you work with your Google Analytics account. These could be products like Google Optimize, tools like the Google Analytics mobile app, helpful features like Custom Alerts, or even useful educational materials from the Analytics Academy.


Look for the new Discover link just next to the Admin link at the bottom of your left navigation.


Both of these additions will be rolling out to all users over the next few weeks. We hope these new additions help make it easier for you to get the most out of Google Analytics.


Posted by Ajay Nainani (@ajayn23), Product Manager, Google Analytics

Introducing Marketing Mix Model Partners: Helping brands better understand the impact of their marketing

The following was originally posted on the Google Agency Blog.

CMOs and marketing executives use marketing mix models to understand how their marketing investments are driving sales and how to optimize their spend across multiple brands, channels, and regions. With rising investment in digital and mobile advertising, marketers want to be sure the models they use correctly value the impact of these channels.

Today we’re excited to announce a program to help marketing mix model providers better incorporate Google media data into their services. The Marketing Mix Model Partners program is designed to ensure advertisers can accurately measure the ROI of their digital investments and confidently understand the digital drivers of ROI to improve returns year-over-year.

The Marketing Mix Model Partners program offers:
  • Data Access: Partners get access to accurate, granular campaign data across all relevant Google video, display, and search media in a standardized format. We’re also making the data easier to access by providing data from multiple properties, like Search and YouTube, in one centralized location. 
  • Expertise: Partners also get dedicated training, resources, and specialists to better understand Google advertising products and practices and incorporate digital data into their model methodologies. 
  • Actionability: We provide Google account and technical teams to help advise on results and strategies designed to understand the drivers of ROI and improve returns over time. 
Our partners

We’re excited to be working with the initial participants in the program, Marketing Management Analytics, Neustar MarketShare, and Nielsen. Google customers can talk with their Google representatives about working with one of these partners on using Google data in their marketing mix model engagements.

Here’s what our partners have to say about the program:

“The ability to collect and analyze digital data at extremely granular levels enables both marketers and their advertising partners to more successfully measure, predict and action the most effective and profitable means of optimizing each digital channel to achieve their business objectives. We are excited that Google has taken such a proactive approach in working with MMA and analytic companies within the marketplace in providing such a high level of objectivity and transparency."
— Patrick Cummings, CEO of Marketing Management Analytics 
“Today’s measurement solutions need to be connected, always on and incorporate the myriad of channels, as well as critical econometric externalities in order for marketers to truly get an accurate view of marketing’s impact. We are thrilled to be a Google launch partner as this signals our commitment to helping brands understand how their marketing investments are driving business results. Through this partnership our advanced analytics models will incorporate more accurate, granular data, giving marketers a more complete understanding of the effectiveness of their marketing and how best to optimize their spend to improve future outcomes.”
— Julie Fleischer, Vice President, Product Marketing, Marketing Solutions, Neustar 
"As the marketing landscape rapidly evolves, it is critical to use the most robust data-streams in our Marketing Mix models to ensure the highest standard of insight quality. Working with Google, we will have better input and better consultative output so that our advertiser clients can best understand what is driving their performance today and make informed decisions for tomorrow.”
 ‒ Jason Tate, VP of Global Analytics at Nielsen 

As part of our commitment to providing the industry with trusted, transparent, and independent third-party metrics, we’ll be expanding the program over the coming months. If your company provides marketing mix model services and you’re interested in learning more about the partner program, please sign up here.

Posted by Mallory Fetters, Product Manager, Marketing Mix Models

Join us live on May 23rd as we announce the latest Ads, Analytics and DoubleClick innovations


What: Google Marketing Next keynote live stream
When: Tuesday, May 23rd at 9:00 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. ET.
Duration: 1 hour
Where: On the Inside AdWords Blog


Be the first to hear about Google’s latest marketing innovations, the moment they’re announced.

Watch live as my team and I share new Ads, Analytics and DoubleClick innovations designed to improve your ability to reach consumers, simplify campaign measurement and increase your productivity. We’ll also give you a sneak peek at how brands are starting to use the Google Assistant to delight customers.

Register for the live stream here.

Until then, follow AdWords on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn for previews of what's to come.

Posted by Sridhar Ramaswamy Senior Vice President, Ads and Commerce

Source: Inside AdMob


This is not a test: Google Optimize now free — for everyone

Businesses often have one big question for us: How can they better understand their website visitors and deliver more relevant, engaging experiences?

To help businesses test and take action, last spring we launched our enterprise-class A/B testing and personalization product, Google Optimize 360. We saw great demand, so we made it more accessible with a free beta version last fall — and that response also exceeded our expectations, with over 250,000 users requesting an Optimize account.

Today we're very excited to announce that both Optimize and Optimize 360 are now out of beta. And Optimize is now immediately available to everyone — for free. This is not a test: You can start using it today.

Easy to implement 

A recent survey showed 45% of small and medium businesses don’t optimize their websites through A/B testing.1 The two most common reasons given were a "lack of employee resources" and "lack of knowledge to get started."

If you're part of that 45%, Optimize is a great choice for you. Optimize has many of the same features as Optimize 360. It's just right for small and medium-sized businesses who need powerful testing, but don't have the budget or team resources for an enterprise-level solution. Optimize is easy for anyone to set up. Early users of Optimize have been happy with how easy it is to use. In fact, it's built right on top of Analytics, so if you're already an Analytics user you'll add just a single line of code to get Optimize up and running. With just a few clicks more, you can start using your Analytics data to design experiments and improve the online experience for your users.

