Let’s consider two organizations A and B: A is a small to medium-sized company that can process data by sessions or campaigns whereas B is a large enterprise that has more than 50,000 website visits per day, or exceeding the limits of the free version of Google Analytics.
Which organization do you think can continue using the free version of Google Analytics and which might need an upgrade to Google Analytics 360?
B needs to upgrade to Google Analytics 360 since the organization has needs that go beyond the capabilities of Google Analytics Standard.
To understand how to make that assessment, you must be aware of how one tool is different from the other. Let’s go through the features of Google Analytics 360 which makes it stand apart from its counterpart, the standard or free version.
What makes Google Analytics 360 (GA360) stand apart from Standard Google Analytics (GA)
- Un-sampled reporting
The free version of Google Analytics allows up to 10 million hits per month after which the sampling kicks in. But with Google Analytics 360, the threshold is much higher, almost eliminating the sampling.
- Custom tables and funnels
On those rare occasions of your rendezvous with sampling in GA360, you can build a custom table to view the un-sampled data for the preferred reports.
The custom funnel feature is exclusive to GA360, allowing you to personalize and analyze your customer’s journey.
- Custom dimensions and custom metrics
The amount of custom dimensions and custom metrics available in GA360 is 10x more than that of GA.
While the free version of GA allows defining a maximum of 20 custom dimensions and custom metrics each, with GA 360 you get 200 each. Basically allowing you to track more and qualify your data better.
- Access to raw data
GA 360 gives access to view raw data in a maximum of 4 hours, letting you effectively and quickly monitor your campaigns, conversion, and sales. This feature is unavailable in the free version of GA.
- Roll-up reporting
The special feature available only in Google Analytics 360 enables you to aggregate data from a multitude of source properties into a single GA property. This provides a close-knit insight into the bottom line for multi-domain businesses.
For example, if you’re a large organization with 100’s or even 1000’s of properties, GA360 lets you see and evaluate data from individual websites or GA properties combined in one GA property.
- Data-driven attribution
Unlike Google Analytics, GA360 presents an advanced attribution model which provides an accurate picture of the role that each of your marketing touchpoints plays. This means that the advertisers can apply cutting-edge attribution modeling against the whole media and site touchpoints.
However, this feature considers only a maximum of four touchpoints before a conversion.
- Advanced analysis
The Advanced Analysis feature is unique to Google Analytics 360 and helps to easily visualize the statistics and build a detailed analysis. This tool allows you to improve the user interactions on your website.
- SLA and support
The major difference between Google Analytics 360 and the free version is that the GA360 is paid and comes with a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which guarantees data freshness, uptime, and support. Whereas, the Standard GA provides free services that can be utilized by small businesses.
With Google Analytics 360, you get access to a dedicated account manager and support staff who can help with any issues related to data and reports. Whereas, the customers using the standard Google Analytics (free version) have to rely on self-service help centers and community forums.
With all that being said, the best way to assess whether to upgrade to Google Analytics 360 or use the free version is to conduct a custom evaluation based on the business needs. Small business owners can make use of free services provided by GA whereas large organizations that need an expanded stack of basic features can upgrade to GA360.
Utilize Google Analytics 360 to up your digital marketing game to the next level.
