The “New” Google Analytics
Google is slowly releasing it’s new interface for Google Analytics and from what I see so far its a step in the right direction. However, the update seems to be mostly cosmetic with a few added tools and lacks any new reporting functionality.
I have 4 separate Google Analytics accounts with several sites in each, but so far only one account has been enabled on the new interface. Not coincidently, the activated account is my only one tied to an active AdWords account. Nonetheless, I have enough access to be able to review the new interface.
The tool looks to be built in Ajax and reeks of “Web 2.0.” Graphs are much more pleasant to look at and tools to interact/edit these graphs are intuitive. Data tables are very easy to read and most reports allow you to drill down further. For example, looking at referral traffic from search engines allows you to click on the engine to view which keywords/phrases made up that traffic.
The new tools available in GA include email/export reports (about time!), custom dashboards and trend/over-time graphs. While these are welcome, they were features that should have been in the first iteration of GA.
Final thoughts on the “new” Google Analytics are that cosmetic changes are very appealing and tool enhancements have caught GA up to some of the lower-tier analytics tools, but the new release is hardly worth switching for. GA continues to be a heavy Google AdWords user’s dream or a simple, free tool for the everyday blogger, but should not be considered for any enterprise-level analytics implementation on its own.
