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Google Launches Web Traffic Analysis Service
segphault writes to pass along that Ars Technica has an interesting article about the recently released Google Analytics. Analytics is Google's new traffic analysis service that helps you to know everything from "how your visitors found you [to] how they interact with your site." Analytics is also built to integrate with AdWords if you are already utilizing that service.
Slashdot! See, you don't need to be Google to do this.
GAS.... as in more hot-air from the friendly neighborhood Googledot.
Don't anthropomorphize computers: they hate that.
Did they do this based on their acquisition of Urchin? Are Urchin staff now working on this instead? Does this mean the death of Urchin software?
Analytics features an elegant user interface that leverages modern web technologies like Flash and DHTML. Although it seems a little rough around the edges (the Flash components don't display correctly in Firefox on my Linux system) the service is moderately impressive. It can export data in several formats, including XML and CSV. With Analytics, you can determine where your visitors are coming from, which links on your site are getting the most hits, how long the visitors spend on various pages of your site, and more:
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.
It is still relatively difficult to get a good feel for the usefulness of the system at this point, but with over 80 pre-built reports, support for interactive report construction, and tracking for countless attributes, the amount of data it provides is downright prodigious. In addition to providing critical marketing data, it also tracks browser features so that web developers can make informed design decisions. Analytics will tell you the screen resolution and connection speed of your visitors, as well as whether or not their browsers support Flash and Java. Flash-rendered graphs are provided with each data collection so that you can get a quick visual overview.
Although it may not be especially useful compared to some of the critical features, the geographical map overlay is probably one of the coolest features. Analytics will generate a Flash-based map of the world that shows you which regions your traffic comes from. You can click individual regions to get additional statistics, and you can use Flash's built-in zoom feature to get a closer look at specific locations.
The site overlay mechanism is one of the other particularly interesting features. It will superimpose click statistics on top of your actual page so that you can (hypothetically) see what people are clicking just by browsing your site. During my experiments with Analytics, I had some trouble getting the site overlay feature to work correctly. Clicking the individual links in the site overlay caused the Analytics start page to load in the iframe rather than the actual content.
Analytics fits perfectly into Google's advertising platform and business model. Despite the bugs (which may be specific to Linux or Firefox) Google's newest service looks powerful and comprehensive. The value of the features and the benefits of AdWords integration will probably be more than enough to convince site owners to use AdWords rather than a competing service.
Don't anthropomorphize computers: they hate that.
When I heard that they had purchased Urchin back in March I was wondering how long it would be before they came out with a service like this. I'm sure this will be a lot better than a lot of those free "stat counter" services out there.
Bradley Holt
What's this all about? How did M$ infect my daily dosage of Slasdot/Google news?
Don't anthropomorphize computers: they hate that.
Ok, so the service works by adding a snippet of code into your web-pages. Then google registers when someone arrives on that page, where he came from, and lots of other data. So google watches everything, it knows what kind of people visits your site and thus knows a lot both about the site and about the visitors.
I know google has always been concerned about "legitimate" use of their data, but this is somehow frightening...
From the Terms of Service: The Google Services are made available for your personal, non-commercial use only.. Doesn't this reduce slightly the usefulness, or at least the potential audience, of the service?
I am sure that's a mistake, but that prevents me from using the service for anything useful right now. Or even from testing it.
Look, that's why there's rules, understand? So that you think before you break 'em. (Terry Pratchett)
Registrars especially have pushed gimmicky "features" on domain buyers that people could otherwise get with a phonecall to their ISP or typing apt-get install webalizer. As far as tracking the way people "interact" on your site, without a google ad on every page or some script I don't see how they can track user behavior on the site (IE which paths through the site are most popular) beyond timing the first and last load of a page with an ad on it. OTOH most of these potential customers or users of this feature don't have my skills. It just raises the whole issue of whether or not google's still a strong buy at 393/share.
This looks like google is relying less and less on their PageRank algorithm and more and more on data that they spy from users.
It seems to me that the page rank is too easilly manipulated so they are resorting to the alexia toolbar method.
Already they are pusing their toolbar hard (even for firefox where is has limited appeal). This says even more to me that they are using the stats from the toolbar and now these stats to monitor user browsing behavior, which it will use to better their search results.
