Smartlook is a product analytics and user insights platform that helps you to track behavior and interactions on your websites and applications. As a result, it provides insights that help companies to improve user experiences and conversion rates.
This article will cover Smartlook’s features, strengths, and weaknesses. We'll introduce you to an exciting alternative. This innovative solution offers a fresh perspective, empowering you to make informed decisions.
- Smartlook
- Smartlook Reviews
- Simple Analytics: An independent and simpler alternative
- Feature comparison between Smartlook and Simple Analytics
- Conclusion
- FAQs: A Better Alternative to Smartlook
- How do you implement Smartlook?
- How long does a Smartlook session last?
- What other options do I have in place of Smartlook?
The UK Government chose Simple Analytics
Smartlook
Smartlook has several in-built tools that help you get insights about product usage. It includes session replay, heatmaps, events collections, funnels, and bug-tracking features.
Many also love its ability to track users cross-platform (web and mobile), but that could potentially violate GDPR.
Smartlook recently came into the limelight when Cisco announced that they intend to acquire it and bring it under their umbrella of digital tools.
Pros of Smartlook.
- Cross-platform support
- Provides additional features such as crash reports
Cons of Smartlook
- Poor data retention policy
- Additional payment required to extend data retention
- Uncertain future as it’s in the process of being acquired
Smartlook Reviews
“Great option if you are looking for a better management of your user integration”
What do you like best about Smartlook?
We liked the effectiveness Smartlook's platform has when it comes to having a daily follow-up of the behavior that the audience ends up having on each of our websites. It has tools to record in real time the actions visitors are having in our networks, and Smartlook does everything discreetly and efficiently. We love that it has a deep analysis management that allows us to visualize comfortably the criteria that the audience of our services may be having through our social networks, and in this way, we can address each requirement that we have and significantly improve where there are failures that at the moment we did not see and thanks to Smartlook we know it, in this way we can provide the audience with a more dynamic and pleasant experience on our websites.
What do you dislike about Smartlook?
So far, we must recognize that there are very few dislikes as such that we have of the Smartlook platform compared to the benefits it has brought to our organization. However, I consider it essential to note that they should make an update where they pay attention and look for an improvement to the heat map tool since its efficiency is not the best and tends to present inconveniences. Another minor annoyance we had is that we can not massively export data, which has become a big problem for our organization.
What problems is Smartlook solving and how is that benefiting you?
Smartlook's platform constantly brings us benefits since having the daily monitoring of the behavior that the audience is having on our websites and having a real-time recording from the beginning ends up giving us an idea of how the experience is being and how we can improve the experience of each user that enters our social networks, as well as we can identify in a much simpler way when a customer is potential and when not.
*Victor S. | Senior Software Engineer, Mid-Market*
Source: G2
“Thanks to Smartlook I have been able to improve my clients' experience”
What do you like best about Smartlook?
We mainly like Smartlook because its configuration is not so complicated, and the information support is attentive to provide assistance, making adapting the platform more dynamic and ensuring success quickly. It is a platform that collects important information from each of the people who visit our websites, giving us with this the opportunity to have an immediate response solution to any user or customer who has a problem; Smartlook even identifies when the problem is a console, this is one of the most appreciated tools since with other platforms that we used previously did not do it. Thanks to the information gathered from the audience that visits our internet platforms, our marketing department generates new strategies with much more effectiveness.
What do you dislike about Smartlook?
The platform tends to get a bit slow when you want to manage several things simultaneously. However, it ends up hosting solid results.
What problems is Smartlook solving and how is that benefiting you?
More efficient and solid results when creating new marketing strategies and carry out on our websites thanks to the information that Smarlook is responsible for collecting in advance of each of the users accessing our platforms. Since we started using Smartlook, we began to connect with clients who presented problems when they visited one of our websites, and in this way, we were able to address the issue at the time, providing a solution and guaranteeing a dynamic experience to the audience.
*Darya C. | Business Analyst, Enterprise*
Source: G2
Simple Analytics: An independent and simpler alternative
Simple Analytics is an easy-to-use analytics tool that gives you the insights you need while being 100% GDPR-compliant.
It was founded by Adriaan van Rossum shortly after the GDPR was approved. Since its inception, Simple Analytics has had customers of all sizes, notable ones being: Michelin, Havas Media, Nomadlist, and the UK Government.
Though Simple Analytics might sound like a simple minimal analytics tool, it does pack some powerful features that many marketers love, such as automated event collection, goal tracking, e-commerce analytics, bypassing ad blockers (as it’s privacy-friendly), and much more.
Let's explore why it's become a preferred choice for businesses seeking reliable and affordable analytics tools.
