Tag Archives: Analytics

Google Analytics and Google Ads: A Powerful Pairing

Today’s customer journey doesn’t follow a standard path—it’s diverse, non-linear, and always evolving. Consumers conduct research about products across a variety of devices—and marketers are looking for ways to deliver experiences that meet consumers’ rising expectations. For many marketers, the solution lies in gaining a deeper understanding of the customer journey. The integration between Google Analytics and Google Ads helps you accomplish this.


Once linked together, Google Analytics and Google Ads form a powerful partnership—and our new guide explores the ways this integrated solution can help you unlock deeper insights, create smarter marketing, and drive better business outcomes.

Insights-driven marketing

Linking Google Analytics and Google Ads put your insights and ad creation side by side, helping you better understand how effectively your ads are leading to conversions. You can then adjust ad creative based on these insights, delivering informed marketing that leads to more conversions.


Optimized bidding

Once you link Google Analytics and Google Ads, you can access a new set of reports about your Google Ads campaigns right in your Analytics account, helping you better understand what happens after a customer clicks an ad. For instance, you might find that certain keywords are leading to more conversions—and now you can focus your bidding on those high-performing keywords.


Customized messaging

When Google Analytics and Google Ads are working together, you can share Analytics audiences with Google Ads to deliver messaging tailored to different groups of customers. For instance, you can make an audience of users who filled a cart on your website but abandoned their cart before completing a purchase. You can then create a campaign in Google Ads and focus it on these cart abandoners—driving more conversions in the process.


Advanced machine learning

Machine learning-powered capabilities in Analytics answer important questions about your audience. For instance, you can ask Analytics questions in plain language such as “How much time on average are mobile users spending on my site’s homepage?” and get an answer back quickly. You can also use machine learning to find a list of your most valuable customers with Smart Lists—then dynamically adjust your Google Ads campaigns to reach these customers.


Read more about this powerful integration between Google Analytics and Google Ads in our guide. And check back next week when we'll post 5 steps to improve media performance.

Source: Google Ads


Dynamic audiences in Google Analytics for Firebase

For businesses to make the best decisions about where to invest their marketing budget, it’s critical that they understand user behavior on both their web and app properties. And while a website is often the first customer touchpoint, for many businesses, apps are where customers are spending more of their time. As a result, marketers need to capture audience insights from their app analytics that they can then take action on, both within and outside of their apps.

Google Analytics for Firebase, our app analytics solution, has historically given you the ability to organize your audiences around events, device type, and other dimensions. These criteria were not exhaustive, however, or dynamic as user behavior changed over time.

That’s why we’ve made enhancements to the audience builder experience, with a few major updates to help you identify relevant app audiences more easily and with greater precision:

  1. Dynamic audience evaluation: Audiences are now dynamic by default, meaning Analytics will automatically include users as soon as they meet your criteria, and automatically exclude users when they no longer do. This allows you to “set and forget” your audiences while they populate, without the hassle of constantly re-evaluating them.
  2. Audience exclusion: Audiences can be more precisely defined by adding exclusion criteria. For example, you can create a list of users that added an item to a shopping cart and of those users, exclude those who have also made a purchase.
  3. Membership duration: Audiences can now include a membership time frame, such as “users that have converted in the last 30 days,” so your audiences and messaging remain fresh and timely.  

These new tools make audiences more powerful, flexible and actionable than before, so you can be confident that your insights reflect relevant users and activity on your apps. In 2019, we will continue to enhance the Google Analytics for Firebase audience builder, offering even more ways to precisely create audiences.

Take action once you’ve identified relevant audiences

Once you’ve improved your understanding of users, you can also deliver personalized experiences based on varying user needs. For example, through push notifications or Remote Config in Firebase, or customized ads in Google Ads.

Let’s say you have an e-commerce app. Using these advanced audience capabilities, you can build an audience of users that visit your app for the first time and add an item to their cart, but don’t make a purchase — and only include those who do so in a 30 day window.

Build a dynamic audience for first time users that have abandoned their cart.

Build a dynamic audience for first time users that have abandoned their cart.

You can now reach that audience with tailored messaging relevant to their experience with the app, and encourage them to make the purchase through an in-app promotion, email notification, or personalized ad. Once these users have returned to the app, made a purchase, and/or exceeded the 30 day window however, they will no longer meet the criteria for that audience, and you will not adversely affect their experience with marketing that is no longer relevant to them.

With the ability to create dynamic audiences, you are able to understand your users with better precision. A better view into your audiences means more insight into the customer journey, so you can invest in your marketing activities with confidence and see better results — keeping users happy, and your app growing.

Easier Search Console access for Analytics owners

Verifying websites in Search Console can be useful for site owners, giving you access to information about how your site is performing in Google Search. You can also get notified of issues, such as accidental blocking of Googlebot or getting hacked. Over the next few months, if you're a verified owner of a Google Analytics property, we'll now automatically verify you for that same website in Search Console.

