Google Data » Dai

Update Regarding AdWords Cost Data Reporting

Dai — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:51:00 +0000

Do you have a Google Analytics account that:

is linked to AdWords and
has auto-tagging enabled and
does not have AdWords cost data applied?

If so, we have an important update on how your AdWords cost data is reported. If you are among the majority of users who do not meet all three of these conditions, you can stop reading now.

In early March, we changed how Google Analytics imports AdWords cost data to improve security and provide greater control and convenience. If you were an administrator on a Google Analytics account that was affected by this change (i.e. you either had auto-tagging enabled and/or had a linked account without cost data applied to some or all of your profiles), you received an email in March asking you to link your accounts and apply cost data to all linked accounts. This remains the best practice.

This change caused autotagged AdWords search traffic for which cost data had not been applied to be reported as "direct" traffic. We have now fixed this and Google Analytics now logs autotagged/non cost data traffic as source=google and medium=cpc. Only a small percentage of customers fall into this category, but if you were affected by this issue, as of midnight PST this morning you will see a drop in direct traffic and an increase in paid traffic, appropriately. Please note that organic and non-AdWords paid traffic remains unaffected.

For more information, please read this help center article on AdWords cost data importing.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Analytics Team

Attention Developers: Google Analytics API Launched!

Dai — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:40:00 +0000

A Google Analytics API has long been one of our most widely anticipated features. Today we're pleased to announce that the Google Analytics Data Export API beta is now publicly available to all Analytics users!

What's so exciting about an API? The API will allow developers to extend Google Analytics in new and creative ways that benefit developers, organizations and end users. Large organizations and agencies now have a standardized platform for integrating Analytics data with their own business data. Developers can integrate Google Analytics into their existing products and create standalone applications that they sell. Users could see snapshots of their Analytics data in developer created dashboards and gadgets. Individuals and business owners will have opportunities to access their Google Analytics information in a variety of new ways.

For example, how would you like to access Google Analytics from your phone? Now you can, with this Android application from Actual Metrics. How about accessing Analytics from your desktop? It's here from Desktop-Reporting.

And if you're interested in seeing how integrating Google Analytics can enhance your own business take a look at these examples. MailChimp has integrated Google Analytics into their email marketing platform and ShufflePoint® provides a service for adding Google Analytics data into PowerPoint® presentations. See how youcalc has created apps that allow you to mashup Google Analytics, AdWords, Salesforce.com and other enterprise data.

Check out more customer examples on our developer site. These apps demonstrate only some of the creative possibilities and we know you'll discover other interesting ways to use the Analytics API.

So, how does the API work?

The Data Export API is easy to use and provides read-only access to all your Analytics data. Any data that's available through the standard Analytics web interface is available through the API. The Analytics API is a Google Data API. This is the same API protocol for Google Calendar, Finance and Webmaster Tools. If you've used any of these APIs, the Google Analytics Data Export API will look very familiar to you.

For the JavaScript and Java programming languages, we've provided client libraries to abstract and simplify the process. We're also working on supporting more programming languages. In the meantime, for any programming language you want to use you can make requests directly to the API over HTTP and access the data in XML.

How do I get started?

There are three key resources you'll want to use when you start developing on top of the Google Analytics API. First, all the documentation you need can be found on our Developer site at Google Code. Here you'll find example code, a developer guide, FAQ, and the complete API reference.

Second, be sure to sign up for the Google Analytics API Notify email group so you get the key announcements on feature updates, code changes and other service related news that relate to the API. (Don't worry, this will be a low-traffic email list and we promise to only send emails when there is something important that affects developers.)

Finally, you'll want to become a part of the Google Analytics developer community by joining the Google Analytics APIs Group. This user forum is a great way to share ideas and get feedback from other developers. We also check in on these forums so let us know what you think about the API there, and share your ideas and your applications with us. We look forward to seeing your creativity!