Pros of using Simple Analytics
- Simple UI: Most product analytics tools like Smartlook come with a complex UI which takes time to understand if you’re not a regular user. On the other hand, Simple Analytics focuses on a clean and easy-to-understand UI that even non-marketers can easily understand.
- Affordable: Tracking website and product metrics is pretty affordable with Simple Analytics. For just $9/month, you can track 100,000 data points (pageviews + events). Additionally, you get features that you would find in much more expensive tools.
- Privacy First: The world is moving in a direction where privacy is becoming increasingly important. Google Analytics has been declared illegal in multiple EU countries. You would rather avoid getting caught up in this mess. Take privacy or compliance with regulations into account.
- Mini Websites: Have you ever seen “t.co” as a referrer in your web analytics? If you have, you must have broken your head trying to find the source. Simple Analytics helps you find the exact tweet that referred/mentioned to your website.
- Lightweight: Your website is your storefront on the internet. Providing the best possible experience matters. Installing an analytics script has an impact on page speed. Choose an analytics tool that won’t slow your website down. Even Google recommends having a website that loads quickly.
- Integration: Installing and integrating Simple Analytics is also super easy. It has 20+ integrations to select from, so you can get it added quickly.
Cons of using Simple Analytics
Due to privacy laws, Simple Analytics doesn’t store IPs and user identifiers, which makes it lack a couple of metrics, such as bounce rate, but it does have time on page to give you an idea of user stickiness.
Pricing of Simple Analytics
Simple Analytics offers one of the most affordable pricing structures in its segment. The plans start at just $9/month, which lets you track 100,000 data points.
If you need more features, such as team access, the pricing goes up to $49/month, increasing the data points limit from 100,000 to 1,000,000.
Feature comparison between Smartlook and Simple Analytics
| Simple Analytics | Smartlook | |
|---|---|---|
| Account Management | ||
| Trackable Items | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| User Seats | 1 to Unlimited users | Unlimited |
| User Roles | Available | Admin, Member, Accountant, Guest, Editor, Viewer |
| Account Security | Passwordless Login | Single Sign-on / SAML |
| Data Processing | ||
| Data Retention | Unlimited | 1 month (Free plan), 3 months (Business plan) and upgradable to 12 months |
| Data Center Locations | European Economic Area (EEA) | European Economic Area (EEA) |
| Data Import | GA importer included | Smartlook web interface or API, GA importer included |
| Data Ownership | You | Smartlook |
| Software Hosting | Public Cloud | Public Cloud |
| Compliance | GDPR, PECR, CCPA | GDPR, HIPAA, ePrivacy |
| Data Freshness | Realtime | Realtime |
| Data Export | As CSV or via API | As CSV or via API |
| Cookieless | Simple Analytics is cookieless | Smartlook relies on first-party and third-party cookies. |
| Reporting | ||
| Funnel Reporting | Available | Event-based & retroactive funnels plus anomalies |
| Device Reporting | Available (based on OS and screen sizes) | Available |
| Segmentation | Available | Available |
| Trend Reporting | Available | Available |
| Alerts & Automation | ||
| Integrations | 20+ Available and can send a request to the Simple Analytics team for more | 10+ Available |
| Email Reports | Weekly, monthly | Can select which day you want the report |
| Customizability | ||
| Annotations | Available | Available |
| Custom Events | Available | Available |
Conclusion
If you're sick of overly complex analytics solutions and want a simpler, more privacy-conscious alternative, look into Simple Analytics. It delivers a privacy-focused analytics platform that safeguards user data while providing meaningful insights. The tools allows you to gather meaningful information while protecting user privacy.
FAQs: A Better Alternative to Smartlook
How do you implement Smartlook?
Smartlook is simple to set up, especially with Google Tag Manager. First, add the Smartlook tracking code to a new Custom HTML element in Google Element Manager. Alternatively, you may use Google Tag Manager to browse the Community Template Gallery and select a pre-configured Smartlook tag template.
Then, after you've made the necessary adjustments, save and publish the modifications in Google Tag Manager to begin taking advantage of Smartlook's advanced tracking capabilities.
How long does a Smartlook session last?
A Smartlook session begins when you launch the app and ends when one of the following conditions is met:
- if the session lasts sixty minutes
- if the app stays in the background for five minutes
- if the user manually closes the app. This duration configuration enables you to effectively examine user behavior during a given timeframe.
What other options do I have in place of Smartlook?
Simple Analytics is an option to explore if you're looking for Smartlook alternatives. Simple Analytics provides a privacy-focused analytics solution that prioritizes user data security while giving valuable insights. Try Simple Analytics for a secure and privacy-conscious technique for analytics.