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Google
Analytics
::
Branding
and
Packaging
Results
By
Jim
Hedger
(c)
2005,
StepForth
News
Editor,
StepForth
Placement
Inc.
Google
has
scored
a
major
coup
with
the
release
of
Google
Analytics.
In
the
spirit
of
helping
webmasters
and
search
marketers
move
site
visitors
into
converted
site
users,
Google
is
offering
its
enormously
useful
site
analytics
tool,
Urchin,
free
of
charge
under
the
re-branded
name
Google
Analytics.
The
software
is
designed
to
help
webmasters
and
marketers
understand
site
visitors
and
their
behaviours.
Last
year,
it
cost
almost
$500/mth
to
subscribe
to.
For
Google,
search
is
about
business
and
business
is
about
results.
Results
are
measured
in
many
different
ways,
depending
on
the
goals
of
those
gauging
the
yardstick.
For
Google,
the
yardstick
continues
to
appear
infinite,
defying
common
sense,
which
logically
tells
us
otherwise.
The
introduction
of
Google
Analytics
solidifies
Google's
place
as
the
pinnacle
of
search
advertising
providers
and
is
likely
to
convert
a
lot
of
webmasters
into
Google
account
holders.
"Conversions"
is
a
term
used
by
marketers
and
webmasters
as
a
way
to
measure
results.
The
word
itself
is
rather
ambiguous
and
can
have
slightly
different
meanings
for
different
people
but
ultimately
means
the
same
thing.
Conversion
means
getting
site
visitors
to
do
an
intended
task
while
visiting
your
site.
For
an
ecommerce
site,
site-visits
that
lead
to
salës
are
considered
conversions.
Sites
that
primarily
provide
information
might
see
an
increase
in
repeat
visitors
as
an
indication
of
successful
conversions.
Similarly,
sites
running
ads
powered
by
Google
AdWords
might
consider
ad-clicks
as
successful
conversions
as
Google
certainly
does.
According
to
the
basic
information
provided
on
the
features
page,
Google
Analytics
can
help
you,
"Learn
how
visitors
interact
with
your
website
and
identify
the
navigational
bottlenecks
that
keep
them
from
completing
your
conversion
goals.
Find
out
how
profitable
your
keywords
are
across
search
engines
and
campaigns.
Pinpoint
where
your
best
customers
come
from
and
which
markets
are
most
profitable
to
you.
Google
Analytics
gives
you
this
and
more
through
easy-to-understand
visually
enhanced
reports."
Once
a
user
gets
into
the
system,
they
are
rewarded
with
access
to
a
remarkable
tool.
If
they
are
an
AdWords
advertiser
or
AdSense
partner,
a
wide
array
of
tools
and
assistants
are
provided
to
help
convert
visitors
into
billable
(or
payable)
clicks.
Google
obviously
believes
that
it
can
make
more
money
by
helping
AdWords
advertisers
and
the
owners
of
the
website
that
display
AdWords.
For
Google
however,
the
rewards
go
deeper
than
a
basic
bottom
line.
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