Heap Analytics VS. Google Analytics


Web Analytics is the term used to describe when marketers gather data relevant to a website’s performance (Bigby, 2018). Luckily for marketers, there are many available tools that help us to accurately gather, organize, and present that data (Bigby, 2018). The vast majority of these tools happen to be completely free of charge. One of the most popular platforms for the reporting and tracking of web analytics is Google Analytics. There is no surprise that this platform is in the top rankings as it provides so much relevant and useful information such as a website’s traffic sources, the number of new versus returning users to the website, the bounce rate, landing page report, and so on (Saleh, 2016). While Google Analytics remains at the top of the list for preferred web analytics tools, there are other alternatives that can be used. Some of these alternative tools are competitive to Google Analytics while others are complementary. An example of a web analytics tool that is a competitor of Google Analytics is Heap Analytics, which we will further discuss.

Figure 1: (“Measure Custom Experience”, n.d.)
Before we get started, I am sure you are probably wondering what would cause a marketer or any person who wants to track their web analytics data to venture out and use a tool other than Google Analytics. While these reasons vary by personal choice or business goals and objectives, here are a couple of reasons why someone may choose another alternative:
1.      He or she may want to utilize another web analytics tool to compare its results against the Google Analytics results. This will help to double check the accuracy of the data (Bigby, 2018).
2.      He or she does not trust Google and does not want the company to have access to the website’s data (Bigby, 2018).
3.      The data that Google Analytics provides is not perceived useful or enough for him or her (Bigby, 2018).
Whatever the reason is behind choosing an alternative, there is another tool out there to fit your needs. As previously mentioned, we are going to focus on Heap Analytics. Let’s get started!

Figure 2: (“Measure Custom Experience”, n.d.)
 Heap Analytics, founded in 2012, is an “event-based analytics tool... [that] offers detailed user-level views, advanced conversion funnels, segmentation analysis, and other ways of analyzing data” (“Measure Custom Experience”, n.d.). Heap’s focus is placed on user friendliness meaning that it can be easily installed and requires little to no technical experience (Bigby, 2018). Heap’s approach to analytics is innovative because it “captures all user interactions and analyzes these interactions without the need to ship code or wait for data” (“Heap Analytics Reviews”, n.d.). The reports generated using Heap are also all in real-time which helps to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Heap provides “behavioral cohorting features, multi-touch attribution, event-based conversion funnels, segmentation analysis, and more” (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.).
Heap Analytics and Google Analytics have several features that make them different from one another. One of the main features that differentiates Heap Analytics from Google Analytics is that the Heap automatically tracks website and mobile app events; Google Analytics can only automatically track page views (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.). Between both websites and mobile, Heap can track page views, clicks, form submissions, touches, swipes, taps, and so on (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.). In order to automatically track more than just page views on Google Analytics, manual and custom implementation is involved (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.).

Figure 3: (“Measure Custom Experience”, n.d.)
Another differentiation between the two web analytics tools is that Heap is thought to be “built for modern web and mobile applications” while Google Analytics tends to be best suited for “a pageview-based, static website” (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.). Heap also provides historical data that Google Analytics does not. While Google Analytics only tracks data beginning from the time that the code is embedded, Heap allows users to track new event data retroactively (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.). Also, in Heap Analytics all of the data is reported in real-time whereas with Google Analytics there is sometimes a delay of up to 24 hours in the reports (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.).
Figure 4 is an illustration of another important feature that differentiates the two web analytics tools: the individual user tracker. While Google Analytics offers cross device tracking and a user-id feature, it must be manually set up. With Heap Analytics, the individual user tracker provides individual user histories (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.). This information can be very valuable as it shows every action that a single user has performed, even across different devices and cookies (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.). As shown in the picture, with the individual user tracker marketers are able to define the duration of time that has passed since the user accessed the website, the searches that were made, products that were actually viewed, and so on (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.).


Figure 4: (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.)
Ultimately, the major difference between Heap Analytics and Google Analytics is the amount of maintenance and custom work that goes into getting the most out of the particular tool (“Heap Vs. Google Analytics”, n.d.). As stated before, Heap Analytics happens to be more user friendly and requires less technical knowledge (Bigby, 2018). Unlike Google Analytics, Heap Analytics operates “entirely on a point-and-click interface rather than using menus and settings tabs” (Bigby, 2018). This allows users to “click directly on the buttons and forms on your site” which instructs Heap on what you want it to track for those particular elements (Bigby, 2018).     Deciding which web analytics tool to use for your website is a very important decision. In some instances, selecting the appropriate tool can be tough or even intimidating. Keep in mind that there are several other options for web analytics tool aside from Google Analytics and Heap Analytics from which to choose. If you happen to find it to be extremely difficult to select a tool to use, consider creating a list of mandatory features that you desire the web analytics tool to have. The list might look similar to the illustration in Figure 5 and can be used in the process of narrowing down the most efficient web analytics tools to achieve your company’s goals.

Figure 5: (“List of Mandatory Features”, n.d.)
References
Bigby, G. (2018, January 25). 35 Amazing Web Analytics Tools that Rival Google Analytics. Retrieved from https://dynomapper.com/blog/21-sitemaps-and-seo/436-35-amazing-web-analytics-tools-that-rival-google-analytics
Heap Analytics Reviews: Overview, Pricing and Features. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://reviews.financesonline.com/p/heap-analytics/
Heap vs. Google Analytics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://heapanalytics.com/compare/heap-vs-google-analytics
List of Mandatory Features. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eckles.me/how-to-choose-web-analytics-tool/
Measure Custom Experience | Heap Analytics | Web Analytics Company. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://heapanalytics.com/
Saleh, K. (2016, June 06). 7 essential Google Analytics reports every marketer must know. Retrieved from https://searchengineland.com/7-essential-google-analytics-reports-every-marketer-must-know-250412

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