Google Analytics is getting a powerful new feature, the company announced today: the ability to track iOS app installs. The new reporting function, which allows customers to better measure marketing campaigns related to acquiring mobile app users, now works with those who advertise via Google AdWords as well as third-party mobile ad networks including akri, AdMob, AppLovin, Millennial Media, MdotM, Taptica and Tapjoy. Google says other networks will be added “soon.”
By measuring install metrics, customers are able to see which of their marketing efforts are really paying off. Instead of just tracking the raw number of installs coming in through different sources, the new iOS app install tracking feature will also show which of those newly acquired users were actually worth bringing in.
For example, one source may send in users who launch the app once then abandon it, says Google, while others stick around for months and help the company generate revenue. Using Google Analytics’ segmentation features, marketers can delve into this data and more in order to make better decisions about which acquisition channels to use in the future.
To get started, customers will need to switch iOS app install tracking on in their Google Analytics settings, update to the new SDK, and add a library to their XCode project that collects Apple’s Identifier for Advertising, or IDFA. Afterwards, customers have to add their install campaigns into Google Analytics and create custom URLs for use in the ads.
The Google Analytics dashboard will show how many users arrived from any given campaign, the length of their sessions and how much revenue they brought in.
The added support for iOS campaign tracking follows the launch of similar tools for those with Android applications, making Google Analytics a more complete product offering for mobile marketers. While third-party mobile analytics suite providers may offer more detailed data about campaigns and an app’s users, by having this feature bundled into Google Analytics itself, it could be easier to see how mobile marketing efforts tie in with those for a company’s desktop property, or how different platforms compare.
iOS app install tracking is launching into public beta in a few weeks’ time, says Google.