Google is announcing a big addition to Google Analytics today — Mobile App Analytics.
As with the social media-focused reports launched earlier this year, the interest in mobile analytics is obvious — if anything, it might seem that Google is a little late in chasing these trends. In this case, Product Manager JiaJing Wang says the goal was to create a “holistic app analytics.” While there are other mobile analytics services out there, Wang says none of them really tracks all of the relevant data, so developers end up stitching different services together into a “disparate and taxing experience.”
Wang says Google’s new analytics cover the three main stages of an app’s relationship with users — acquisition and user metrics, engagement, and outcome. When it comes to user acquisition, developers can now track new and active users, and how that breaks down across different app versions, devices, and operating system. On engagement, Google Analytics includes data like usage frequency, engagement flow, and crash reports. Finally, on outcomes, Mobile App Analytics will show conversions (to whatever goal is important to the developer) and in-app purchases.
Google Analytics already included data on mobile traffic, but nothing until now that was specific to app developers, so Wang expects that this could bring the product to a big new audience. One obvious indicator of the change — when users sign-up for Google Analytics, one of the first things they’re going to be asked is whether they want to track a website or a mobile app.
The new mobile data will be available to both iOS and Android app developers, who will get the same reports, with one exception — developers making their apps available through Google Play will be able to track which traffic sources are driving new downloads and conversions. Wang says he wants to provide deeper integration with Google play in the future.
Mobile App Analytics is currently in beta testing, with developers admitted to the program in waves. You can sign-up here. The service should be available to everyone by the end of the summer, Wang says.
The company is also launching a Google Analytics Android app, which makes data about both website and mobile apps viewable on smartphones. Wang says the team is “definitely thinking” about releasing an iOS app too.