What is Google Analytics Premium?

September 29, 2011Charles Davis

Google publicly released the availability of Google Analytics Premium, leaving one question on everyone’s mind:

What is Google Analytics Premium, exactly?

Today, we will focus on the big picture, derived from our experience with the product over the past few months as a (very fortunate) pilot program participant. We will answer that question at length in the non-so-distant future with a series of blog posts. Some topics of discussion will be:

• Google Analytics Premium features
• How it stacks up against other products, and
• Practical uses for growing your business online.

What is Google Analytics Premium?

If you’re pressed for time, here are the highlights:

Who is it for?
Enterprises and/or companies with high traffic volume (typically)

What are the features?
More data, faster processing, data guaranteed by an SLA

How much does it cost?
$150,000/year USD

How can I get it?
Through an authorized Google Analytics Premium reseller.

Now for a slightly more detailed overview…

At it’s core, Google Analytics Premium is a new web analytics from Google, designed specifically for enterprises. Now, you might think that Google Analytics Premium is just a paid version of Google Analytics. If so, sorry to say…but that isn’t true. Although they have things in common, Premium is an entirely new product with all its own bells and whistles.

Since it was designed for enterprises, Premium is built on a separate data processing pipeline, with its own unique development. All of the Advanced Analytics Tools in development will be available as Premium-Only.

Premium Product. Premium Features.

We’ll talk more about features in future posts but to hold you over, we’ll describe the current feature set. Thus far, we have seen the Premium-only features bring great success. And, the top-secret features (shhh) in the development pipeline look very promising.

Current “Premium Only” Features:

• Lifts on data limitations
• Faster data processing
• 50 Custom Variables (up from 5)
• Access to unsampled data, and

To learn more about features, check out the Google Analytics Premium Info Sheet.

How Much Does it Cost?

$150,000 USD is the annual licensing cost of Google Analytics Premium. While we’re not privy to the reasons behind this price point, we can offer some insight into the advantages and disadvantages of the product so that you can formulate your own opinion.

One huge advantage of the Google’s pricing policy is the use of a flat rate, lending itself to consistent billing. Most enterprise level web analytics tools base their price (in part) on usage; which, inhibits growth (indirectly) and causes fluctuations in cost from month to month. With Premium, you’ll know what the bill looks like at the end of each billing cycle.

One possible disadvantage of the $150,000 price tag is that it makes Premium one of the higher priced options on the market for companies that have a low enough usage level. However, Google Analytics Premium has built in services that are not typically included in other product licensing fees. To ensure you’re taking all aspects into consideration when comparing products, we highly recommend that you give us a call at 1 (888) 252-7866.

A Solid Option for Agencies

As web analytics professionals, competition amongst tool vendors pushes innovation. For businesses seeking to compete on analytics this is an exciting new option. Data leads to analysis which leads to action. Improving the quality of the data improves the whole process.

An Exciting Future

What we’ve shared here is just the tip of the iceberg. Everything that is in the pipeline with Google Analytics Premium is what we’re most excited about.

Think You Want to Go Premium?

As Google Analytics Premium Resellers, we are ready (and authorized) to help you. We’ve been involved in the Pilot program and already have experience with Premium clients so we can get you going quickly and smoothly. Request more information or give us a call at 1 (888) 252-7866

About the Author

Charles Davis

Charles is the Vice President of Solutions and a Partner at Blast Analytics. He is an entrepreneur at heart and thrives on working with clients to understand the most important details of their business. He is also a member of the Digital Analytics Association and serves on the Awards Gala Organizing Committee and as co-chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

Connect with Charles on LinkedIn. Charles Davis has written 13 posts on the Blast Digital Customer Experience and Analytics Blog.