Facebook Analytics

For many years, Google Analytics was pretty much the only tool that could help website owners understand how users used their websites. But a few years ago, Facebook Analytics came along. At first, the professional industry had nothing but scorn for Facebook Analytics, but that has changed in recent years.

Not only has the tool been significantly improved, but the industry has also realized that Facebook has something that Google doesn't: knowledge of the individual user.

Let's take the example of a young woman we can call Matilde. She first browses your webshop with her mobile phone. She has Googled a product and clicked on your Google Shopping ad.

Now Google Analytics and Facebook Analytics will react differently. Google Analytics will place a cookie on Matilde's phone so that Google Analytics can recognize her if she comes back. They have registered that she came via Google Shopping.

Facebook Analytics will note in their database that Matilde has visited. They know this because she is also logged into Facebook. They can simply recognize the person Matilde, where Google Analytics can only recognize the phone if they see it again. They don't know that it's Matilde who owns the phone.

A day goes by and Matilde sees one of your retargeting ads on Facebook while sitting on her laptop. She clicks on it and buys your products.

Here's the problem. Google Analytics thinks "ahhh - a brand new user", because Google Analytics hasn't seen the computer before and doesn't know it's Matilde's. But Facebook Analytics thinks "Matilde came back" because she is also logged into Facebook on the computer.

So in short: Google Analytics recognizes the device the user comes on. Facebook Analytics recognizes the person (if the person is logged into Facebook). So that's the big difference between the two tools.

The above is probably Facebook's strongest card in this duel. But Facebook also has an absurdly good insight into your users. Their age, marital status, gender, interests and location.

We know online marketing in Shoporama

We've been working with online marketing ourselves for decades. As the only shop system in the country, we have spoken multiple times at conferences such as Marketingcamp, SEOday, Shopcamp, Digital Marketing, E-commerce Manager, Ecommerce Day, Web Analytics Wednesday and many more.