 |
|
|
|
Archive for October, 2008
Oct 29
2008
| If your site has dynamic URLs then you might have a hard time making sense out of your data in Google Analytics.
If for any reason you cannot convert your dynamic URLs to friendly URLs…search and replace filters are the answer! |
 |
The screenshot below demonstrates the nightmare some people might experience when they view content reports.
In order to make the URL readable, we have to identfy the parameters that we want to change. In our above example the URL contains three parameters: departmentID, CategoryID, and ProductID. We first create a “search and replace” filter for each department, category, and product. Then we replace each dynamic parameter with easy-to-read text.
- Create the “Search & Replace” Filters
Filter# 1
Filter# 2
Filter# 3
- Now apply all created filters to a test profile and verify data accuracy before applying to your regular profiles.
Your content reports will now look like this:
Note:
- We do not advice using “Search & Replace” approach on e-commerce sites because you will have a very large number of filters.
- The easiest way to never have to deal with dynamic URL addresses is by using friendly URLs at the development stage.
- You can use tools such as Apache’s mod_rewrite to present clean URLs to both your visitors and your web analytics application.
- Clean URLs will have additional benefits such as helping with your SEO campaign and improving conversion rates..
Technorati Tags: google analytics, search engine optimization, web analytics
Tags: google analytics, search engine optimization, web analytics
Posted in web analytics | 11 Comments »
Oct 22
2008
If you log into your Google Analytics account and notice something different, don’t panic because this something different is also something good!  Google has rolled out an updated user interface (UI) and added some really cool features.
| Before |
 |
|
| After |
 |
So what is new? An actionable interface! Instead of just listing your profiles with links to view, edit, or delete (and a check status), now the new Google Analytics interface offers:
- You can view metrics such as Visits, Average Time on Site, Bounce Rate, and completed goals.
- % Change column: allowing you to sees ups and downs based on a day, week, month, or year time frame.
- Starring Profile: you can “star” the profiles you most frequently use and then select to view “starred” profiles only, instead of scrolling down pags after page and waste valuable minutes (that we would like to spend on analysis!)
- Quick profile name change: one click on the “the button with a pen” next to the profile name and you can easily update the name
- Profile Locator: few more valuable seconds are saved by using the “Find Profile” feature. Just start typing the name of the profile and voila! The profile you need is highlighted in yellow and then available for you use
- Rows per page: a small dropdown at the bottom of the screen allows you to control how many rows (profiles) you want to see per screen
If you are an agency with many Google Analytics accounts set up under one main/master account, the above features also work when you log in your main/master account and you see a listing with all individual Google Analytics accounts.
The Google Analytics team has once again done a nice job in introducing more efficiency and giving the users more control. Good job Brett, Scott, and the rest of the GA team members!
The E-Nor Google Analytics Team
Technorati Tags: google analytics
Tags: google analytics
Posted in web analytics | 2 Comments »
Oct 22
2008
eMetrics is where the big web analytics announcements are made! This is just announced, really just announced, and it is very exciting. Google announced the roll out of a new set of enterprise-class features that will complement the already feature-rich Google Analytics. In the next few days, our Google Analytics team here at E-Nor will be writing more detailed posts about each of the features. Until then, here is a quick summary.
So what is new?
- Custom reports. Many of us would like to create their own reports with their own key metrics and don’t want to be limited to the default reports in GA. This feature is quite user-friendly and allows you to drag-and-drop to create all kinds of reports!
- Advanced Segmentation. Want to analyze “visits with transactions” or your “organic (non-paid) visits” without creating separate profiles? The Advanced Segmentation feature gives the data and reports you need. Many data subsets now come ready for you without any additional effort. For those of us that used to create ten or so profiles to segment data, you can now enjoy your morning latte instead , and focus on analysis instead of process.
- Google Analytics API. According to Google, the API is in private beta (meaning a small number of companies/developers have access to it). Once the API is rolled out, expect some very creative custom reporting and very useful third-party data integration.
- Enhanced User Interface. A much cleaner Google Analytics admin interface. Allows a snapshot view of accounts and profiles with metrics right there in front of you. We will have a detailed post on this later today.
- Motion Charts. Part-cool, part-crazy, this amazing tool allows you to see data in 5 dimensions! Data can now be visually displayed on the traditional X and Y axes but there’s also additional time, color, and size dimensions! The Motion chart is extremely useful for spotting peaks and valleys in data and identifying areas which should be analyzed deeper. While it comes with a slight learning curve or adjustment to get yourself familiar with the interface and how to best use the 5 dimensions, there’s no other tool that will give you this type of insight. It’s extremely fun & creative to use and quite interactive. If you’re not a data lover, it actually makes the data fun to use and easily spot trends that would take much longer (and be far more mundane) with a report of numbers. My kids would love this!
- Integration with Google AdSense (in private data). More detailed reports and opportunities to enhance performance and continue with on-going optimization.
Feel free to contact one of our Google Analytics Consultants at info at e-nor com and we will try to help you out.
Also, our friend Avinash has posted a very nice post (yes, long, but easy and a good read).
Stay tuned for more!!!
The E-Nor Google Analytics Team
Technorati Tags: google adsense, google analytics, web analytics
Tags: google adsense, google analytics, web analytics
Posted in web analytics | 1 Comment »
Oct 10
2008
I would like to thank everyone who attended our Google Analytics workshop on Wednesday. We had a great turnout and even greater participation, especially the attendees’ answers to my pop quizzes!
We have received some very positive feedback and we are happy that you found the material helpful. Please be on the lookout for additional training opportunities in the near future.
During the training, some of you had specific questions and wanted more references to some of the points we discussed. We get asked these questions all the time, so I thought to publish these links here in this post.
Give us a ring or email us if you have any other questions or comments!
Technorati Tags: google analytics, web analytics, workshop
Tags: google analytics, web analytics, workshop
Posted in web analytics | 2 Comments »
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
