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Google Ads vs. Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Ads

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear in search listings, and on partner websites. Google Ads uses cost-per-click (CPC) bidding.

    $500

    in Ads credit in the first 60 days

    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)

    Score7.6 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Universal Analytics was an enterprise-level analytics solution that was sunset in July of 2024.

    $150,000

    Up to 1 Billion hits/month

    Pricing
    Google AdsGoogle Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    Offer A
    $500
    in Ads credit in the first 60 days
    Offer B
    $1500
    in Ads credit in the first 60 days
    Offer C
    $3000
    in Ads credit in the first 60 days
    Google Analytics Premium
    $150,000
    Up to 1 Billion hits/month
    Google Analytics
    Free
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google AdsGoogle Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google AdsGoogle Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    No answer on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    Chose Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    I don't know any competitor of Google Analytics Premium.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Well, I suppose it's worth comparing the two versions of Google Analytics. I believe the difference really is as simple as how large your total managed monthly traffic. If it's over the threshold (10 million/month, if I recall), then GA 360 (the premium version) is a must. If …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Google is an established business with great customer service and quality products. We will probably choose Google products over other similar systems for that reason. They do a good job at helping small businesses all the way to huge businesses.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Piwik: On the downside, it counts time spent on the page the same way GA does. The interface looks cluttered as if it’s missing a stylesheet. And while its main focus is being a GA alternative, it can’t compete with Google’s AdSense and AdWords integration. But to be fair, most …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    81%
    Would buy again
    42 Answers
    97%
    Would buy again
    34 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    76%
    Delivers good value for the price
    37 Answers
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    26 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    79%
    Happy with the feature set
    41 Answers
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    32 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    69%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    34 Answers
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    27 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    70%
    Implementation went as expected
    35 Answers
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    24 Answers
    Features
    Google AdsGoogle Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Ad Campaigns
    Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Google Ads and Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Feature
    Google Ads
    7.2
    11 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Ad campaign creation7.911 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad deployment7.510 Ratings00 Ratings
    Display advertising7.410 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad display and retargeting segmentation7.511 Ratings00 Ratings
    Sequence targeting6.910 Ratings00 Ratings
    Contextual advertising7.210 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social advertising6.35 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Google Ads and Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Feature
    Google Ads
    7.3
    11 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Ad dashboards7.511 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad performance reports7.911 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad conversion tracking7.311 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad attribution reporting7.211 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad forecasting and optimization6.911 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad Auctions
    Comparison of Ad Auctions features of Google Ads and Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Feature
    Google Ads
    7.9
    10 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Ad bidding7.910 Ratings00 Ratings
    Web Analytics
    Comparison of Web Analytics features of Google Ads and Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Feature
    Google Ads
    -
    Ratings
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    6.9
    1 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Lead Conversion Tracking00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Device and Browser Reporting00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Pageview Tracking00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Event Tracking00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Reporting in real-time00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Referral Source Tracking00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Customizable Dashboards00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Google AdsGoogle Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    WordStream
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Matomo Analytics
    Score9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    WordStream
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Lead Forensics
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Chartbeat
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google AdsGoogle Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.7
    (126 ratings)
    8.0
    (55 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.6
    (21 ratings)
    10.0
    (11 ratings)
    Usability
    7.7
    (17 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    10.0
    (23 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google AdsGoogle Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Google
    Google Ads is a useful advertising tool to build brand exposure and generate lead volumes for your chosen product. Whilst it can be costly at times due to competitor bidding strategies and requires constant monitoring to ensure campaigns perform as expected, it typically provides the desired quality and quantity of leads for custom budgets.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    As I have discussed previously their insights were very useful. The second thing is since it is a Google product you will connect the data very easily from other platforms like Bigquery, Google Drive, etc. and even you can connect Google marketing platform. through this tool, you can track your live campaign how they were performing, and how it will be engaging your customer as well.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Google
    • Automated targeting via Smart Shopping campaign. It's one of the best campaign types in Google Ads. In the beginning, you may see lower revenue and ROAS, but once you give some meaningful time to your campaign, it is most likely to perform well.
