Google has made a few updates to Google Analytics recently, which could have real benefit. You may recall we mentioned Google was offering the chance to pool your data with other sites (anonymously) for ease of comparison? Well that comparison is now available [if you have accepted to share the data] with six key benchmarks up for review. These benchmarks are:
- Visits
- Page Views
- Bounce Rate
- Average Time on Site
- Pages/Visit
- % New Visits
From initial inspection, some of these comparisons will be more interesting than others. Bounce Rates, % New Visits and Average Time on Site will be more interesting for comparison than direct comparisons of traffic, which will have no real meaning without more context.
The comparison opportunities are also interesting allowing you to compare against sites ‘of a similar size’ or against certain sectors. The current sectors available for comparison are:
- Entertainment
- Business
- Computers & Electronics
- Finance & Insurance
- Games
- Homes & Garden
- Industries
- Internet
- Lifestyles
- Local
- Shopping
- Society
- Sports
- Real Estate
- Beauty & Personal Care
- Health
- Automotive
- Telecommunications
- Travel
- Food & Drink
- Science
- Recreation
- Social Networks and Online Communities
- Photo & Video
- Reference
- Arts & Humanities
- News & Current Events
- Animals
Within each category are multiple sub categories. The travel category includes
- Hotels & Accommodation
- Attractions & Activities
- Vacation Destinations
- Air Travel
- Car Rental & Taxi Services
- Cruises & Charters
The Finance & Insurance section includes:
- Investing
- Banking & Personal Finance
- Accounting & Tax
- Credit & Lending
- Insurance
For each sector sand sub sector, there must be a minimum of 100 sites before benchmarks can be offered so the data will be relatively robust, but some sectors will be better represented than others.
We have included some screenshots of how the data is presented so you can make your own decision on their validity and use. We have used data from www.drivingabroad.co.uk a site we own that is used as a test bed for many things. We are happy to show the real data from the site so you can get a feel of how this could help you.
We were initially sceptical about the sharing of information and whilst we still have a small fear over sharing data, this is definitely a useful tool which will only grow in benefit over time.
Sphere: Related Content
