If you haven’t checked out Google’s Beta Application of Universal Analytics yet, you’re in for a treat. The web giant has continued its legacy of packaging cutting-edge features within technological updates – most recently by announcing the addition of Cross Device Optimization to the already popular Google Analytics SEO tool.
While the current tracking model used by traditional Analytics accounts assigns a unique Client ID (or CID) to each device accessing a website, it is impossible to truly tell the difference between individual visitors to the site. In this day and age of smart phones, tablets and personal laptops, many consumers are accessing the same websites from different devices throughout the day. The current Analytics model assigns a different CID to each device, so a potential customer who browses a dress at home on her computer will be counted as TWO unique visitors after viewing the same dress from her phone later that day.
The Cross Device Optimization tool will assign a single User ID to each and every signed in searcher – so Analytics will be able to recognize that it is the same woman viewing that dress on both her laptop and her smart phone. Site owners and SEO specialists will likely notice a drop in unique visitors after switching to Universal Analytics, but the number of visitors will reflect a more accurate view of exactly how many individuals are searching for and clicking on individual pages and websites.
Additionally, Analytics users will be given an opportunity to view anonymous statistics about each individual user and e-commerce site owners will be better able to track the browsing and shopping patterns of their customer base. For example – if store owners are able to see a pattern wherein customers browse for an item on their phone and then ultimately switch to a laptop to purchase the item, they could choose to optimize their mobile and browser templates to better accommodate the actual usage patterns of their customer base.
Check out all of the new features available with Universal Analytics here, or leave a comment with your opinion on how these changes will affect digital marketing campaigns.
By Michelle Roberston