Yesterday, Google announced they will be offering a fee based version of Google Analytics, aptly named Google Analytics Premium. The service is targeted to large companies that need an Enterprise-scale web analytics tool to meet needs unaddressed or short-changed by the free Google Analytics (now being referred to as Google Analytics Standard Edition). Google Analytics Premium is positioned to compete with robust on-site analytical tools such as Adobe’s SiteCatalyst and IBM’s Core Metrics. We will discuss several key enhancements and offerings included in Google Analytics Premium which make it a more advanced solution than the Analytics Standard Edition.

First, Google is promising increased processing power for all reporting needs. The increase will remove the current cap of 1 million pageviews per day as well as the 50 thousand table row limit. In addition to the increase in data availability and tracking, you can now actually use all of your data in reports. Before, if you eclipsed the data limits, Analytics would show you reports based on a sample of your data. You will now able to download all of your data for use on your local computer. The improvement will allow for greater analysis and accuracy in assessing site performance.  Another addition to processing and reporting is that now you can define up to 50 custom variables, where previously the limit was only five. This will allow you to better segment and define the traffic on your site.

One of the more important improvements in the Premium edition over the Standard is the advanced analytical capability, headlined by their attribution system. Premium Analytics subscribers will be able to see how and which channels are contributing to the process of getting traffic and conversions on your site. Google takes this one step further by allowing you to create a custom weighting scale for each channel depending on how you value each medium.  We believe this is an important differentiator versus the first, last or equal weighted attribution methods frequently used.  Another capability that Analytics Premium will have is more integration with other Google products. Currently, you can use AdWords, AdSense, and Website Optimizer; soon DoubleClick will be included. Hopefully, the DoubleClick integration will remove the need for manually tagging display advertisements and allow you to compare your display versus paid search advertisement in one centralized location.

The most convenient enhancement to Analytics Premium is the support. Say goodbye to scouring the help section and forums to see if other users have found solutions to the various problems and challenges confronted during implementation and site updates. With the Premium package, you will be assigned a dedicated account manager to handle all of your needs and questions about Analytics. Along with your account manager, you will have an implementation expert for all setups to make sure all your tracking codes are properly created and every action that you want to track will have the appropriate code in place. Along with the implementation expert, you will be able to take training courses that range from basic usage to the more technical details. The third level of support you will receive is a 24/7 help line where trained professionals will help you troubleshoot all of your problems.  Finally, each implementation will offer a bespoke guide for the client’s site.

Consistent with an enterprise level tool for web analytics, Google offers some enterprise sized guarantees. There are three main service level agreements (SLA) within the contract with Google.  The first is based on data collection: Google promises that it will gather 99.9% of all your data. Also, they offer the assurance that all of your data is 100% owned by you. The second SLA is based on data process: Google states your data will never be more than 4 hours old and typically it should be less than 1 hour. Lastly, there is a SLA in place that 99% of all reporting needs will be met.

Overall, Google Analytics Premium sounds like a promising tool for those who need more functionality, capability, and customization than the Standard Edition offers.  As an agency, we have many clients who use Google Analytics to varying degrees of complexity.  We also have clients whose needs dictate they employ the more robust solutions offered by Adobe, IBM, and others.  Google Analytics premium clearly is targeted at the latter group.  We are still interested in learning about the level of integration that will be available for 3^rd party tools and other Google tools (like DoubleClick).  Will users be able to upload classification, naming, and attribution details?  As an enterprise level solution, will there be an expansion in profiles (currently capped at 50)?   Will goals be expanded beyond the current limit of 20?  What correlation, if any, will be available among the additional custom variables?  Will the expansion in processing power and data speed come at the expense of capacity and latency for Standard Edition users?  While we are encouraged by the development of this platform and applaud a more competitive environment, we are reluctant to draw any conclusion about the value proposition offered by Google Analytics Premium until we have more information.

Tags: Analytical Tools, Core Metrics, google analytics premium, Google onsite metrics, Omniture Site Catalyst, Website Traffic

This entry was posted on Friday, September 30th, 2011 at 3:59 pm and is filed under Google Analytics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.