This is my talk from Measurefest (November 2016). Google Analytics is an incredibly powerful tool but it can't do everything. This talk outlines a few areas where I feel GA is not the right solution and recommend alternative tools that can work very well in addition to GA.

1. Dara Fitzgerald
dara@measurelab.co.uk
Analytics Director
@measurelab
When GA just isn’t enough...

2. • Free product is incredibly powerful (EE, Data Import, MCF, etc.)
• Very intuitive interface
• Regular improvements
• Integration with other Google products (AdWords, GTM, Sheets...)
• Well documented (not just by Google)
What I like about GA.

3. • Session Recording
• Real-time Monitoring and Live Chat
• Identifying Users (No PII allowed in GA!)
• Retroactive Events & Funnels
• Business Reporting
But even the mighty GA has its limits.

4. Session Recording.

5. Session Recording.
https://www.savio.no/google-analytics/hotjar-user-id-tracking-google-analytics-v2
Track Hotjar User IDs in GA

6. Session Recording.
Search for specific users, based
on GA behaviour, in Hotjar.

7. Session Recording.
Then watch
sessions for
those users!

8. Real-Time Analytics with Live Chat.

9. Real-Time with Live Chat.

10. Real-Time with Live Chat.
Discreet chat CTA
with auto-prompt.
Users choice to
interact or ignore.

11. Real-Time with Live Chat.
Quick, real contact
Engages the user
Identifies user
Helps conversion :)

12. Real-Time with Live Chat.

13. Identifying Users.

14. Identifying Users.

15. Identifying Users.

16. Retroactive Events & Funnels.

17. Retroactive Events & Funnels.
Goal flow is retroactive in GA but it can
only use page URLs, not events :(

18. Retroactive Events & Funnels.
GA Segments are retroactive and can use
Events & pages BUT they can only use data
actively being collected!

19. • Single JavaScript Snippet
• Captures Every User Interaction
• Retroactive From Day One
• Very User Focussed
Retroactive Events & Funnels.

20. Retroactive Events & Funnels.
“Visualizer”
makes defining
events as easy
as point & click!

21. Retroactive Events & Funnels.
Remember, these
events have not
been coded onsite.
They can be
defined on the fly
and have data
from day one!

22. Business Reporting.

23. Business Reporting.

24. Power BI. Data Studio.

25. Forecast based on historical data using R with Power BI
Power BI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMaJf6UBKeI

26. Power BI.
Using the “web”
connector, you
can even scrape
the content
of web pages!

27. • Google Analytics is great BUT not for everything!
• Use the right tool for the job. Don’t shoehorn all data into GA.
• GA can tell you what is happening but not necessarily why.
• GA is good for reporting & analysis but NOT for real-time action.
• Right now, Google is still very Google focussed.
Making success measurable
In Summary.

28. Thanks for listening! :)
Dara Fitzgerald
@darafitzgerald
Analytics Director
@measurelab