Here’s your summary of what happened over at Google Analytics in January, and why it should matter to you.
Improving Remarketing with Google Analytics: A UI Refresh and List Importing
Thursday, January 30, 2014
The gist:
Remember last year when GA segmentation got an upgrade? Well, this feature has now been paired up with the Remarketing List function in GA (find it by going to Admin > Remarketing > Audiences), and users can now creating remarketing lists based on segments.
Why it matters:
Segmentation based on user was already powerful, but building a remarketing list using these same customizations can be a real winner for you. Instead of just serving ads to these three buckets:
You can now drill down into demographic information of your visitors, and specifically target them. Understanding this demographic information may require a bit of a refresher, so I recommend you review my earlier post about the Demographics and Interest Reports to get familiar with how GA is breaking down this information (you may want to start a remarketing list to 65+ females if your data shows that more than 1% of your traffic originates from that demographic and converts well!).
To ensure that you have access to these features, double-check that your tracking code is modified to support display advertising and, of course, the demographics reports.
Learn About Analytics from Googlers At These Upcoming Events
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
The gist:
Google’s shared its list of speaking events all the way through April! If you can’t travel, some will be presented in webinar format. Topics range from Attribution Modeling to app development to Remarketing, so there’s something for everyone. Not necessarily an analytics guru, but going to SearchLove? You’re lucky - Justin Cutroni will be there speaking on best practices for cohorts and user measurement.
Why it matters:
If you’ve got a large budget and time to spare, level up your Analytics skills at a GA educational event. Rubbing elbows with your fellow analysts is never a bad thing - maybe we’ll see you there!
2014 Digital Analytics Association Awards for Excellence
Monday, January 27, 2014
The gist:
Several Googlers are up for awards from Digital Analytics Association this year, and Google wants you to cast your vote. Unfortunately, it’s too late for us to hit the polls, but here’s a rundown of who was nominated, and for what:
Krista Seiden, nominated for Digital Analytics Rising Star and Practitioner of the Year
Justin Cutroni, Daniel Waisberg, and Jesse Nichols, all nominated as Most Influential Industry Contributor (individual)
Jesse Nichols, nominated for Practitioner of the Year
If you’re thinking of attending the 2014 Awards for Excellence Gala, have fun and (if you’re a nominee) good luck!
Why it matters:
These folks are movers and shakers in the GA world, and you’ve likely read or watched something from them (if you haven’t met them in person). Also, in case you weren’t aware, the Digital Analytics Association is a non-profit organization whose main mission is to help organizations “illuminate and overcome the challenges of data acquisition, exploration, deduction and application”. Follow them, if you’re not already doing so, to see what’s new in the world of DAA.
That’s it for January, and we look forward to sharing our recap for February with you soon.
Until then, Happy Analyzing!