Easy to use

Worried about having to hire someone to run A/B tests on your site, or frustrated about not knowing how to do it yourself? Don't be. The Optimize visual editor allows for WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editing so you can change just about anything on your site with a drag and a drop. And more advanced users will enjoy the ability to edit raw HTML or add JavaScript or CSS rules directly in the editor.


Powerful targeting capabilities within Optimize allow you to serve the right experiences to just the right set of users. And you have flexible URL targeting capabilities to create simple or complex rules for the pages where you want your experiment to run. To find out if a targeting rule you've set will apply to a specific URL on your site, use the new Optimize URL tester. Just enter a URL and the tester will immediately tell you if that page is a match for your targeting rule.

Easy to understand

Optimize calculates results based on your existing Analytics metrics and objectives using advanced Bayesian methods, so the reporting shows you exactly what you need to know to make better and faster decisions.


We’ve also upgraded the improvement overview (see image above) to help you quickly see how an experiment affects the metrics you care about most, whether that means purchases, pageviews, session lengths, or whatever else you’re tracking in Analytics.

Easy to try 

Leading businesses are building a culture of growth that embraces the use of data and testing to improve the customer experience every day. We’re delighted to offer Optimize to everyone to help deliver better user experiences across the board.

As of today, Optimize is available in over 180 countries. (A special note for our European users: We’ve added a new data processing amendment to the Google Optimize Terms of Service that you may review in the UI and accept if you wish.) And we're not done yet: Keep an eye out for more improvements and announcements in the future.

What are you waiting for? Try it right now!

Happy Optimizing!

1Google Surveys, "Website Optimization Challenges for SMBs," Base: 506 Small/Medium Business Owners and Managers, Google Surveys Audience Panel, U.S., March 2017

Posted by Rotimi Iziduh and Jon Mesh, Product Managers, Google Optimize

Why Your Testing and Optimization Team Needs a Data Storyteller

If a test happens on your website and nobody hears about it, does it make a sound?

Not to get too philosophical, but that's one of the big challenges of building a culture of growth and optimization: getting the word out. That's why a data storyteller is one of the key members of any testing team.

In fact, “communication and data storytelling” was noted as a critical skill for a person who leads testing and optimization efforts, according to a survey of marketing leaders who conduct tests and online experiments.1 The must-have skills rounding out the top three were leadership and, the obvious, analytics.



A data storyteller is part numbers-cruncher, part internal marketer, and part ace correspondent from the testing trenches. He or she is someone who can take the sheer data of testing — the stacks of numbers, the fractional wins and losses, the stream of daily choices — and turn it into a narrative that will excite the team, the office, and (especially) the C-suite.

Storytelling doesn't just mean bragging about successes. It can also mean sharing failures and other less-than-optimal outcomes. The point is not just to highlight wins: it's to reinforce a culture of growth, to generate interest in experimentation, and to explain why testing is so good for the company.

"Our test success rate is about 10%," says Jesse Nichols, Head of Growth for Nest. "We learn something from all our tests, but only one in 10 results in some kind of meaningful improvement." That means that a big part of the data storyteller's job is to keep people interested in testing and show them the value.

Watch our on-demand webinar “Test with success — even when you fail” to hear more testing and optimization tips.


If you're the data storyteller for your team, here are three points to remember:
  • Take the long view.  Gaining support for testing is like rolling a rock up a hill: slow going at first, but once you cross the summit the momentum will take over fast. It takes time, so lay the groundwork with lots of short reports. Don't wait to make formal presentations: Look for chances to drop your message into weekly wrap-ups and other group forums. In short, don’t be afraid to over-communicate. 
  • Be specific. It's better to present one great number than 10 so-so ones. Think mosaic rather than mural: Look for specific stories that can represent your larger efforts and broader plans. 
  • Keep your eye on the bottom line. In the end, that's what it's all about. You may be thrilled that a call-to-action change from "see more" to "learn more" increased clicks by .03%, but what will really get the CMO and other executives interested is moving the profit needle. As a litmus test, ask yourself, “So what?” If your story doesn’t clearly answer the question in terms the audience cares about, consider giving it a rewrite. 
And remember that it won't always be small victories. "The things you're so sure are going to work are the ones that go nowhere," says Jesse. "Then you do a throwaway test and it makes the company an extra $500,000." That's a story that everyone will want to hear.


Download our eBook How to Build a Culture of Growth to learn more best practices on testing and optimization.


1Source: Google Surveys, U.S., "Marketing Growth and Optimization," Base: 251 marketing executives who conduct A/B tests or online experiments, Oct. 2016.

Posted by Casey Carey, Director, Platforms & Publisher Marketing

Data Studio: Now create apps, big screen, and docs experiences

Our vision for Data Studio is to give report creators full control over the viewer experience. Today we’ve added a number of report properties that enable you to create apps, big screen, and document experiences.

App Experience: Auto-hide header, no-margins, left hand nav
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Big Screen Experience: Auto-hide header, no-margins, 16:9 aspect ratio
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 Document Experience: Fixed header, margins, custom canvas length
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Specifically we’ve added a number of new report properties giving you the ability to control:

  • The visibility of the report header 
  • Using a top or left hand navigation control 
  • Whether to show margins 
  • The height and width of the canvas 
We’ve enabled these features on all reports. To use them, just open or create a new report, unselect all components, and you will see these new report properties.

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To learn more read the report layout options article in our help center.

We’re excited to see how creators will customize their reports using these features. Let us know how they work for you in the comments.

Post By Nick Mihailovski, Product Manager Data Studio