Update from the GACP Summit

Starting yesterday and continuing into today, Google is hosting a closed door event for its Google Analytics Certified Partners (GACP). A colleague and I are lucky enough to be here in Mountain View, California, since Hanson is a member of the GACP network.

Along with sessions focused on implementation, execution and development of all Google Analytics has to offer, the team has also announced some exciting new tools. While we cannot disclose all of the upcoming products and features, we’ve been encouraged to highlight one of the top features that will be of interest to most analysts.

Over the next few quarters, Google Analytics will be rolling out a new way of tracking visitors throughout their lifespan with your brand. Through Universal Analytics, Google is reshaping the analytics industry and offering a new perspective on how we track each individual customer.

In the past, all metrics have been session based. Each visit is recorded as a session, so if you are accessing a site on multiple devices, analytics programs see each device as a unique session. So you might get counted as two, three or even more unique visitors, depending on how many devices you are using.

But with the new user ID method of tracking, there are many ways to track a visitor throughout multiple sessions on various devices.

For example, on sites where visitors must register or login to access an account or make a purchase, Universal Analytics will allow us to track the initial click-through from an email campaign—plus that person’s visits from a direct source, a referring source and finally the purchase itself. The user ID tracking method will help marketing departments better assess which efforts and tactics are having more success.

This is just the beginning of the exciting product enhancements announced yesterday at the GACP Summit. Keep an eye on our blog for further information about other coming GA enhancements and what you’ll need to know to put them into practice for your brand.