Get social, mobile, and 40+ new data points with the Google Analytics API

Google Analytics Core Reporting APIs enable a powerful and flexible way to analyze, report on, and ultimately optimize such things as web and mobile experiences, conversions, and sales.

Today we’re adding over 40 new metrics and dimensions that can be queried through the Core Reporting API. This enables developers to create reports that are similar to what is available in the Google Analytics web interface for important areas such as social and mobile. See a full list of additions on the Core Reporting API changelog.

Here’s a rundown of what’s new and a few helpful questions the data can answer.

Social Data
Now you can get data for both on-site interactions with social buttons as well as off-site social data from social data hub partner networks.

• Which content receives the most comments on social networks?
• What are the conversion rates for visits from social networks?
• For social buttons embedded in my property, which ones get used most often and for which content?

Mobile Devices
For mobile visits to your site, get all the good stuff like like brand, model, and input type.

• What are the top 10 mobile devices used to visit my website?

Geo
We added a new dimension to indicate the Designated Market Area (DMA) where traffic came from.

• What are the Top 10 Campaigns for the San Francisco Bay Area DMA?

Page Path Rollups
Create your own drill down reports with these new dimensions that allow you to roll-up metrics to hierarchical levels of your property.

• What does the performance of my website look like across different sections?

App & Exception Tracking
If you’re using the Google Analytics SDK for iOS/Android v2 beta, you can now retrieve App View and Exception metrics.

• On a daily basis, how many views did my mobile app get?
• On a daily basis, how many exceptions occurred in my mobile app, and how many exceptions were fatal? 

User Timings
New ways to report on all things related to user timing data.

• What were the time measurements for all user defined timings?

Related Resources:

• Dimensions & Metrics Reference for a list of all available metrics & dimensions. 
• Google Analytics Query Explorer to help you build queries and try out the Core Reporting API.
• Core Reporting API changelog for a list of the 40+ new dimensions & metrics.

Posted by Pete Frisella and Nick Mihailovski, Google Analytics API team

Publishing

Today you will publish your first podcast.

There is a bit of a work around we have to do due to the filter...

1. Be sure to name your file in garageband.
2. Send it to your email.
3. Upload it to your Soundcloud

Be sure to:
1. Log out of any apps on the iPad that you use.
2. Delete any podcast versions off the iPad to save space (once you confirm its on Soundcloud).
3. Check the directions and complete the reflection blog post.

Good luck!

Housekeeping note: On Friday we are on an A/B modified schedule.  Lunch will be during F block.  We will eat LAST lunch.

Google Analytics User Conference, October 3 - 4

GAUGE (Google Analytics Users’ Great Event) Boston is approaching quickly. For those who don’t yet know, GAUGE is a training conference led by Google Analytics Certified Partners, and will help sharpen your GA skills through learning practical knowledge from other users that you can put to use immediately. 

The two-day event includes:

• 21 hands-on sessions and workshops led by top Google Analytics experts, including Analytics Pros, ISITE Design, Cardinal Path and LunaMetrics
• Two keynote addresses: 
• ‘The Art of Storytelling’ by Jason L. Baptiste at Onswipe
• ‘Seeing the Forest AND the Trees: How NPR can see detailed behavior data at massive scale to drive unprecedented insight’ by Steven Mulder, NPR, and Alex Langshur, Cardinal Path
• Presentations from the Google Analytics team, including analytics advocate, Justin Cutroni
• Analytics Helpdesk where you can receive direct consultations

Use code GABLOGBO12 for a 10% registration discount. We also offer a 15% discount for members of the Digital Analytics Association and a 50% discount for Government, Non-Profit employees, and Full-Time students.

In addition to the User Conference and Training Day, our attendees are invited to the GAUGE Hacknight & Google Analytics Application Showcase on October 3rd from 5:30pm - 8:00pm.

This networking reception and application showcase gives developers of Google Analytics integrated products the chance to pitch their creation to a panel of industry leaders, Googlers, and the audience. Any individual or company that has developed a product, platform, application, or other tool that integrates with Google Analytics is invited to apply. 

Apply here to pitch your product. 

If you aren’t attending GAUGE but still want to attend the Hackathon, request an invitation here.

If you’re not able to attend GAUGE Boston, consider attending our San Francisco event in April 2013.

I hope to see you in Boston or at a future GAUGE event.

Posted by Caleb Whitmore, Founder & Chair: GAUGE Conference & Analytics Pros

Podcast Project

We will be making videos soon.  Take ten minutes and watch this video (if you have your headphones).  Powerful, well done movie. Notice how they use music, text, and images to create emotion.