If Google can tell how people react to a site, then it could use the data to affect pagerank. Sites that people bail from would lose pagerank and sites that people stay in and explore would gain page rank. Of course, Google would need some scheme for filtering out scam data where an SEO tries to make their site look interesting or make a competitor site look uninteresting by faking the behavior of visitors.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
Those of you that don't use AdWords can still use Analytics by adding a simple javascript snippet to your web site.
Gee, that's just what I need, another one of those broken odometers on my pages.
This just isn't the quality I'd expect from their team of PhD and mental masters...
Google if you're listening.. I have pages of code that throw syntax errors... scoop me up quick! I'm everything you're looking for and more!
Don't anthropomorphize computers: they hate that.
Don't be ridiculous... Being the first site to post a story is not what Slashdot is about. Its about the comments posted on the story by the users. Great stuff like the "In Soviet Russia" jokes, the "5. Profit!" responses, the Open Source fanatics with their twisted mentality, the Microsoft-haters with their ridiculous love for Linux, the Apple-bashers who don't know what they are talking about.... :)
I'm your huckleberry
Well this should be interesting. For years I used NedStat Basic (now WebStats4U, what a lame name). Anyhow, this last September they changed their name and quietly changed their TOS. The TOS changs were mentioned in small type at the bottom of an email announcing the 'exciting' changes. The biggest change is they now had the right to put pop-ups and other crap-tastic forms of advertising on your site.
NedStat always seemed to be one of the better free analytic sites out there, with them starting to pup pop-ups on sites, I'd imagine a lot of people will happily switch away from them. And since one of the choices is Google, I'd imagine a lot will switch to Google.
If you have a Google ad on your page you are already giving them all this information.
Currently Undergoing Maintenance
Google Analytics reporting is currently undergoing maintenance and will be available shortly. Your site traffic is being logged and you will be able to see the data after system maintenance has concluded.
Don't anthropomorphize computers: they hate that.
Right after Microsoft leaked that memo where they're going to try enter the online ad market due to problems with their business strategies, Google pulls a rabbit out their hat to raise their AdWords attractiveness to new heights... Establishing their foothold further, before MS have even got their steam up. I can already hear things crashing in Ballmer's office. :-p
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
Google Analytics
Currently Undergoing Maintenance
Google Analytics reporting is currently undergoing maintenance and will be available shortly. Your site traffic is being logged and you will be able to see the data after system maintenance has concluded.
This is the end of Web Side Story and similar analytics tools as we know it. Obviously webmasters will flock to Google's free (and probably superior) tools. Google simply takes the $400m market and redistributes the money back to publishers. Amazing.
Coming to you from a couple of years in the future...
Today Bill Gates released a statement "Yes, Google is currently number one in traffic analysis, but at Microsoft we think their service is really basic and we've got some amazing web analytics software in development that will blow Google's out of the water. It's coming out soon... Yes, I know I said we were going to crush Google in search a while ago and we didn't but we're definately going to crush them in Traffic Analysis. Really. Please believe me. Hey, don't walk away I'm still talking! Why doesn't anyone fear me any more..?"
It's a Totally Free Service!!
(You just have to pay Google if you DON'T want them to track every little thing about you.)
Personal Use Only The Google Services are made available for your personal, non-commercial use only. You may not use the Google Services to sell a product or service, or to increase traffic to your Web site for commercial reasons, such as advertising sales. You may not take the results from a Google search and reformat and display them, or mirror the Google home page or results pages on your Web site. You may not "meta-search" Google. If you want to make commercial use of the Google Services, you must enter into an agreement with Google to do so in advance. Please contact us for more information.
You think you're an idiot? I was hoping this would help my morning commute!
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
You hereby grant to Google and its wholly owned subsidiaries a limited license to use Your trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos, domain names and other distinctive brand features ("Brand Features") in presentations, marketing materials, customer lists, and financial reports. Further, Unless You notify Google otherwise in writing, Google and its wholly owned subsidiaries retain the right to identify You as a valued customer and optionally issue a press release that, at a minimum, discloses You have licensed the Product and that the Product is Your preferred web analytics package.
Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
Disclaimer: I'm as sceptical as the next guy about having any big organisation collecting massive amounts of data about some area of the Internet, and Google are clearly the biggest potential abusers of that information.