Posted by Nick Mihailovski and the Google Analytics API Team

Introducing Hourly Tracking and more for your TV Campaigns

Dai — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Imagine you're advertising on national television. You've selected several programs and networks that you think will deliver your message to the right audience. Now, wouldn't you want to know which of those target placements was most effective at driving traffic to your website? Well now it's even easier for Google Analytics and Google TV Ads advertisers to learn just that.

Check out the new hourly breakdown of your TV Campaigns metrics

alongside your website metrics. In addition, we've included two new TV campaign metrics, Viewed Entire Ad and % Initial Audience Retained, so you can see how viewer engagement relates to your website activity.

Here's more information on each of these enhancements:

New TV Ads metrics

The two new TV Ads metrics help you to understand full ad viewership with Viewed Entire Ads providing you an absolute number and % Initial Audience Retained providing this data expressed as a percentage.

Viewed Entire Ad: The number of impressions tuned to your ad from beginning through to the end.

% Initial Audience Retained: The proportion of the audience that was present at the beginning of the ad who then watched the entire airing to the end.

These two metrics are currently available in Report Center within AdWords, and we've now added them to the TV Campaigns report in Analytics. As always, Analytics provides powerful visualization tools. You can see TV campaign metrics alongside your website metrics to help you more easily identify which of your TV ad airings most effectively drove traffic to your website.

Hourly data reporting

One of TV advertisers' most requested features has been to view ad performance at an hourly level. Advertisers have been able to review TV campaign data at a daily, weekly and monthly level within Analytics. Today we've enhanced the TV Campaigns report to show metrics in hourly breakdowns. Simply click on the "Graph by Hourly" clock icon in the top right hand corner above the chart. This view makes it easier to attribute website metrics to specific TV ad airings.

Please note that the hourly display in Analytics is based on the specific time zone associated with your Analytics profile and AdWords account, while the TV Reports within AdWords will show the time of an ad airing based on the TV station's time zone. For example, if you live in San Francisco and have your AdWords account in the PST time zone but are airing an ad on the TV station's time zone of the East coast, the hourly data in your TV Campaigns report will be displayed based on PST.

With these enhancements to Analytics' cross-media reporting you can more easily analyze the online impact of your TV campaigns, and use this information to optimize your campaigns as you learn. If you're not currently advertising on TV and are interested in learning more, visit our Google TV Ads website.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Analytics Team

Seminars for Success coming to Austin and Philadelphia in March

Dai — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:35:00 +0000

Seminars for Success are day-long seminars designed to help you improve your online marketing and get the most out of Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer. We've selected industry professionals from our Google Analytics Authorized Consultant network to teach these seminars in cities around the U.S.

Google Analytics – Introduction & User Training

Wednesday, March 18 - Austin ,TX

Monday, March 23 - Philadelphia, PA

Walk away from day one with the knowledge to take actionable information out of Google Analytics and drive your business decisions. Day one topics include:

Introduction to Web Analytics
Common Interface Features
Dashboard Reports & Customization
Understanding Visitors
Much, Much More…

Google Analytics – Advanced Technical Implementation

Thursday, March 19, Austin, TX

Tuesday, March 24- Philadelphia, PA

Day two takes you through Google Analytics configurations, best practices, filter set ups and advanced installs and implementations. Day two topics include:

Profiles and Strategies
Filters – Uses and Implementation
Profile and Filter Combinations
Goals & Funnels - Configuration & Setup
And much, much more…

Landing Page Testing with Google Website Optimizer

Friday, March 20, Austin, TX only!

The Google Website Optimizer experts present this practical course taking you through the process of testing your site to improving your users’ experience and seeing your conversion rates soar. The course includes an overview of Website Optimizer, loads of testing best practices, and hands-on experience to better understand and run A/B and multivariate tests on your website and key landing pages.

Seats are limited, so register today!

Austin seminars for success

Philadelphia seminars for success

Posted by Eva Woo, Google Analytics Team

Google Analytics helps Experience Project organize the human experience

Dai — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:08:00 +0000

To prepare for the case study on Experience Project, we explored www.experienceproject.com and pored through stories to better understand the user base and intent of the website. What we found was something akin to a directory of human experiences ranging from chronic illnesses to pet ownership. With over two million shared stories on thousands of topics, the website is both informative and addicting.

