Today we will be discussing a few of the tools that are in trend. The tools are Google Analytics Vs Web Analytics Vs Data Analytics 2024. You might have heard a lot about these but might be confused about which one to choose. Technology is evolving at great speed every day. The strategy or tool that you are using today might not be beneficial for you after a couple of days. Hence one needs to keep himself updated with all the latest trends in the industry. We will be comparing these three tools and discuss their pros and cons in details. Let’s start!
Google Analytics Vs Web Analytics Vs Data Analytics 2024
#Google Analytics
We all are aware of this incredible tool launched by google. This is a website analytic software that helps to track website traffic. This service was launched in the year 2005 and since then it’s been in the favourites list of all the marketers. This is a free tool and it is being used by more than 50 million websites in the world. You need not be a marketing professional to understand the basic concepts of Google analytics though there is a certification available for professionals. This tool is considered essential while running the Search Engine optimization of your website since it requires the statistics of the visitors.
You can get detailed reports based on real-time, audience, acquisition, behaviour and conversions. If you are running the google ads then you can certainly check the data of your campaign concerning the overall campaigns, keywords, search queries, hours of the day and the final URL’s.
How it works
With Google Analytics one needs to install the code in the website provided by the tool after signing up. This code helps to track the data of the visitors and pass the information to the software to generate the report. Here with google analytics one can get the detailed demographic report of the user such as gender, interest, age etc. The data gets collected at various levels including User level, Session level, Pageview level and Event level.
With analytics, one can expect types of data named User Acquisition data and User behaviour data. The User Acquisition data shows the details about users before they visit the website while the User behaviour data shows the details of the user when they visit the website.
Google Analytics Pros
With Google Analytics you would be able to track all of the data of your users who are connected to the internet such as websites, mobile applications, digital kiosks and more.
If you are running a google ads campaign then you can even link that account to google analytics to track its performance. It is highly beneficial especially for e-commerce platforms where you can set certain goals and track their performance.
You can download the customized performance reports as per your industry standards. As mentioned above you do not need to pay any single penny to get this analytics service and it is user friendly.
Google Analytics Cons
One needs to understand the terms to get into the detail reporting of Google Analytics. The resources or the online help might be confusing for a few and hence they end up seeking professional help for the same.
Since Google analytics provides customized reporting, you would find various options and dashboards on the home page which could be a little overwhelming. It takes time to understand the overall dashboard and the reporting structure.
Google Analytics services are free but it has certain limitations. If your website traffic is high then you may need to upgrade to the premium version. The cost of the premium version is 150,000 USD which is quite expensive
#Web Analytics
Web Analytics is the service through which a user can analyse the data of the website traffic. There are various tools through which one can measure the data such as Adobe Analytics, Kissmetrics, Mixpanel, Parse.ly, CrazyEgg and Clicktale. Google Analytics is also a part of Web Analytics. With web analytics, one can analyse the data of the website traffic in various segments such as Audience data, Audience behaviour and Campaign data.
In Audience data, one can track the total number of visits, unique visits, country of the visitors, returning vs new visitors and the browser which they are using. In Audience behaviour, you can track the user data concerning their time spent on your webpage, most visited landing pages, common exit page, number of pages visit and the bounce rate as well.
If you are running any paid campaign then you can also track its performance through these web analytics tools. You will be able to analyse which campaign is performing better, which of your landing pages are fetching more traffic and which of the keywords are getting you the visits on the webpage.
How does web analytics work?
There are two types of fundamentals analysis done on the website while tracking the data which are known as Online analytics and Offline analytics. With Online analytics, one can use the site-specific data to track the visitors on the particular website while with Offline analytics one can use the external information to get the most visited website on the internet. In Online analytics, a user has to place the Javascript code provided by the tool in the HTML code of the website. This embedded code helps to track the data and information regarding the visitors. You can then download this data by running the customized reports.
With Offline analytics, one will get the data of the most visited website as per the specific industry. Online analytics is preferred by most marketers as it provides a detailed analysis of the specific website.
Pros of Web Analytics
Web analytics helps you to measure the traffic of your website into various segments. You would be able to check the bounce rate of your page and hence make the necessary changes the same to improve the page quality.
