Google Updates its Default User and Traffic Acquisition Reports

Google has added two new user conversion rate metrics, “User Key Event Rate” and “Session Key Event Rate,” to its Analytics platform to simplify tracking and measuring user conversions.

The two new key event metrics now appear in Google’s default User Acquisition and Traffic Acquisition reports.

Google’s notice of the update on its Analytics Help page:

Google also posted the update on X:

Quick user acquisition report and traffic acquisition report recap

Google Analytics acquisition reports help identify where a website’s users come from and show which marketing channels bring the most profitable traffic; for example, it could be folks visiting from social media, referrals, or organic traffic. 

Here’s Google’s explanation of how they differ:

  • “The two behavioral reports differ in scope. The User acquisition report is scoped to new users, while the Traffic acquisition report is scoped to new sessions. For example, new users might find your website organically, but you’re able to re-engagement the users through specific remarketing campaigns.”

What is the new user key event rate?

The “User Key Event Rate” metric calculates the percentage of users your site converted to take a key event action, like signing up to an email list or purchasing a product. 

Google explains the metric is calculated:

  • “This metric is calculated as the number of users who performed a key event action divided by the total number of users.”

What is the new session key event rate?

The “Session Key Event Rate” metric counts the number of sessions in which the desired key event is converted. 

The metric is calculated by dividing the number of key events in a specific period by the total number of sessions. 

How to use the reports

When users include the User Acquisition and Traffic Acquisition reports in their report navigation, Google automatically adds the new metrics, removing the need to configure them manually.

How the new reports can help you

Adding the new User Key Event Rate and Session Key Event Rate to your Google Analytics reports will give you a clearer picture of your user engagement and conversion rates, which could help you make better-informed decisions about your marketing strategies.

The new metrics can also help you track and measure conversions, optimize your marketing channels to increase conversion rates, identify where your site might have poor user experience issues, and enable you to set goals and measure your progress.

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Terry O'Toole

Terry is a seasoned content marketing specialist with over six years of experience writing content that helps small businesses navigate where small businesses meet marketing - SEO, Social Media Marketing, etc. Terry has a proven track record of creating top-performing content in search results. When he is not writing content, Terry can be found on his boat in Italy or chilling in his villa in Spain.

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