We sat down with Armen Berjikly of Experience Project to chat about his growing social experience website and usage of Google Analytics. Berjikly recounted a heartfelt story of a close friend diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and how Experience Project was built with the intent to connect people from all walks of life and share stories.

For Experience Project team, Google Analytics has proven to be an effective tool to help decide where and how to spend time, resources, and energy. To help refine the site, the team turned to Google Analytics for a variety of their website goals including:

Learning about Users

Google Analytics has helped Experience Project understand demographic, geographic, and subject matter information about their users. After uncovering search trends, the team created tools for managing personal challenges, goal achievements, and dream interpretations to meet increasing demands of their users.

Optimizing Advertising Revenue

As the site operates as a free service, maximizing advertising revenue is a key focus for Experience Project’s online marketing efforts. Through the Keywords Reports, Experience Project found that a large percentage of its members self-identified as dog and cat owners. Armed with this information, the team not only increased marketing on relevant keywords but also wooed pet-related advertisers with actual traffic and demographic metrics. To the delight of users, new functionality focused on pet ownership was built into the site.

Refining Product Development

Experience Project recently launched a new “Question and Answer” section on the site where users submit questions directly to the community. By using the Content Reports in Google Analytics, management and engineering can easily measure the success of the launch and user engagement. Key performance indicators include metrics on usage, return visits, and time spent on those pages which are all readily available.

By utilizing the growing feature set within Google Analytics, the management and engineering teams are able to make key product decisions and measure success. Simply put by Berjikly, “Google Analytics is easy to use, and it makes us more confident in our decisions.”

With the help of Google Analytics, Experience Project has maximized online advertising, delivered features users want, cued in on trends, and more. With such a powerful feedback loop, Experience Project will continue growing the community and positively impacting the human experience.

To learn more about how Experience Project leveraged Google Analytics, read the full case study.

Posted by Melissa Hsieh, Google Analytics Team

Using _setVar? Here’s an update on bounce rate and time on page

Dai — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:06:00 +0000

In the past we've received a lot of feedback from our users who have implemented the _setVar method requesting that custom visitor segments not affect bounce rates. You've asked for it and we've listened! Today we're modifying this feature so that the _setVar method no longer counts as an interaction hit with the result that you may see higher bounce rates and more accurate time on page metrics in your reports.

As a refresher, Google Analytics calculates bounces and durations based upon interaction hits. Now, interaction hits will only include pageviews, events, transactions and experiments (such as with Google Website Optimizer). Here's more on how this change to the _setVar method could affect your data:

Higher bounce rates in your reports

Let's say that you've used the _setVar method on your landing pages to segment member vs. non-member site visitors. Previously, if a visitor came to your site and triggered the _setVar call, but viewed only one page, this would not be counted as a bounce. With this change the user defined call will not send an interaction hit and overall bounce rates will increase as this single page visit will now be counted as a bounce.

More accurate time on page metrics

Time on page metrics are normally counted by the difference in time stamps which are set by interaction hits. Prior to this change, using _setVar would cause Google Analytics to calculate the time on page metric between the time of the pageview hit and the interaction hit of the user defined variable. Now, as user-defined hits are no longer counted as an interaction hit, time on page metrics should more accurately reflect the time between one pageview and the next.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Analytics Team

Google Analytics Seminars for Success December 8 – 9, 2008 in Montreal

Dai — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:25:00 +0000

Seminars for Success have been so popular in the US that we're now expanding to Canada! Come join one of our lead instructors, Justin Cutroni, Director of Analytics at EpikOne for a Google Analytics Seminars for Success in Montreal December 8 - 9. Whether you are an analyst or tasked with configuring Google Analytics this seminar will help improve your overall understanding of Google Analytics.