Quicker verification, with no extra steps

Now that we're launching auto-verification, you don't have to manually configure Search Console and Analytics. To be eligible for auto-verification, you still need to follow the existing requirements for Search Console ownership. If you don't want to be verified for Search Console, simply delete the property in Search Console.

See how your site is performing on Google Search

Search Console is a free tool that provides website owners with information which can be critical to performance in Google Search. Once verified, Search Console compiles reports on the website's performance in Search, including search queries, the website's rankings, and the number of clicks and impressions. Additionally, there's information about a site's indexing, the status of various implemented features on the website, as well as reports and notifications of critical issues.


We hope this change makes it easier for you to get access to data in Search Console, to be able to discover issues quicker, as well as to learn about opportunities for your website in Google Search. If you have any questions, visit the Webmaster Help Forum.

Source: Search


New Analytics Academy course: Google Analytics for Power Users

Today, we're introducing a new course in Analytics Academy: Google Analytics for Power Users.

Google Analytics for Power Users Video

In this course with instructor Krista Seiden, you will have the opportunity to practice advanced Analytics techniques to  improve website content, optimize your checkout flow, and focus your marketing strategy.

By participating in the course, you’ll learn how to:

  • Analyze converting and non-converting audiences

  • Determine the traffic sources that drive the most value

  • Customize channels for increased actionability

  • Identify top performing content on your site

  • Improve ecommerce performance

Sign up for Google Analytics for Power Users to start learning today.

Google Images data in Google Analytics

A few weeks ago we told you a change is coming to Google Images referral URLs, and that this would have an impact on how this data is surfaced in Google Analytics. Here's more detail on those changes and how you'll be able to use the new level of granularity to improve your marketing efforts.

Previously, all traffic coming from a Google Images search result would be grouped together under ‘google / organic’ in the Acquisition reports in Google Analytics. Soon, when the Google Images team makes their changes to the referral source URL, there will be a new Source line item for image search reflected in Google Analytics which will display as ‘google images’ in the Source report and ‘google images / organic’ in the Source / Medium report within Analytics.

Google Images Organic

You'll still see a line item for images.google.com in the 'Referral' report within Google Analytics. The referral report will continue to show these, and all other sources, as referrals.

Images Referral

This is a change in the way we're processing and reporting this data and will happen automatically for all accounts. If you don't have any filters or custom channel groupings set up based on Google Organic Source or Medium, then no changes are needed and you can continue to report on the data within the Channel, Source and Source / Medium reports as is.

If you do have special filters, custom channel groupings, or reports based on this data, then you will want to make updates as needed to capture the new Source parameter in your custom settings.

Note that when this change launches, you may see a drop in data perceived to be coming from ‘google,’ since it will be reclassified as coming from ‘google images.’ In some cases, you may see an increase in organic traffic as we reclassify some traffic previously classified as ‘referral’ to ‘organic.’ These changes should all balance out and you shouldn't expect an overall drop or increase in total traffic.

Why are we making this update?

We’ve long heard from analysts and webmasters that they want more granularity in their analytics data to help them understand the value of Google Images. With the addition of the ‘google images’ source, you'll soon be able to do just that.

Within your regular analytics reporting, you’ll be able to compare total Google Organic traffic to that of Google Images traffic via any of the acquisition reports, or add more detail to other reports by adding a secondary dimension of Source. These insights could help you determine when and where to allocate your marketing dollars or business resources when it comes to advertising and site optimization.

The ability to segment audiences based on Google Images versus overall Google Search can help you determine which pieces of content are most valuable, allow you to create audiences specific to image search, and use those audiences across the Google Marketing Platform.

Together, we hope these updates give you a new level of understanding of the traffic coming to your site through Google Images.

Simplifying Data Studio embeds and social sharing

Today we are introducing two new features to make sharing your Data Studio visualizations easier, including enhanced support for embedding your reports across the web, and rich snippets of your reports when you share them on social networks.

Embed with Embed.ly

Data Studio now supports embedding interactive reports on Medium, Reddit and hundreds of other sites that use Embed.ly. To embed your report, simply paste the report URL in your article. Simply embed your report and it will sync in real time, making it possible for you to distribute your interactive reports. Learn more.

Here are some examples of embedded reports:

DS Embed 1

Medium article showing Stack Overflow trends. Link

DS Embed 2

Reddit post showing real time departures for BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Link

Share rich snippets on social

When you share your report link on social platforms or messaging apps, you will now see a rich snippet including the title, thumbnail and description of the report. Your audience will know what to expect from the link and have better visibility to your reports. Rich snippets also help make your content more searchable on social networks.

To generate rich snippets, post the report URL you intend to share.

Here's an example of a rich snippet:

DS Embed 3

Rich snippets work on any social platform or messaging app that supports Open Graph Protocol including Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit and apps like Hangouts, iMessage and Slack.

Getting started with Google Analytics for Firebase

With Google Analytics for Firebase, you can understand and measure the impact of your mobile app or apps on your business. And with the Firebase updates announced earlier this year, we’re bringing even more depth and analysis capabilities to Google Analytics for Firebase—including project level reporting and flexible filters.

