MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — On the heels of its new social network launch, Google also is now giving website owners the ability to track search traffic.
Through Google’s Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics, website operators will be able to see how its +1 social sharing button, introduced in March, will affect search traffic, how many +1s website pages have received and the geographic and demographic information on users who have clicked the +1 on the website.
The new features also allow website operators to see how users share the site’s content with Facebook’s Like button and Twitter’s tweet button, allowing operators to see which social network is having the most impact in driving traffic to their site.
The Social Plugin Tracking feature gives website operators the ability to measure social sharing actions through three different types of reports.
The first is the Social Engagement report, which lets website owners see how behavior changes for visits to their site that include clicks on the +1 button or other social sharing buttons.
The second is the Social Actions report, which lets owners view how many social actions (+1s, Likes, tweets, etc) takes place on their website from one location.
And the Social Pages report allows operators to compare and contrast pages on their website to see what content is driving the highest number of social actions.