Google's new Real-Time Analytics data can help businesses gain instant insights that enable them to make more informed decisions on the direction of an SEO or social media marketing campaign.
Google announced the availability of Real-Time Analytics on Thursday to help businesses monitor website activity down to the second. For businesses testing new SEO or social media marketing campaigns, Real-Time Analytics can help show which elements are working best.

While giving a web marketing campaign some time before measuring ROI is important, it’s clear sometimes that a certain keyword or linking strategy just isn’t working. Google explains that constant website updates are now commonplace, so Real-Time Analytics helps marketers who are “constantly on the lookout for problems and opportunities.”

Among the features of Real-Time Analytics is the ability to measure the immediate impact of social media campaigns. Since most companies are using both Facebook and Twitter, Real-Time Analytics will reveal which publication times and types of content are instantly generating traffic and conversions. It can offer insight on how, say, tweeting a blog headline does (or doesn’t) rapidly drive more traffic to a site.

Google Real-Time AnalyticsBrafton recently reported that the half-life of social content – the amount of time when a Tweet or Facebook post gains half of the clicks it ever will – is a growing concern in social media marketing. With Real-Time Analytics, businesses may better gauge the half-life of their content and adjust their social and editorial calendars accordingly.

This real time data is available in the new version of Google Analytics only, and Google will be rolling it out among users in the coming weeks. Hopefully, it will enable marketers to understand occasional spikes and lulls in traffic with greater confidence, better informing future decisions.

On Wednesday, Brafton reported that companies do not conduct internal SEO audits frequently enough. While it can be a time-consuming process, often necessitating the use of a third-party agencies, using analytics tools to inform decisions is critical.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.