We’ve long wished for a demo account for Google Analytics (GA). Now, it’s finally here and with real data flowing through it. For instant gratification, go get it now.
I’m really excited to see this especially because we have access to a number of reports and integrations that are hard to set up in a personal sandbox. Most people aren’t going to want to set up an eCommerce store just to learn GA enhanced eCommerce. The data in the demo account comes from a real source, the Google Merchandise Store, so there’s data and special reports to play with that you might not have in your own setup. Who can use this new demo set-up?
Teachers/Trainers
The demo allows you to train on several integrations that were difficult without releasing your own company's data or creating and maintaining a sandbox that still may not have had all the scenarios you want. The Enhanced eCommerce, AdWords & Search Console reports in particular will be valuable with some real data flowing in. No more relying on blurred out screenshots, use the demo account to navigate during a training without worrying about revealing your or another client's data.
In-House Analytics & Marketing Professionals
If there’s a GA feature you’ve been thinking about testing but haven’t been able to, the demo account probably already has it. Use it to familiarize yourself with more customization options (see below.) You may be able to use it as an example as you build a case to invest in the implementation on your own site. Don’t have the people in-house to handle it once you’ve convinced them? Ask Seer.
One of the first things we do at Seer when we spot an anomaly in a clients data we think might apply broadly, we look to see if there’s something similar in other accounts. But if you’re in-house, you might not have access to multiple accounts the way we do at Seer. You can always take to Twitter to ask if anyone else sees XYZ, but this demo will give you a second source immediately. Though it’s too early to tell how much of an indicator this demo account may be, it’s nice to have.
Students & Others Learning GA
Go play! Get it, open it up, create hypothetical questions and try to answer them with the data. If you’re taking courses within the Google Analytics Academy use this demo to test your new skills out in a working environment with data.
Analytics Bloggers & Professionals
Blogging about GA and all of the things you can do with it? Use the demo account to take your screenshots without needing to blur data out.
Want to test out how a personal asset you’ve developed looks when shared and accessed through the Solutions Gallery? Test it out not only in your account, but in the Demo account to see how it may change.
Need to explain to a client how data will flow into their GA before you finish configuring the tracking? Point them toward the demo.
What do you get in the GA data?
There’s a lot available in this demo. All your basic reports and data you would get with a vanilla GA setup is there: real-time, acquisition, behavior. It’s the extras that might prove the most useful. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll have access to:
- Data populated from the Google Merchandise Store including some reports from integrations and customizations you might not have with your own Google Analytics account (yet).
- Demographic & Interests reports
- AdWords integrated reports
- Search Console reports
- Content Groupings
- Internal Site Search data
- Event data
- Goals with funnel visualization
- Enhanced eCommerce
- Calculated Metrics
- Custom Dimensions (including one via Data Import)
- Ability to create custom reports & dashboards.
- Ability to add personal tools & assets. Though these are not shared with all users. These include:
- Custom segments
- Annotations (private)
- Attribution Models
- Custom Channel Groupings
- Custom Alerts
- Scheduled Emails
- Shortcuts
- Ability to share assets you develop/test within the demo.
- Ability to view account and property settings. You can’t make changes here (which is good, wouldn’t want to accidentally add a filter that destroys the data for everyone else) but you can take a peek and how everything is setup with the various customizations and settings available.
Some items we have not seen in the demo account so far include:
- AdSense or Ad Exchange reports
- Experiments
- Collaborating on shared assets
- Ability to change tracking settings or tracking code (for obvious reasons)
Everyone accessing the demo account publicly will have Read & Analyze access, so restrictions are based on the GA user permissions for this level.
If you didn’t click on it at the top of this post, what are you waiting for? Go get the demo account.
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