The new Web + App property in Google Analytics

In early August 2019, Google released a new version of its Analytics software, known as the Web + App Property. Several well-known industry experts refer to this version as "Analytics v2".

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Fig. 1: Quote on the Google Analytics Update[/caption]We have thoroughly explored this version in our daily web analytics work and gained initial insights.

Google often introduces updates or new features without prior announcement. This is usually not a big surprise. However, many were quite surprised by the content of this new version.

What does the new Google Analytics Property offer?

The new version integrates the standard website property with the app. This allows all users to manage and analyze previous measurements from a Google Analytics for Firebase project and a website within a Google Analytics Property.

As web analyst Mario Hillmers indicated on his blog on the same topic, Google has not only unified a property from two different projects. They have laid the groundwork for future, unified data capturing.

What does “unified data capturing” mean?

Google provides users with a completely new data schema. Those who have worked in the past solely with Google Analytics' web property were accustomed to dealing with sessions and pageviews. Google Analytics for Firebase focuses on events and parameters. And this is exactly the fundamental difference.

The new data schema now moves towards Firebase, thus focusing more on events and parameters.

Why is Google taking this step?

Google emphasized a focus on unified data capturing with the introduction of gtags.js. The release of unified metrics is the first step towards unified data collection. From now on, data will be consolidated in one place. The transition between various tools is now a thing of the past, which greatly simplifies extensive analysis.

According to analytics expert Krista Seiden, one reason for the sudden change is that Google Analytics for Firebase and Universal Analytics platforms fundamentally differ only in structure. When looking at the data concerning KPIs and reporting, it is noted that they are quite similar. Thus, the merging of both systems was an almost logical step.

What makes this new App + Web Property so special?

Primarily, the special feature is the unification of both systems. Google hopes that with a unified presentation, webmasters and companies will better understand their customers’ behavior in a dashboard of integrated reports.

New presentation of integrated reports

If you've worked exclusively with Google Analytics in the past, you'll quickly notice that the interface is similar to the "old" one. However, web-specific additions have been made to the reports section.

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Fig. 2: analytics.google.com[/caption]

In general, it can be seen that the interface is designed to direct users primarily to overview pages. If you want to go into more detail, you can then choose the respective individual reports.

This type of presentation slightly resembles the new Google Search Console, as it is structured similarly. The overall overview is the focus. Users receive a direct overview to delve further into individual analyses.

If you are not yet familiar with the new Search Console, we recently published an article in which we take a closer look at the new features of the Google Search Console.

The new interface is now divided into so-called categories, some of which we will briefly discuss in this article.

The user sees a list of the following "categories":

• Reports

• Events

• Explore

• Configuration

In the "Reports" section, all overviews and subsequently individual reports are found, providing information about who the visitors are and which pages they accessed with which technology.

In the "Events" section, all data for analyzing the actions that visitors have performed on your site is located.

In the "All Events" section, there's a list of all the events recorded in the new interface. From there, a click on a particular event leads directly to its respective individual report. This includes, for example, purchases or certain button clicks.

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Fig. 3: Single event representation[/caption]

In the "Explore" section, users can, among other things, create custom reports that resemble those of the Universal Google Analytics interface. The User Explorer or path analyses can also be found under this point.

In the final section, "Configuration," all properties are available for user-based fine-tune analysis configuration. This includes, for instance, audience definitions. This addition represents a special extension. In the past, it was possible to create segments for analyzing different audiences in Google Analytics. The "Audience" section in the new Web + App interface allows for even more specific audience configurations. Based on this, more in-depth analyses considering other dimensions can be conducted in the future.

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Fig. 4: All defined audiences displayed[/caption]

One of the biggest changes, especially for the Universal Analytics user, is the lack of "data view and filter configuration." Currently, the new property "only" provides configuration at the account or property level.

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Fig. 5: Overview in the "Administration" section[/caption]

Conclusion

For experienced Universal Analytics users, the interface of the new Web + App Property may seem a bit disorganized. Currently, there is considerable room for optimization. However, it's important to remember that the current version is still in beta and was only made available about 2 months ago. The new property is one of the largest, if not the largest update in the history of Google Analytics.

Therefore, it's a matter of seeing what Google introduces in terms of further development in the coming months regarding the linkage between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics for Firebase. If you are interested in web analytics and Google Analytics, we are happy to offer our support with setting up your Google Analytics account as well as topics related to web analysis. Feel free to contact us.