Perhaps you have questions like, "What reports should I be looking at for my business and what do they mean? How do I configure goals? What is an acceptable bounce rate?" If so, then Seminars for Success Montreal is for you. For only $249 U.S. per day this seminar offers tremendous value.

Day 1 focuses on Google Analytics reports and data. Justin walks through almost every report and shows how you can use Google Analytics to gain meaningful data insights. Day 1 will also cover many of the new Google Analytics analysis tools including Advanced Segmentation, Custom Reports and Motion Charts.

Day 1: Introduction & User Training

Introduction to Web Analytics
Google Analytics Reporting Features
Sharing GA Data
Custom Dashboards
Understanding Site Visitors
Tracking online marketing campaigns
Evaluating site content and user navigation
Understanding Goals and Conversion Funnels
Website testing with the Google Website Optimizer

On Day 2 Justin really digs into how Google Analytics works and how to configure it correctly.

Day 2: Advanced Technical Implementation

GA architecture overview
Learning about Regular Expressions
Improving your data with filters
Setting up Goals and Funnels
Implementing E-Commerce Tracking
Configuring Custom Segmentation
Introduction to Event Tracking
Tracking websites with multiple domains/subdomains
Code customization

Ready to learn how you can improve your Google Analytics skills? Register here!

See what some past attendees are saying about the Seminars for Success:

“The course was outstanding. Going through all the functionality in a structured way with such a good presentation style has been incredibly worthwhile. Highly recommended!”

“This course is an unbelievable value. Now I’ve got a scalpel, where I had a hatchet prior. Awesome amount of info here—I’ve used GA for 2 years, and I never knew what I didn’t know. Now I do!”

“Great seminar for geeks AND non-geeks interested in creating actionable website metrics.”

“I learned more in this seminar than I have in all of the time I’ve spent playing in Google Analytics and reading books.”

Posted by Eva Woo, Google Analytics Team

Seminars for Success, Now for Website Optimizer

Dai — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:05:00 +0000

You may have heard of Seminars for Success. It's a full day of hands-on training on Google products like AdWords and Google Analytics. We've heard requests for more in-depth training on Google Website Optimizer. If you don't know about it, Website Optimizer is a free tool that helps you increase your site's conversion rates by testing different versions of your website's content.

If you want to learn about website testing and how to increase your website's effectiveness, then this course is for you. The course covers how to run your first experiment, best practices in landing page design, and advanced testing strategies.

We're now offering Website Optimizer Seminars for Success with four sessions scheduled around the US:

Washington DC - December 4 - Register
Seattle, WA - December 10 - Register
Las Vegas, NV - January 23 - Register
San Jose, CA - February 11 - Register

Website Optimizer Seminars for Success are led by Google authorized Seminar Leaders. They're experts in the field of website testing and on Website Optimizer. If you want to start increasing your conversion rates, now is the time to sign up.

Course materials will be provided to all that attend. And, if you sign up at least 7 days in advance of a Seminar, you'll receive a $50 AdWords credit. The Washington DC Seminar is coming up next week, so be sure to register your spot.

If you'd like to be notified when Seminars for Success are happening in your area, you can fill out this form.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Analytics Team

Tips and tools for maximizing holiday sales

Dai — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:08:00 +0000

For many of you the fourth quarter is the busiest and biggest season, and in this economy analytics are more important than ever. With holiday traffic starting in November and peaking in early-December, now is the time to make sure your site is in the best shape to maximize holiday traffic and revenue.

To help you better analyze your campaign performance, optimize your web pages, and drive even more traffic to your e-commerce site during this crucial time, we'd like to share some tip and tools you can use in Analytics and other Google products.

Use the Analytics Funnel Visualization report to improve conversions

Learn how many shoppers drop out during each step of your shopping cart conversion process.
Then, work on the steps that lose the most customers.
Website Optimizer, our free testing tool, is a great way to improve those key pages.

Geo-target your AdWords campaigns through Analytics

Find out where your most profitable customers are coming from, and direct your advertising dollars to target customers in those areas.
Get data for region-specific keyword performance in your Analytics account.
Create more targeted AdWords campaigns by region. Watch this video for a step-by-step demo.

