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.
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