4 ms·

The real power of Google Analytics is not in the tracking code, it's with the front-end interface that any non-technical product manager or marketer can use. Tr

The real power of Google Analytics is not in the tracking code, it's with the front-end interface that any non-technical product manager or marketer can use. Tracking users is easy. Allowing non-technical folks with easy-to-use analysis tools is much harder.

johnchristopher 7y ago
The ever changing google analytics dashboard is not that easy to use for non technical folks. And then there's the whole "data analysis" thing.
- justkez 7y ago
  The (lack of) speed and complexity of GA astounds me every time I go in (use it over a portfolio of businesses). Using it on a 100Mb connection is still like pulling teeth. I've researched building out a desktop app that pulls GA data over the API in the background so you can get key stats out much quicker, but it's quite an investment of time to be beholden to Google's platform. Now doing some dogfooding on a web analytics service I've been evolving that tries to answer the "why" of change in traffic/behaviour over time ("traffic's up today....not sure why?"). Google do this with their GA mobile app ("Insights") but what and when they show you don't seem to be too predictable.
- tangue 7y ago
  Yep they redesigned it so much that I had to do a custom dashboard for a customer (think of it as a glorified counter from the 1990s) and I had to admit that even myself I get lost in Analytics and Adwords
- speedplane 7y ago
  > The ever changing google analytics dashboard is not that easy to use for non technical folks. True, but easier to learn than custom programming and visualizations. A smart English major can still figure it out on their own. Giving product managers the tools to do in-depth analysis is a huge plus. Otherwise, they just ask devs to run reports all the time, burdening devs and slowing down analysis.
bryanrasmussen 7y ago
When I joined the startup I was on for a few years the original GA had been setup for our CEO by somebody not especially technical, he was also non technical and could never get it to do anything he wanted, for some reason it ended up with me being the techie having to make things work.

johnchristopher 7y ago

The ever changing google analytics dashboard is not that easy to use for non technical folks. And then there's the whole "data analysis" thing.

justkez 7y ago
The (lack of) speed and complexity of GA astounds me every time I go in (use it over a portfolio of businesses). Using it on a 100Mb connection is still like pulling teeth. I've researched building out a desktop app that pulls GA data over the API in the background so you can get key stats out much quicker, but it's quite an investment of time to be beholden to Google's platform. Now doing some dogfooding on a web analytics service I've been evolving that tries to answer the "why" of change in traffic/behaviour over time ("traffic's up today....not sure why?"). Google do this with their GA mobile app ("Insights") but what and when they show you don't seem to be too predictable.
tangue 7y ago
Yep they redesigned it so much that I had to do a custom dashboard for a customer (think of it as a glorified counter from the 1990s) and I had to admit that even myself I get lost in Analytics and Adwords
speedplane 7y ago
> The ever changing google analytics dashboard is not that easy to use for non technical folks. True, but easier to learn than custom programming and visualizations. A smart English major can still figure it out on their own. Giving product managers the tools to do in-depth analysis is a huge plus. Otherwise, they just ask devs to run reports all the time, burdening devs and slowing down analysis.

bryanrasmussen 7y ago

When I joined the startup I was on for a few years the original GA had been setup for our CEO by somebody not especially technical, he was also non technical and could never get it to do anything he wanted, for some reason it ended up with me being the techie having to make things work.