Social media: Twitter announces new analytics feature to help website owners track clicks and retweets

Twitter has announced the release of a new analytics tool that will make it easier for website owners to track their clicks and retweets.

The new analytics dashboard is an extension of Twitter Cards, a feature that allows website owners to associate a unique content “card” with each URL on their website.

With Twitter Cards, when someone tweets the URL, the social network will attach a “card” below the tweet, which can contain a photo, video/audio/media player, deep links within an app, links to install an app, a thumbnail sized gallery, or other content.

The new analytics feature, which will roll out over the coming days to all Twitter Cards users, and aside from just tracking retweets and clicks, will also track other user activities, such as how many users install an app as a result of a tweet.

In a statement, the social media giant claims the new feature will have a number of benefits for website owners.

“Now for the first time you can gain insight into how your content is performing on Twitter, and find personalized tips to help make more strategic decisions about your use of Cards.

“Along the way, you’ll get insights on how to do even better. Small changes – using a different Twitter Card, conversing more with the followers who love your content, or installing or changing the location of a Tweet button – can make a big difference.

“To get started with Twitter Card analytics, or if you’re already a card user or advertiser, sign in at analytics.twitter.com or ads.twitter.com. All Card users and advertisers will get access to the new dashboard over the next few days.”

The social media giant also credits a number of partners, including BuzzFeed, NBC News, Time Inc., ESPN, MLB, Flipboard, Etsy, Foursquare, and Path, for helping to develop the feature.