    • Smart bidding strategies: Google Ads has developed some really great bidding strategies such as maximizing conversion and maximizing conversion with ROAS settings. Based on one's requirement and their goal with revenue and target ROAS, they can choose the appropriate bidding strategy.
    • Reporting: A business owner and advertising must know about their audiences, how their campaigns have been performing, what's working and what's not, and for that reason, powerful, effective reporting is needed, and Google Ads provides rich details reporting that covers almost every aspect of a business.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • It is an excellent cloud analytics platform that is easy to install and configure and easy to deploy and use, allowing us to measure web traffic and other tools.
    • It is an entirely online tool; it does not take up hard disk space like other desktop tools.
    • Since this tool is draggable, Google is constantly adding more features.
    • Even beginners who do not have a custom dashboard can get information. If there is a problem somewhere on the site that needs to be investigated, Google Analytics 360 will notify you.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Google
    • If you don't know what you're doing, it will be a costly mistake. You need to target ads, and it is difficult the first time to do that.
    • There isn't a feature to run an add for a couple set date spans, just hours you want to run them or a single date span.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Generally I think there is a lot you can do within the tool, but as it is a Google product it means there is limited support - something which I think lets all of the platform stacks down
    • There could be more visual signifiers to identify if a feature is a normal or 360 feature. This would mean you can really get to grips with what the extra more advanced elements are
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Google
    I think Google Ads is good for getting your company out there and becoming more visible to potential customers in general. However, for specific product launches, social media advertising might be a better fit. Also, our user base is younger so social media is a better channel for our target audience.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Google Analytics 360 is an upgraded version of the most widely used web/app analytics tracking tools in the market. The price is stable and predictable making it a long-term product of choice. It's easy to use and pairs so well with other Google Marketing Platform products.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Google
    This is more of a subjective rating, because I think it can be increased with how much our ad spend is. The more of an ad spend, the more visibility we can get, and therefore all features can climb. With an overall larger presence the usability is that where we can get messages out quick, and that's the main thing we try to do with our campaigns.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    The UI is very easy to navigate and use. The features are well designed and intuitive. As long as the user has a good understanding of basic digital analytics definitions and capabilities, this tool should be quite easy to use. I consider Google Analytics Premium to be the easiest of all of the enterprise solutions out there to use.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Google
    We have not yet had an account rep who hasn't tried to bully me or other employees to raise our budgets. At the same time, several years ago, one attempted to help refine our ads and ended up changing the ads to be something we were not affiliated with
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    If you purchase Premium through a reseller like LunaMetrics, you are going to be taken care of. The additional amount of support and services that a reseller provides to make sure you have the best experience with the product is the reason why the reseller program exists to begin with. Support doesn't have to be just reactive, it can be proactive as well.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Google
    Daily use with advanced account structures. Familiarity with reporting/api and complex setups.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    There is a ton of information online about Google Analytics, but Google Analytics Premium users will have dedicated support and training from Google or an Authorized Reseller.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    If you already have the basic version of GA installed, "getting" GA Premium happens immediately through a virtual flipping of the switch - no need to re-implement. You'll want to expand your use of custom dimensions and metrics (you get 10x the amount with Premium). Ideally, you'll be using a tag management solution to talk with GA Premium, in concert with implementing a dataLayer (to note, Google's Tag Manager platform is covered under the same GA Premium SLA, and it's free). There are some welcomed "configurations" with GA Premium, such as integrating with DoubleClick products, activating data driven attribution models, and building roll-up executive reports - but all of these are easy point and click solutions. In comparison with any other enterprise analytics solution, implementing GA and GA Premium is traditionally easier and more flexible. And if you have any trouble or need an extra set of hands for implementation, GA Certified Partners like LunaMetrics can help
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Google
    Our agency invests heavily in Google Ads (particularly paid search advertising) on behalf of our clients relative to competitors like Microsoft and Yahoo because Google is the top search engine in the world. Google collects the most search data which enables the company to improve its AI to drive better performance for agencies and brands. As such, our paid search and app install campaigns always start with Google. If a client has a large budget, we will allocate media dollars to other search engines, but in some cases, the entire search budget goes to Google because we see the best returns.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Unless you have very complex and edge case analytics needs, Google Analytics [360 (formerly Google Analytics Premium)] is likely going to be the best choice. From both a cost and usability stand point, Google wins. Adobe has the edge case when you need to create really custom reports, dimensions, metrics, etc. In my experience, this is rarely the case and you end up biting off more than you can chew. Stick with Google unless you are or plan on hiring an Adobe Analytics expert.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Google
    • Google Ads is often one of our highest ROI channels, especially when you factor in branded ads.
    • Depending on the stage your business is in, search ads can be really powerful from an ROI perspective, providing an investment with a very high spend cap.
    • If you do not manage the campaigns well though, you can quickly spend a lot of money on nothing. So make sure someone is keeping an eye on your account.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • It helps me understand which social media platforms are most successful for me - which I should focus on and which I might want to focus less on.
    • I can also see which blog posts people are reading - so I know which topics resonate most. I can write more of those, hopefully gaining more visitors.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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