Google is always transforming its products to make them faster and better. Generally, the changes brought about in the popular
services like Google search and Gmail receive more coverage, but the company also endeavors to improve its background services like Google Analytics. It's been quite some time since Google had implemented its real time search function and now the feature has been extended to Google Analytics as well.
While Google Analytics had been great for collecting and analyzing past performance, the new feature will let you track the changes in website as and when they happen. The service is now going to be of immense use in evaluating the performance of various promotional tools used by a firm. As Google has suggested in its blog, "One way that I like to use these reports is to measure the immediate impact of social media. Whenever we put out a new blog post, we also send out a tweet. With Real-Time, I can see the immediate impact to my site traffic." It will also let you see if your previous campaigns have lost their steam. In such cases, the site owners might want to refresh their marketing efforts.
However, the new feature is only available in the latest version of Google Analytics. So if you are still using the older version, you first need to upgrade it by clicking the "New Version" link, which located in the top right hand side of Google Analytics. You can access Real-Time reports from Dashboard tabs, though Google would be repositioning them under 'Home' tab, once its updates the interface next week. Google is activating the service for its users on staggered basis, however, you can gain the early access by following this link.