You will also be able to track the performance of your paid ads campaign to check the ROI. With web analytics, you will be able to find the right audience for your services and build your marketing strategy accordingly. These web analytics tools are easy to use and you can start easily with any of them.
Cons of Web Analytics
With Web Analytics one can only measure the visit but not the particular visitor. Hence you won’t be able to use that data for your marketing activities as you would not have any details about the user.
If you have created multiple marketing campaigns and linked to the analytics tool then you would need to download the different reports as per the campaign. You won’t be able to download the consolidated report for all the activities.
Similarly, each campaign or webpage which you wish to track would have a different tracking code and hence managing all the codes on a single page of the website becomes very inconvenient and could lead to a data discrepancy.
The function or the interface of each web analytic tool could be different. Hence it could be difficult for users to switch from one tool to another.
#Data Analytics
Data Analytics is the process of analysing the raw data as per the trend. It helps various individuals and organizations to make a certain decision based on data analysis. There are various types of data analysis performed as per the industry such as descriptive, diagnostic, prescriptive and predictive analytics. Each type of analysis serves a different purpose. There are various tools used in data analytics such as R programming, Tableau Public, Python, SAS, Apache Spark, Excel, Rapid Miner, KNIME, QlikView, Splunk etc.
Most of the large businesses today are depending on data analysis to get detailed statistics about their customer behaviour. With data analytics, one can also get the website performance data such as bounce rate, visitor demographics, conversion rates, and prediction of client behaviour. Companies that have a larger customer base and always need to offer the improve the customer experience need detailed analytics of their customer behaviour.
How Data Analytics Works?
There are various steps involved in data analysis such as Data requirement gathering, Data Collection, Data Cleaning, Data Analytics, Data Interpretation and Data Visualization. The methods to analyse the data include Qualitative data analysis, Content analysis, Narrative Analysis, Grounded theory, Quantitative Data Analytics, Hypothesis Testing, Mean and Sample size determination. In the current trend, Artificial Intelligence is being used widely to analyse the data.
While using Data Analytics one needs to start with defining the objective and understand the data source. Once done then the next step is to prepare the data and analyse it. The final step in this process includes generating the reports based on the analysis. Herewith data analytics, you would need to understand your data first. It could be a content preference, various interactions with ads, usage of features in the applications, search queries, browsing history and online purchases.
Predictive analysis can be also done with the help of data analytics. The industries which are focus on predictive analysis are Ecommerce, Retail, Stock Exchanges, Healthcare, Sports, Accounting and Construction.
Pros of Data Analytics
With Data Analytics one can get the advance analysis of the data which helps the organization to grow. Data analytics use various tools to understand customer behaviour as per various segments that help to plan your next marketing and business strategy further.
Industries such as Banking and Finance are solely depending on data analytics as they need the customer data in various segments as per the transactions.
Data analytics provides you with real-time data that helps you to stay ahead in the competition. Since here you will be understanding the customer behaviour and activity data in detail, it would help you to offer customized offers to them accordingly.
The tools used in data analytics are user friendly and take less time to generate the data.
Cons of Data Analytics
Data Analytics fetches all the information related to customer behaviour and transactions. In this case, the companies will have most of the confidential information of the customers and there are chances that these companies might exchange it with others for some benefits. Considering this there can be a misuse of the data.
Some of the tools used for Data Analytics come with a complex user interface and require professional guidance for the usage. Moreover, these tools can be expensive which can increase the overall cost to the company. There are various tools available and selecting the right can be a challenge.
Final Verdict
Every analytic tool or system has its advantages and disadvantages. Their core purpose is to get you the data of your website performance at the right time. It is recommended to understand your website, business requirement and budget. You would need to understand what would be your core focus and what is the output that you are expecting from the analysis.
If you have a small set up and have limited visitors on the website then you can certainly start with google analytics and if your company has a large user database then you can focus on data analytics at the advance level. Analysing the data and utilize it in the business strategy would certainly help you to cut on the losses. Consumer specific Industries like eCommerce certainly need data analytics to understand their customer behaviour and turn them in the conversions.
Also Check: Digital Marketing Course Syllabus