However, right now the text that appears for a web site I help to run if you find it in Google isn't written by either Google or us, it's written by some anonymous editor at DMOZ. Those editors are notorious for not giving a damn what the webmasters of sites they link to (or don't link to, or link to but misleadingly) think; indeed, we have been blocking all referrals from DMOZ with a 403 since they rejected an update request that by their editor's own admission was in both their readers' interests and ours.
Moreover, whether or not you're listed on DMOZ seems to have an absurd effect on your site's PageRank. It would be a welcome change for Google to construct their index independently, using only their own analysis of relevant factors directly related to the site in question, rather than relying on outside sources with dubious ethics.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
This is honestly going to rock the world of web analytics. I've been dealing with some of the major vendors lately, this move will herald some serious changes in how they do business. I'm still struggling to understand the implications!!!
My tech blog
Gmail will force you to use https but if you want to sign in to Google Analytics, you provide the same credentials with no encryption.
*adds the following line to his hostperm.1 file*
I know this is horribly wrong, but apparently i'm dyslexic... i read "hostperm" as "hotsperm".
So don't use Google you paranoid muppet! There's a whole Internet of alternatives out there.
Deleted
No, the difference between 'utilize' and 'use' is that when you 'utilize' something, you attempt to gain profit from the action. Not necessarily so, when you 'use' something.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Yahoo's had this service ever since they bought out Overture -- and yes, it's also free if you're a big enough advertiser to make it worthwhile. And yes, it adds a javascript snippet to the advertisers' websites. You've probably visited hundreds of these sites already without knowing they were collecting third-party data. Sheesh. Add "Google" to any news story and all the world goes nuts. Personally, I'd wait until Google work out all the bugs before relying on it. It's still GIGO even when it's Google.
Huh... and I'm mildly curious as to whether anyone else can register the URL of users.adelphia.net.
This sig has absolutely no significance and serves only to take up screen space and waste the time of the reader.
My first guess upon looking at that snippet of code is that it is used to determine what search string brought users to that page. One of the things a web browser usually sends to a web server when requesting a page is the page that referred it. My guess is, the code you are looking at is part of a section of code that will figure out what search string brought the user to this page, if the referrer is a major search engine (ie, google, yahoo, msn, aol).
The second string (q,p,q,query), is probably the variable in the referrer url that contains the search string that was used to send users to this page.
Nothing evil, just some javascript magic so you can figure out how users are finding your webpage, which I imagine is quite useful information to a webmaster.
There is nothing odd about this. These are the parameters the major search engines use to determine the keywords you searched for. Example:
This is a standard item that web analytic software looks for so that it can tell you what keywords, and what search engines people used to find your site.
Popisms.com - Connecting pop culture
This just looks like it's a method to track how people got to your page.
Google and MSN use q=search+terms+here in the referer, aol query=me+too, yahoo p=small+green+vegetable
This is no more than Google/Urchin (UCTM Urchin Capaign Tracking Module - We're Urchin software users at work) looking into the referer in the same way that your log analyser would.
Of course it means that they now have the ability to see what other people are searching for on other search engines and track people's search engine usage.
Matt Thompson - Actuality - Insert product here.
I am amazed time and again as Google finds segments in the market and exploits them. Now they are after web analysis, and not only do they provide a service, but they gain insight into how their competitors send traffic to your site. This is even better than just hosting, as you will get many people and companies that pay for hosting elsewhere, but will use GA to analyze traffic/logs.
Google is web-omnipresent
Google is everywhere it seems, collecting data. Does this concern anyone else besides me? I use gmail and I notice that Google search now recognizes me. I can log out, but then I'm out of gmail as well. I've been doing more searching on A9 as a result. Of course, searching A9 means Amazon knows what I'm looking for, but at least I get a discount.
But really, is Google getting to be too pervasive? It seems their future plans are really ambitious. Sure, the company's motto may be "do no evil" but that's not necessarily the motto of every employee there. Maybe I'm just paranoid...
Umm, what's stopping you from blocking the cookie? :)
:/
Slow down cowboy! - Shaddup, slashhash.
Many people get along just fine knowing only English, or only their own language for that matter. What other language do you think is mandatory nowadays? It depends where you live, and in many places there is no need to know another language. Why should someone living in Kansas bother to learn a language they will never use?