In this POV from Amplifi Commerce's Digital Performance Marketing practice, we'll review our recommended approach to Google's Universal Analytics beta. Google Universal Analytics offers compelling improvements over the current, asynchronous (and legacy synchronous) versions of Classic Google Analytics and is the way forward. We recommend that properties begin the upgrade process as soon as is feasible to avoid the potential downtime, tracking issues and missing data triggered by the automatic transfer of a property to Universal Analytics by Google.

1. Amplifi Commerce Point of View • Google Universal Analytics • January 2014 1
POINT OF VIEW
Google
Analytics
Universal
Analytics
Published
by
Amplifi
Commerce
Performance
Marketing

2. Amplifi Commerce Point of View • Google Universal Analytics • January 2014 2
OVERVIEW
Google
announced
a
new
Analytics
platform
known
as
Universal
Analytics
in
late
2012.
Recently,
Google
announced
that
current
Google
Analytics
(GA)
‘Classic’
properties
will
be
automatically
upgraded
to
Universal
Analytics,
their
new
standard
property
type,
over
the
coming
months.
Google
has
already
begun
auto-­‐transferring
properties
in
certain
segments
and
in
early
2014
will
fully
transition
all
to
Universal
Analytics
(UA)
as
soon
as
the
dc.js
JavaScript
and
related
features
(Remarketing,
Google
Display
Network
Impression
Reporting,
DoubleClick
Campaign
Manager
Integration)
are
supported.
Brands
that
can
should
begin
proactively
addressing
the
changes
now,
especially
if
your
site
has
numerous
custom
variables
enabled.
From
Google:
Many
current
Client
GA
accounts
have
the
Universal
Analytics
Upgrade
Tool
enabled,
which
allows
site
owners
to
upgrade
properties
to
Universal
Analytics
in
a
2-­‐step
process.
For
brands
with
a
standard
(non-­‐customized)
installation
of
Google
Classic
Analytics,
the
upgrade
is
as
simple
as
using
the
upgrade
tool
within
your
current
Analytics
account
to
upgrade
to
UA,
then
retagging
your
property.
Brands
that
have
many
custom
variables
will
have
more
work
to
do.
We
do
not
recommend
using
the
upgrade
tool
at
this
time.
Instead,
we
suggest
creating
a
new
Universal
property
(following
the
approach
we
recommend
later
in
this
document)
while
continuing
to
run
your
current
Classic
Analytics
tracking
until
Universal
Analytics
emerges
from
beta.
The
Universal
Analytics
Upgrade
Guide
can
be
found
here:
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/upgrade/guide
KEY
DIFFERENCES
OF
UNIVERSAL
ANALYTICS
Measurement
Methodology
Change
–
Universal
Analytics
is
based
on
capturing
discrete
user
activity,
not
site
or
page
visits.
Universal
Analytics
data
will
allow
retailers
to
better
identify
a
user
across
devices
and
even
channels
to
gain
better
insights
into
user
behavior
overall.
Offline
Data
-­‐
By
leveraging
the
new
API,
you
can
connect
POS,
CRM
or
even
call
center
data
to
create
a
more
holistic
view
of
a
particular
user,
enabling
omnichannel
measurement
that
retailers
are
pining
for.
Speed
–
In
Classic
Analytics,
data
was
stored
within
the
cookie
itself
and
passed
to
GA
for
each
page
view.
In
UA,
the
cookie
has
been
greatly
simplified,
and
data
is
stored
on
Google’s
servers
instead
of
being
passed
with
each
page
view.
This
innovation
will
increase
speeds
for
sites,
and
with
the
ubiquity
of
Google
Analytics,
for
the
Internet
as
a
whole.
Additional
features
of
Universal
Analytics
include
omnichannel
attribution
(previously
only
available
within
Analytics
Premium),
the
ability
to
import
cost
data
from
other
channels
(such
as
display,
social,
Yahoo,
etc.),
an
integrated
campaign
manager,
recency
and
frequency
reporting,
plus
the
ability
to
calculate
Lifetime
Customer
Value
(LCV).
“All
Google
Analytics
properties
will
soon
be
required
to
use
Universal
Analytics.
All
Google
Analytics
updates
and
new
features
will
be
built
on
top
of
the
Universal
Analytics
infrastructure.
To
make
sure
all
properties
upgrade,
Classic
Analytics
properties
that
don’t
initiate
a
transfer
will
be
auto-­‐transferred
to
Universal
Analytics
in
the
coming
months.”
A
key
difference
is
that
Universal
Analytics
is
based
on
users,
not
visits.
Due
to
this
shift,
brands
will
see
a
delta
in
metrics
between
Classic
and
Universal
Analytics.

