I have an interesting perspective.  The majority of my professional career has been spent in web development and online marketing.  I had a short jog outside of this industry and during that time, Google Analytics became the dominant web analytics tool.  Boy, what a difference a little time and a great tool can make.  Google Analytics, in combination with their Authorized Consultants have redefined, reshaped and provided access to advanced analytics for any company that wants it...and oh yeah, Google Analytics is FREE!

Web Analytics- Start Somewhere, Go Everywhere

It's easy to get overwhelmed.  Web Analytics, CRM, Supply Chain Management, etc., etc., etc.  After working with many ... Read More

What is an advanced segment?

Advanced segmentation in GA is a functionality that allows you to further dissect your data and customize Google Analytics reports.  This can help you understand customers better by identifying how different types of visitors behave relevant to your goals.  For example, you may discover that visitors who purchase items on your website interact more with distinct types of content.  Advanced segments can help you to improve your business by identifying trends and patterns.

Why do you need to segment?

Sometimes, it is hard to find meaning in your data just by looking at the standard reports.   While GA does provide you with a few ... Read More

If you are still using setVar to populate a user-defined segment you should be aware that that function has been deprecated. It will still function as is, but any new features or functionality will be introduced using the Set Custom Variable code:

 pageTracker._setCustomVar(index, name, value, opt_scope)

The SetVar field used to be the only way to pass a custom value to segment with to Google Analytics. It served as a wildcard, allowing any value to pass into the default user defined field. Google has expanded upon this functionality by creating introducing custom variables and adding the following;

• 5 Slots for Fields. This allows you to segment by multiple custom field values. If you ...

Read More

Tracking your banner campaigns has become an incredibly valuable part of Google Analytics.  You now have the ability to track by source, medium, campaign, keyword, and content using Google's URL Builder.  This tool allows you to easily append tracking variables to your URLs.  Below are some guidelines for using these five dimensions:

Medium: Typically should be 'Banner'

Campaign: Use the name of your campaign. For example, 'Free Shipping'.

Keyword: The keyword field is not required, however I have found it extremely useful to include the size of the banner ad.  This way you will be able ...

Read More

While it's getting harder to find a marketer that has not adopted some level of search marketing religion, I am still amazed by the number of marketers without a serious initiative built upon an email marketing customer and prospect database.

High quality email marketing software is now available to every marketer on every budget at a low enough price point that you can't afford not to touch your customers and prospects several times a year at a minimum.

Couple this with the fact that the venerable search marketing keywords are continuing to soar in cost and competitiveness. Gone are the days (1998-2000) where search traffic was quite inexpensive, and the relatively few marketers that jumped in early ...

Read More