Google has finally rolled out Analytics Intelligence to our organization (based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada), which means that it’s likely you now have it as well. This functionality was announced in the summer time, but clearly it was not immediately rolled out to everyone.
How to Find It
If you’re viewing the Google Analytics dashboard on desktop, you may need to hide the left navigation menu in order to reveal the Intelligence button at the top right.
What This Means For You
Voice search has become an extremely popular tool for less technical users. By now, up to one third of all searches are being performed via voice (is your business prepared for this?).
Google Analytics is a useful tool for business owners, marketers and developers, and yet certification training for this tool is mostly an afterthought. This new functionality should therefore make GA much more accessible to the average non-technical or untrained user.
As a small business or website owner, this feature may not provide much value-add, as bigger data sets will be able to produce more information. We therefore see Intelligence as a more powerful tool for medium and large sized businesses.
Always Remember
While Google Analytics is a great tool, be sure to sport a healthy amount of critical thinking while using it. In order to protect themselves, Google is selective about which information it actually shows you.
Additionally, since GA is initiated via client side JavaScript, it is vulnerable to being quashed by users using ad blockers and other related tools. Consider the use of server-side analytics in addition to Google Analytics if website analysis is highly important to your business or if you’re spending a significant budget on PPC ads.
More Information
- About Analytics Intelligence
- Google Analytics rolling out ‘ask a question’ to get answers instantaneously