3. Amplifi Commerce Point of View • Google Universal Analytics • January 2014 3
WHY
NOT
UPGRADE
IMMEDIATELY?
Universal
Analytics
is
currently
in
beta
and
does
not
support
all
features
of
Google
Analytics
Classic.
However,
now
is
a
good
time
to
being
testing
Universal
Analytics
by
deploying
it
alongside
your
existing
implementation
in
a
separate
Web
Property.
Universal
Analytics
will
not
interfere
with
previous
versions
of
Google
Analytics.
Features
currently
unsupported
by
the
Universal
Analytics
beta
include:
! Doubleclick
Campaign
Manager
Integration
(this
includes
DFA
and
Bid
Manager)
! Google
Content
Experiments
! Google
Display
Advertising
Integration
! Google
Remarketing
Integration
! Google
Analytics
Demographics
&
Interests
Reporting
! Adsense
If
you
currently
utilize
any
of
the
features
above,
we
recommend
waiting
until
Google
announces
support
for
these
elements
before
fully
upgrading
to
UA.
If
you
are
not
using
these
features,
then
you
can
migrate
to
Universal
Analytics
as
soon
as
the
migration
is
available
following
the
approach
we
recommend
later
in
this
document.
OTHER
OPPORTUNITIES
Timing
is
never
ideal
for
tackling
a
project
such
as
this.
But
you
can
make
the
most
of
your
analytics
upgrade
by
getting
your
analytics
house
in
order:
! Audit
your
current
analytics
integration.
Make
sure
your
data
is
accurate
and
that
no
measurement
gaps
exist.
First,
perform
a
full
site
pixel
audit
to
inventory
current
and
necessary
pixels;
identify
outdated
or
unused
vendor
pixels
and
remove
them
from
the
site.
Next,
determine
if
all
metrics
are
being
tracked
appropriately.
Does
each
business
unit
have
the
data
they
need?
Now
is
the
time
to
capture
this
information
and
build
it
into
your
analytics
and
reporting
infrastructure.
Trust
in
your
data
and
confirming
that
all
activity
is
tracked
(and
tracked
properly)
is
critical
to
ecommerce
success.
! Document
your
implementation.
Documenting
what
you
are
tracking,
why
you
are
tracking
it
that
way
and
how
things
were
set
up
(especially
custom
variables
and
dimensions)
gives
you
a
guide
to
reference
in
case
you
add
or
lose
a
team
member
close
to
the
integration.
Clear
documentation
also
helps
eliminate
internal
heartburn
when
business
units
need
to
understand
what
data
is
available,
how
it
is
measured
and
how
to
access
it.
! Consider
tag
management.
Google
Tag
Manager
and
other
popular
3
rd
party
tag
management
solutions
can
give
your
marketing
teams
increased
agility,
allowing
them
add
and
remove
tags
without
involving
IT,
which
encourages
more
active
testing
of
vendors
and
opportunities.
Additional
benefits
include
improving
site
speed,
stability
and
compliance.
Given
Google’s
new
focus
on
tightly
integrating
Analytics,
Tag
Manager
and
Doubleclick
Campaign
Manager
(which
contains
both
their
paid
search
bid
management
tools
as
well
as
DFA
for
tracking
and
ad
serving),
we
recommend
Google
Tag
Manager
as
a
viable
and
powerful
solution
for
managing
the
proliferation
of
pixels
required
on
a
growing
ecommerce
property.

4. Amplifi Commerce Point of View • Google Universal Analytics • January 2014 4
RECOMMENDED
APPROACH
For
brands
contemplating
a
proactive
upgrade
to
Universal
Analytics,
we
recommend
the
following
approach:
! Do
not
use
the
Universal
Analytics
Upgrade
Tool
to
transfer
your
current
Classic
Analytics
account
to
Universal.
Leave
your
current
Classic
Analytics
integration
in
place.
! Deploy
Google
Tag
Manager
(GTM)
across
the
site
to
manage
tags,
including
the
new
Universal
Analytics
tags
you
will
create.
Using
Google
Tag
Manager
will
simplify
future
analytics
upgrades.
! Create
a
new
Tag
Manager
container
for
your
property
within
Tag
Manager.
! Create
a
new
Universal
Analytics
property
within
your
Google
Analytics
account.
! Create
and
deploy
a
new
tag
for
Universal
Analytics
within
Tag
Manager
to
begin
tracking
using
Universal
Analytics
and
GTM.
Note
that
Universal
Analytics
will
not
conflict
with
your
current
Classic
Analytics
integration,
so
running
Classic
and
Universal
Analytics
side-­‐by-­‐side
will
not
cause
issues
with
tracking
or
site
speed.
! Confirm
that
Universal
Analytics
is
working
by
reviewing
Real-­‐Time
reports
within
your
Google
Analytics
dashboard.
! Document
current
customizations
within
your
Classic
Analytics
property
and
rebuild
these
within
Universal
Analytics
as
Dimensions.
! Baseline
variations
in
metrics
between
Classic
and
Universal
Analytics.
Confirm
that
customizations
have
been
recreated
as
Dimensions
within
the
new
Universal
property
and
an
acceptable
delta
between
each
analytics
property
exists.
! Once
Universal
Analytics
exits
beta
and
you
are
confident
that
your
property
is
tracking
correctly,
update
the
Universal
Analytics
beta
tag
in
GTM
with
your
legacy
tracking
account
ID
to
transfer
historical
data
to
Universal
Analytics.
You
can
then
remove
all
instances
of
Classic
Analytics
from
your
site
and
begin
using
Universal
Analytics
as
your
primary
account
going
forward.
CONCLUSION
CONTACT
Brock
Marion
Director
of
Performance
Marketing
Amplifi
Commerce
E:
brock.marion@amplifcommerce.com
P:
(972)
861-­‐5437
M:
(214)
334-­‐1787
Google
Universal
Analytics
offers
compelling
improvements
over
the
current,
asynchronous
(and
legacy
synchronous)
versions
of
Classic
Google
Analytics
and
is
the
way
forward.
We
recommend
that
properties
begin
the
upgrade
process
as
soon
as
is
feasible
to
avoid
the
potential
downtime,
tracking
issues
and
missing
data
triggered
by
the
automatic
transfer
of
a
property
to
Universal
Analytics
by
Google.
We
believe
that
integrating
Google
Tag
Manager
on
your
site,
creating
a
new
Universal
property
and
running
the
new
instance
side-­‐by–side
with
your
current
Classic
Analytics
integration
is
the
path
that
offers
the
least
risk
and
gives
site
owners
an
opportunity
to
recreate
customizations
while
setting
baselines
to
understand
variations
between
the
two
Analytics
types.
This
will
prepare
your
teams
and
properties
for
a
full
migration
to
Universal
Analytics
when
it
exits
beta
and
all
features
are
supported.