Google Getting Serious About Mobile

Google has finally released what many users have desired for years; an official Google Analytics mobile app. Additionally, Google Analytics has unleashed Mobile App Analytics beta reports which provide in depth statistics on mobile application activity.

With mobile usage continuing to grow and alter the way that people retrieve information, Google has finally found it expedient to join the mobile app party. Google has been reticent in releasing an official Google Analytics app, but following popular demand the official app hit mobile stores just last week. Google’s objective here is to transfer all the sophistication and thoroughness of the familiar Analytics desktop interface seamlessly into a mobile optimized display. However the space is certainly not untapped, as there are already plenty of apps in the Google Play store that show reports using the Analytics API. In fact, a few of these apps have grown quite popular and boast 4 and 5 star ratings. In the few days that it has been available the official Analytics app currently holds an average rating of 3.8, with much of the criticism regarding dearth of information, unfriendly interface, and a general notion that it is just “not there yet.”

The unimpressive initial reviews are not that surprising; Google has a history of hastily releasing products that are not at full potential. They also have a tendency to make rapid updates and improvements to products, so I would expect the reviews to become more positive over time. Nevertheless, this release underscores the increasing prevalence of mobile across the world.

The app release is also concomitant with Mobile App Analytics beta, which leaves one thinking that maybe this was the actual impetus for the Analytics app. Again highlighting the ubiquity of mobile, mobile app developers and marketers alike can now view in depth reports on visitor activity within mobile applications via the Google Analytics interface. The reports come packed with data goodies such as downloads, new users, retention, crashes, conversions, app sales, and in-app purchases. These reports can really assist developers in gaining a robust understanding of the consumer journey within their apps, and applying data-driven actions to ameliorate both the user’s experience and the app’s productivity. Discover where new users are coming from, which sources and devices tend to drive the most in-app conversions, how users navigate throughout their app usage, if and when your app is crashing, and priority areas for troubleshooting.

You can fill out a beta signup form to request whitelist access for the Mobile App Analytics beta for now, and Google anticipates the reports being available to all users by the end of summer.

Perhaps in the near future we’ll have the ability to interpret mobile app data while using the official Google Analytics mobile app on our mobile devices. Now that’s mobile meta.