We continue to build and improve our app measurement solutions, and are showcasing this new feature set with the Firebase Demo Project. If you’ve never played with Firebase before, this is a great place to start in order to get a good idea of what features are available and how they work together.

We’re also releasing our new “Getting Started with Google Analytics for Firebase” mini-course. These videos use the Firebase Demo Project as well as live demos to walk you through getting up and running with Google Analytics for Firebase. We cover everything from creating a Firebase project, to understanding your dashboard metrics and events, to integrating across other areas of Firebase.

Overview of Google Analytics for Firebase
Google Analytics for Firebase Dashboard Walkthrough
Exporting Data to BigQuery and Data Studio

The above videos are just a subset of the content we’re bringing you through this new mini-course. Check out the full playlist—Getting Started with Google Analytics for Firebase—to get a comprehensive overview.

New brand, new home: Where to find Google Marketing Platform online


When we brought together DoubleClick and the Google Analytics 360 Suite under Google Marketing Platform, we knew we had to make some changes to our websites, blogs and social media channels too. Now, the resources you’ve been reading and visiting over the years have been updated to reflect our new brand, so you can find the latest news, tips and more on our advertising and analytics solutions in one spot.

First, you should know that we’ve moved our content and product information to marketingplatform.google.com. You’ll also find product sign-in links there. (Those bookmarks you have for the old DoubleClick and Google Analytics websites should automatically redirect you.)

We’ve also launched new and improved blogs, with information for our product users and enterprise customers. We’ll be regularly updating them with product news and digital marketing insights. Bookmark us.

Of course, you can also connect with Google Marketing Platform on social:

Twitter: Follow @GMktgPlatform

LinkedIn: Follow Google Marketing Platform for updates

YouTube: Subscribe for new videos

You’ll find customer stories, major product announcements, research, reports and other advertising and analytics content intended for large enterprises.

And don’t worry: We haven’t changed the Google Analytics social channels. We will continue to bring you product news and tips on Google+, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

We hope you like our new home. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!

Posted by Karen Budell, Google Analytics team

Google Measurement Partners: Trusted measurement solutions for the entire customer journey

We believe that measurement you can trust is critical for brands trying to understand the impact of their marketing. But as the customer journey has become more complex, measurement has become increasingly challenging. And while Google strives to build great solutions, some marketers prefer to rely on third-party measurement solutions.

That’s why we’re announcing Google Measurement Partners, a program that brings together new and existing partnerships to offer brands a variety of options to measure their advertising media.

The program is launching with 20+ verified partners across seven specializations: viewability, reach, brand safety, brand lift, sales lift, app attribution, and marketing mix modeling. Partners offer various solutions that work across Google advertising products, including Google Marketing Platform (including Display & Video 360 and Search Ads 360), Google Ads, YouTube, and more. Existing partner programs like App Attribution and Marketing Mix Modeling are now included in Google Measurement Partners.

Our launch partners are recognized leaders within their focus areas and provide solutions widely used by the industry. They meet rigorous standards for accuracy and use reliable methodologies to measure KPIs that matter for marketers. And we work closely with them to ensure the solutions respect user privacy.

With trust and transparency at its foundation, Measurement Partners continues our commitment to providing both quality and choice when it comes to measuring performance and helping marketers better understand their customers. Alongside our partners, we’ll keep working to establish commonly accepted standards and advanced measurement solutions that help raise the bar for the industry.

Google Measurement Partners: Trusted measurement solutions for the entire customer journey

We believe that measurement you can trust is critical for brands trying to understand the impact of their marketing. But as the customer journey has become more complex, measurement has become increasingly challenging. And while Google strives to build great solutions, some marketers prefer to rely on third-party measurement solutions.

That’s why we’re announcing Google Measurement Partners, a program that brings together new and existing partnerships to offer brands a variety of options to measure their advertising media.

The program is launching with 20+ verified partners across seven specializations: viewability, reach, brand safety, brand lift, sales lift, app attribution, and marketing mix modeling. Partners offer various solutions that work across Google advertising products, including Google Marketing Platform (including Display & Video 360 and Search Ads 360), Google Ads, YouTube, and more. Existing partner programs like App Attribution and Marketing Mix Modeling are now included in Google Measurement Partners.



Our launch partners are recognized leaders within their focus areas and provide solutions widely used by the industry. They meet rigorous standards for accuracy and use reliable methodologies to measure KPIs that matter for marketers. And we work closely with them to ensure the solutions respect user privacy.

With trust and transparency at its foundation, Measurement Partners continues our commitment to providing both quality and choice when it comes to measuring performance and helping marketers better understand their customers. Alongside our partners, we’ll keep working to establish commonly accepted standards and advanced measurement solutions that help raise the bar for the industry.

Posted by Babak Pahlavan, Senior Director of Product Management, Analytics Solutions and Measurement