Confessions of a Voyeur: Making Digital Strategies Work in Real-time

I admit it: I’m a voyeur. There. I’ve said it.

I like to watch your every move. Or dare I say, I love to watch your every move… As you open emails, browse the Internet, do Google searches, click on links, and navigate your favorite site. Spying on you is the only way I want to spend my day, really.

Is that creepy? Sorry, but I really can’t stop. You see, my clients depend on it. Understanding online behavior and web traffic patterns is the key to their digital strategy. And overnight, my voyeuristic inclinations have been tempted even more.

The new Google Analytics Real-Time tool has launched. Google Analytics is a widely used application to track website traffic, but it has had a lag time of up to 24 hours before visitors’ data could be accessed. Now, it offers instant statistics on current, active visitors on a website meaning that the real-time data can be used to:

Gauge the impact of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media outlets immediately
Watch visitors’ behaviors at different times of the day to determine timing of campaign launches
Monitor when traffic stops from a particular channel to know when to reengage
Ensure conversion tracking is implemented correctly and tracking accurately within seconds
See the traffic impact of new blog posts or news feeds on site instantly

The new Google Analytics Real-Time tool is just one more weapon in my arsenal. It gives digital analysts like me a closer look at what visitors are doing right this minute, which means instantly seeing the effects of a campaign and other drivers of traffic. Above all, it helps me to adjust digital strategies and optimize content.

As I’m curled up under the covers tonight, I’ll be watching your every move once again. But this time, it will be in real-time.