Today I will grade the following:

1. Google Doc Challenge #1.
2. Blog check (has clustrmap, and two blog entries).  I'm hoping 9th graders have access.

By Friday I will check that:

1. First podcast is published.
2. Soundcloud account is functioning and you have started to develop an audience for your show.

I'm working on a landing page for the podcasts.

Please work on the following:

• Listen to some sample podcasts or here or here.  Take some notes about what works. Review the directions and tutorials on our podcast page.
• Will you have opening music?
• Will you sign in and sign off correctly?
• Will you introduce guests correctly?
• Will you pace your broadcast and have a beginning, middle, and end?
• Did you notice how good podcasts tell you what the podcast is about right at the beginning?  You are painting pictures with words.  Be consistent, be descriptive.
• Create an avatar in Paint (or Fireworks..) or search for a non-copyrighted image to use on your Soundcloud account profile.  Please avoid actual images of you, it causes too many problems.  Also, never publish someone else's copyrighted images that you stole off a google search.  
• You should have Google, Dropbox, Evernote account.
• You must share a google folder with me.  Name it correctly.
• Choose your podcast passion subject.
• Create an Evernote note to brainstorm ideas, make notes, etc...
• Write a blogmeister post about the project.  Link to the project directions, talk about your passion, and what you'd like to learn/cover in your reporting.
• Begin working on your podcasts.   I dont have enough iPads for everyone to be working at once.  Manage your time and the resources effectively.  iPads are available at lunch and before school, and most study halls.  
• First podcasts should be posted today for some of you, if we can get it to work with the filter.  We may have to design a work around...

Social that Adds Up: Performance and Measurement

Join us for a webinar Tuesday, September 18th 11am PT, in partnership with Hootsuite, to learn how we can make better decisions based on performance metrics of social networks using Google Analytics social reports. Register today, it’s open to everyone! 

Adam Singer, the Product Marketing Manager for Google Analytics, will go beyond the current social metrics of followers, +1’s, likes and others, to discuss the true impact your social media is making on your brand’s bottom line. We often are asked about how businesses can measure their social media and how they can capture the value they create for their consumers. Many of our current metrics allow us to measure the reach of our message, but not necessarily the ROI. What impact does social have on a company’s performance? Learn how to connect visits to your social pages all the way through to a sale or conversion on your website. It’s time to prove the value of social media with the right measurement metrics.

You’ll also learn how social media can actually influence other media performance and drive conversions. When you verify your Google+ Page, Google may show more endorsements for your business from your customers and supporters within the search results page. This can raise the social awareness of your business and increase its relevance. Because 77% of US consumers trust recommendations from their social media connections more than any other media source, seeing a +1, can help them make a purchase decision. On average, search ads with annotations have a 5-10% uplift in clickthrough rate. Some of our advertisers have seen even higher uplifts, H&M achieved 22% uplift, Cadbury achieved 17% uplift and Laterooms.com achieved a 9% uplift in clickthrough rates on their search ads.

Start measuring the value you’re creating through your social media campaigns! 

Sources: Google Research 2012; Google internal data

Posted by the Google Analytics team

Podcasting

Today we will:

1. If 9th graders can, please do classblogmeister activities from the last class. 10-12th graders: did you get any red dots on your clutrmap?  How can you get more?
2. Please take two minutes to complete the Google of the Day.
3. Complete Google Doc Challenge #1:

• Create a New Document in your BusCompApps folder.  Name it "challenge #1".
• Write me a formal business letter.  It can be short.  Write about anything.  Insert a hyperlink and a picture.  Google the school address if you don't know it.
• Invite one other person to collaborate on the document.  You want to share the document, not the folder.
• Use the chat or comment feature to have your partner remove the picture from the document.  (Yes, I know you can just turn and ask them, but I want to see that you can do this).
• Publish your letter to the web.
• I will check that you:
• Shared it with me (its in the shared folder).
• Collaborated effectively (remember, I can see the history and who made edits).
• Format letter correctly.

I will spend a significant amount of time talking about our podcasting projects.  This should be fun.  I want first broadcasts posted this week.

Friday

Today we will set-up our blogs:

1. We will discuss digital footprints and blogging code of ethics.
2. We will log-in to our blogs and make our first post.
3. Next, we will leave a comment on a classmates blog, using the proper procedure.
4. Control panel will be discovered and we will add a simple sentence to it.
5. We will choose a template.