Scoop: Google Analytics Updates - Compare Data Points
There's no official announcement from Google, but we're seeing new features showing-up in Google Analytics. — It appears you'll be able to compare different data points... Options let you compare data such as visits, pageviews …
Context & Ripple Effects
This sighting fits a busy year for Google Analytics: the product was relaunched with a new interface in May 2007, followed by a round of user-requested features added in June and further announcements at October's eMetrics conference. Andy Beal now reports comparison views for metrics like visits and pageviews appearing in accounts with no official word from Google.
The rollout style matters as much as the feature: Google is again shipping Analytics changes silently and letting users discover them, consistent with how the May relaunch surfaced before formal documentation. Note the capability itself is still unconfirmed — no announcement has verified what Marketing Pilgrim observed.
First-order effects
- Marketers using Google Analytics can benchmark metrics against each other directly in the interface rather than exporting data, if the observed feature ships as seen.
- Google's silent-rollout habit leaves users and consultants documenting features themselves, as Marketing Pilgrim did here, ahead of any official guidance.
Second-order effects
- Every quiet expansion of free Analytics deepens the measurement layer Google would control alongside its pending $3.1 billion DoubleClick acquisition — a combination whose opponents are already arguing raises data-conflict concerns, giving regulators one more reason to scrutinize the deal.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, web analytics consolidates around free, continuously updated platforms where features arrive without release cycles — pressuring paid analytics vendors to compete on depth and service rather than basic reporting.
The trend: Google is iterating Analytics through unannounced incremental releases, pulling web analytics from static reporting toward always-on comparative measurement inside a free platform.