Google Analytics 360 (discontinued) vs. Parse.ly

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Google Analytics 360 (formerly Google Analytics Premium) was an enterprise-level analytics solution that included a full service suite of features offering a singular view of the consumer across platforms and devices. The product was sunset in July of 2024.
$150,000
Up to 1 Billion hits/month
Parse.ly
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Parse.ly is a content optimization platform for online publishers. It provides in-depth analytics and helps maximize the performance of the digital content. It features a dashboard geared for editorial and business staff and an API that can be used by a product team to create personalized or contextual experiences on a website.
$499
per month
Pricing
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)Parse.ly
Editions & Modules
Google Analytics Premium
$150,000
Up to 1 Billion hits/month
Google Analytics
Free
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)Parse.ly
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)Parse.ly
Considered Both Products
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)

No answer on this topic

Parse.ly
Chose Parse.ly
Parse.ly is easier to track and to understand for me than the features that Google Analytics offers. Nonetheless, graphics seems to be more complex in Google's environment, which [I feel] can be a weakness for Parse.ly in the case of Data Analysts. Although, both are used in …
Chose Parse.ly
Parse.ly's data is as accurate as the competition's but is more accessible and digestible. That's what truly sets it apart.
Chose Parse.ly
Parse.ly does not have an equivalent of Chartbeat's Heads Up Display, which is very useful.

Parse.ly does not compare to GA in terms of historical data.
Chose Parse.ly
It's not as powerful or reliable as Google Analytics (e.g. it's missing demographic data, and doesn't integrate with Google Search Console or AdWords), but it meets most of the basic requirements that we need. It's a difference user experience in general, and slightly more …
Chose Parse.ly
Parse.ly is easier to understand with more detail that is relevant to the team. Google Analytics, while some parts of the business still use it in conjunction with Parse.ly, can be confusing with so many options to choose from. Chartbeat doesn't have as many features as …
Top Pros
Top Cons
TrustRadius Insights
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)Parse.ly
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Google Analytics and Parse.ly are both web analytics tools designed to help users track user activity on their site and optimize their content delivery.  Google Analytics is built to help users optimize their sites for Google search, and is most popular with mid-sized and large businesses, as there is a free version that may be preferred for smaller businesses.  Parse.ly ius most popular with mid-sized businesses and helps organizations gauge content performance with specific market segments.

Features

Though Google Analytics and Parse.ly both help users to optimize their sites, they also have some unique features that set them apart from each other.

Google Analytics is an ideal tool for optimizing sites for google.  Businesses using Google Analytics can identify search crawl errors, gauge mobile performance issues, and be advised on how to improve search performance on Google.  Additionally, Google Analytics includes A/B testing features so businesses can test out different versions of their site to see what performs best.

Parse.ly includes features for tracking the success of various web campaigns.  Businesses using Parse.ly can see how content is performing based on factors such as author, topic, or campaign.  These features make Parse.ly ideal for businesses that want to gauge engagement on sales and content campaigns.  

Limitations

Google Analytics and Parse.ly can both be used to analyze the performance of a site, but they also have some limitations that are important to consider.

Google Analytics provides excellent features for improving search performance and testing multiple versions of pages and posts.  Despite these benefits, Google Analytics is less robust compared to Parse.ly when it comes to improving audience engagement on published content.  Businesses may prefer Parse.ly if they are less concerned about search engine optimization vs performance of specific pieces of content in a campaign.

Parse.ly is a powerful choice for increasing engagement on web content campaigns, but Google Analytics is the ideal tool for improving a website’s presence on Google.  Businesses looking to fight for high volume search terms or just generally get more clicks on their site will get the most value out of Google Analytics.

Pricing

Google Analytics is a free program, but businesses in need of custom metrics, or support for additional analytics features may want to upgrade to Google Analytics Premium.  Licensing for Google Analytics Premium costs $150,000 per year.

Parse.ly offers three pricing packages.  The Starter package costs $500 per month and includes web analytics for a single website. The Growth package costs $1,500 per month and provides support for additional users and access to priority customer support.  Lastly, the Enterprise package includes support for multiple websites.  Businesses can reach out to vendors for enterprise pricing information.