Submit your products to Google Product Search

Google Product Search enables shoppers to search for and find products to buy online, and enables you to submit your products for free and target users shopping on Google. Google Product Search is currently available to merchants in the U.S., U.K., and Germany.
If you've never used Google Product Search, you can start submitting your products using feeds you've already prepared for other shopping engines.

Visit our Google page on holiday success to see a full list of tips. We hope these tips and tools help you make the most of your holiday season!

- Dai Pham, Google Analytics Team

Google Analytics Seminars for Success is coming to a city near you

Dai — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:41:00 +0000

Take your pick from New York, Phoenix, Columbus, Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas and San Jose! These are full day seminars chock full of information on "how it works" and "how to make it work" for your website. This course is ideal for marketers, web designers, web analysts and anyone who wants to improve their business online.

Analytics Seminars for Success are brought to you by Google authorized Seminar Leaders. These guys eat, live & breath Google Analytics! Hundreds of satisfied people have attended so far. You can attend the Intro day or the Advanced day... or both!

Course materials will be provided to all that attend and you even get a $50 AdWords credit for each session.

So, if you want to improve how you are using Google Analytics, come to one of the upcoming trainings:

New York City - Oct 9, 10 - Register
Phoenix, Arizona - Oct 13, 14 - Register
Columbus, Ohio - Oct 22, 23 - Register
Los Angeles, CA - Nov 5, 6 - Register
Seattle, WA - Dec 8, 9 - Register
Las Vegas, NV - Jan 21, 22 - Register
San Jose, CA - Feb 9, 10 - Register

Learn more about the topics covered and a full calendar of our sessions at the Analytics and AdWords Seminars for Success page.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Analytics Team

Google Analytics Blog 2008-10-06 15:39:00

Dai — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:39:00 +0000

Take your pick from New York, Phoenix, Columbus, Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas and San Jose! These are full day seminars chock full of information on "how it works" and "how to make it work" for your website. This course is ideal for marketers, web designers, web analysts and anyone who wants to improve their business online.Analytics Seminars for Success are brought to you by Google authorized Seminar Leaders. These guys eat, live & breath Google Analytics! Hundreds of satisfied people have attended so far. You can attend the Intro day or the Advanced day... or both!Course materials will be provided to all that attend and you even get a $50 AdWords credit for each session.So,if you want to improve how you are using Google Analytics, come to one of the upcoming trainings:

New York City - Oct 9, 10 - Register

Phoenix, Arizona - Oct 13, 14 - Register
Columbus, Ohio - Oct 22, 23 - Register
Los Angeles, CA - Nov 5, 6 - Register
Seattle, WA - Dec 8, 9 - Register
Las Vegas, NV - Jan 21, 22 - Register
San Jose, CA - Feb 9, 10 - RegisterLearn more about the topics covered and a full calendar of our sessions at the Analytics and AdWords Seminars for Success page.
Posted by SoAndSo, SoAndSo Team

Now it’s easier to delete accounts

Dai — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:36:00 +0000

In the past, you couldn't delete your account from, well, within your account. Getting rid of a duplicate or test account required you to send in a formal request, and you were limited to deleting only profiles in your account. Now, you can delete an account with a click of a button in the "Edit Account and Data Sharing Settings" page. If you're the administrator of the account, and the account is not linked to any other Analytics or AdWords accounts, deleting your account is easy. (If you want to delete a linked Analytics account, please either unlink your accounts first or contact us.) Also, if you have many account administrators on your account, don't worry - they will receive an email notifying them of the account deletion. But they should let the other non-admin account users know that the account is deleted to avoid any confusion.

One last thing - please remove the tracking code from your site after you delete your account. Remember, there's no "undo" once you delete your account, so before you delete your account forever, we'll ask you to confirm that this is really what you want to do before you delete it.

We hope this feature makes it easier for you to manage your accounts! (Click the image below for a larger view.)

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Analytics Team