Site Overlay is no more, according to an announcement made by the Google Analytics Team last Friday. It will be replaced by a new feature, called "In-Page Analytics".
What was Site Overlay?
The Site Overlay feature in Google Analytics showed an image of your page with click percentages for each link on that page. It was a good start, but was also riddled with limitations.
Some of these include:
- Image maps
- Spaces in URLs
- JavaScript links
- Relative hyperlinks
- URL redirects and rewrites
While Site Overlay did begin to scratch the surface at showing where people are clicking, it doesn't stack up to the new In-Page Analytics feature.
In-Page Analytics
The basic idea behind In-Page Analytics is the same as Site Overlay – to superimpose GA data onto a webpage. However, In-Page Analytics is much more robust and can provide more insightful information.
Some of its benefits include:
- Support for image maps
- Support for Filters and Advanced Segments (a big plus!)
- Availability of page-level information (number of visits, time on page, …)
- Complete list of outgoing links
The video below walks through the new In-Page Analytics feature. You can also see what it looks like for your own websites in the "Content" section in Google Analytics.
Shockley is an experienced digital marketing professional, helping businesses succeed online through SEM/PPC, SEO, Social Media, and Web Analytics. He is certified in both Google Analytics and Google AdWords, and also blogs at State of Digital.
Follow him on Twitter @ShockleyAu.
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