Features
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)Parse.ly
Web Analytics
Comparison of Web Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)
6.9
1 Ratings
16% below category average
Parse.ly
7.5
7 Ratings
7% below category average
Lead Conversion Tracking7.01 Ratings6.23 Ratings
Device and Browser Reporting1.01 Ratings8.36 Ratings
Pageview Tracking7.01 Ratings8.16 Ratings
Event Tracking8.01 Ratings7.55 Ratings
Reporting in real-time10.01 Ratings8.66 Ratings
Referral Source Tracking10.01 Ratings7.66 Ratings
Customizable Dashboards5.01 Ratings7.76 Ratings
Bounce Rate Measurement00 Ratings5.65 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)Parse.ly
Small Businesses
Serpstat
Serpstat
Score 9.6 out of 10
Serpstat
Serpstat
Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Matomo Analytics
Matomo Analytics
Score 9.3 out of 10
Matomo Analytics
Matomo Analytics
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Matomo Analytics
Matomo Analytics
Score 9.3 out of 10
Matomo Analytics
Matomo Analytics
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)Parse.ly
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(56 ratings)
7.9
(82 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(11 ratings)
8.7
(32 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(5 ratings)
7.8
(35 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(23 ratings)
7.8
(35 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google Analytics 360 (discontinued)Parse.ly
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
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.
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Parse.ly
Parse.ly is a great tool for publishers who want to track engagement and audience behaviour across websites. With Parse.ly, we can easily track metrics like pageviews, time spent on page, and scroll depth to see which content is resonating with our audience and optimize our content strategy accordingly. Our marketers found Parse.ly to be an excellent tool for tracking the effectiveness of our campaigns. We can use Parse.ly to track metrics like referral sources, conversion rates, and engagement by audience segment to see which channels and tactics are driving the most engagement and conversions.
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Pros
Google
  • 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.
Read full review
Parse.ly
  • Firstly, the platform is super easy to use, it is user-friendly and easy to navigate through.
  • Secondly, the platform also provides you the option to use filters to your best fit and adjust the filters according to what data you want to look at.
  • Thirdly, it enables the user to have live feedback on their articles and see what can be improved going forward to address the need of the readers.
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • 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
Parse.ly
  • A more readily understandable visual guide to a visitor's pathway through your site would help understand what keeps a reader on-site.
  • The total page view number for the day should be more readily visible--on the overview page, not just by going to Posts>Historical.
  • Maintain the archive for longer than a year under all plans--it's a shame to lose year-on-year data quickly.
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Likelihood to Renew
Google
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.
Read full review
Parse.ly
As an employee, this is difficult for me to comment as I am not directly funding or making these business decisions. However, it is a tool many get on with for surface level data that is useful to editorial teams.
Read full review
Usability
Google
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
Parse.ly
The Parse.ly platform is very user-friendly and easy to use. User management is simple, and reporting setup only takes a few minutes. They provide very helpful documentation for implementing the scripts on your site and have great customer support to help with custom development such as implementing their content recommendation engine.
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Support Rating
Google
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.
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Parse.ly
I rate this question this way solely because I haven't requested any support. I feel where I will eventually get support would be when we take Parse.ly up on some training that is being offered. We are looking to do that at some point after the first of the year and when our schedules support it.
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Online Training
Google
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
Parse.ly
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Google
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
Parse.ly
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Google
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.
Read full review
Parse.ly
Parse.ly does pretty well compared to Chartbeat, particularly when it comes to historical information and analysis options that are easy for employees to use after some short training. The onboarding for Parse.ly is intuitive, and the scheduled reports take away basically all of the inconvenience associated with regular metrics reviewing. But Chartbeat wins in its social audience tracking because it can source traffic to a specific social post, which can show you exactly how your audience is coming to your content and where you need to put your content to be sure you get that audience.
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Return on Investment
Google
  • 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.
Read full review
Parse.ly
  • Sometimes in meetings our editorial director will point out stories that didn't perform well. To us, that means readers don't really care about the topic, so we'll pivot away from writing about that in the future. That might not be "business objectives" though.
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ScreenShots

Parse.ly Screenshots

Screenshot of Overview in full-screen mode: Many Parse.ly pages, like the Overview, are TV-ready. Keep your entire team up-to-date with live, full-screen dashboards on TVs in your office.Screenshot of Overview screen: See a snapshot of what your audience is paying attention to today so you can make fast decisions about what content to produce or distribute. Customize it to show only what your team cares about by filtering it to a particular author, section, or tag. You can pick what stats and listings are displayed.Screenshot of Real-time posts page: See what’s gathering steam so you can capitalize on attention to every post, campaign, or section.
Real-time data includes the last 24 hours and updates every five seconds. It can be seen, filtered, and sorted on most screens.Screenshot of Historical posts page: Explore historical trends by post, author, section, topic, referrer, or campaign. Compare today’s performance to last week, month, or year.Screenshot of Campaign tracking: Easily tie in your off-site promotion to engagement with your on-site content using UTM parameters.Screenshot of Multi-channel tracking: Track all your content in one place, no matter where it lives.
Compare how your content performances on various distributed channels including your website, AMP, Facebook Instant Articles, and Apple News.