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Google Re-Opens Analytics Service as Invite-Only
taboguilla writes "As of January 11, after freezing the Google Analytics new user subscriptions shortly after it first started, Google's snazzy web site hit counter is adding new users on an invitation-only basis. If you would like an invitation, you can submit your email address to on the Google Analytics home page and wait until they decide you are worthy."
It always helps when you explain what you are talking about?
but can someone please explain why Google is so big on the "invite only" idea. Isn't Gmail technically "invite only" right now - and everyone and their dog has an account there.
LINUX ONLINE POKER: Linux Poker
They just want to use the hit counter to see how popular different web pages are, so they can use that in their page rank algorithm.
It seems like Google must be doing some sort of datamining on all the data its aquired through searches, sitemaps, email, and now a "hit counter." Is it really improving their results? I don't really think so because certain search terms are still marred by the typical commericial or SEO junk. I really think the next step for the search engines is to start work on creating a better way to index all those subject specific web forums on the internet that have massive amounts of good information but very poor searching capabilities.
Oh, if you have an invite send one my way so I can check this out for myself... is300fan "at" hotmail.com Thanks
It can be beneficial to the user also... like it states on the analytics website, it is integrated with adwords, so if you have an adword for blondes and most of your visitors are using the search term brunettes then you know to switch keywords to increase ROI
So, on top of its highly successful search and adsense, Google now wants to be the next DoubleClick. Well that's fine and I suppose that a lot of web monkeys want to have detailed statistics about their site. But, what is the deal with aggressive and forceful statistic collection? I'm speaking generally and not specifically about Google here.
I've noticed a marked increase in the use of Flash to track users. I've also noticed an annoying trend of scripts that request or post information to a tracker site every second. If you leave the page open it constantly hits the tracking site.
I find all this to be highly offensive. Web monkeys can slice and dice their logs in any way the like but stop trying to hijack my machine in persistent attempts to track my page viewing down to the second! When I come to your site, I want to view your site! I do not want your site causing my machine to load Google, DoubleClick, OLN or anyother pages. It's rude! It's dirty! It's like porn site popups! It makes me not want to come back to your site or your company. Ever!
Everyone who is anti-Google complains about how Google should stop trying new things and stick to what they're good at. The thing about Google is that they're not really "good" at anything -- they're great at finding new markets by continuously pushing the envelope of need.
I love the Analytics idea, and I hope I get chosen. Web site performance is one of the most complex dances I've ever seen, and I believe Google may be one of a very select few companies with a group of minds that can properly understand what we think is just a simple hit count.
I'm anti-stock market, and I believe the Google is way overvalued (more realistic would be 10 times earnings and even that is too much without a reasonable dividend), but I think they have the talent pool needed to finally move beyond the desktop, the operating system and the hardware. Whoever said that information was the PC was right -- but it isn't just access to information that makes it have any value. You need to be able to aggregate, sort and display that information in an understand fashion. The hit counter is one of the most important (and overlooked) piece of information when it comes to understanding how to make your website more valuable to your users and to your investors.
It sounds like the intial release was just fumbled and that they would like to work out the kinks of the system a bit before they have millions upon millions using it, which is inevitable right now with anything attached to Google at the moment. Or it was a marketing gimmick, which wouldn't exactly be a surprise either.
Add :-)
http://www.google-analytics.com/*
to your blocking rules, and all is well.
echo "127.0.0.1 google-analytics.com" >> /etc/hosts
I'm off to Google to search for outfits selling analytics invites and to look for hacks. How ironic. See you later!
RTFA: follow the link to get to the google analytics explanation page.
Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
I'm wondering what the criteria are to get accepted, it doesn't seem clear from the posted link.
In Soviet Russia elephant rides you!
...last trade for Google is $466.
Is another economic bubble coming soon?
| (ceci n'est pas une pipe)
it fails to count most traffic for no apparent reason.
it requires javascript turned on, in the visitor's browser. That skips from 5% to 30% of visitors (depending on the nature of your website - ie, homepage of links versus windoze wares site).
#
#\ @ ? Colonize Mars
#
I got mine the first time around. It looks pretty sweet but I haven't gotten to deep into it. It gives some pretty nice metrics on browser type, country, resolution, well everything urchin did I suppose.
And everything comes across in executive friendly flash charts...
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
I've been lucky to jump early on the analytics bandwagon. However it got very apparent that they are having some performance issues and the report generation was/is still very slow. That said I still like it very much as it gave me some nice data on where my visitors live.
However the thing that goes on my nerves is that now everybody has it including big names like slashdot, sourceforge, ati, etc. I wonder, if the service is free, shouldn't at least peple that make a lot of money from ads (slashdot, sourceforge, ati...) donate a percentage to the analytics service so that it doesn't interrupt/cripple the service for the rest of users.
Analytics in the end helps sites target better their content, thus making more revenue both for the site and google (if they use GoogleAd's), but what if they don't use GoogleAd's? What if google doesn't beef up or scale better analytics with that revenue? That will just cripple the benefit that this service brings.
Hey you infidel! This is Google we are talking about. Reverence please!
penis enlarger spam invites?
No thanks, im ok in that department..
Google analytics is all about Gay porn ???
someone call CNN !!
In Soviet Russia elephant rides you!
There are some rough edges (availability and best with Internet Explorer [yuck]) but I use their service to track my main web site, my blog, and three J2EE-based web portals. I never thought that I needed the kind of user location and navigation information that Analytics provides, but now that I have access to this information I would not like to lose it! Knowing statistically how people navigate around your site gives you a better idea of what people like than simple web log statistics. For example, I give away all sorts of hopefully useful stuff on my main site, but to be honest, I am most keenly interested in people visiting my consulting services page. Analytics lets me see what site navigation paths lead to my consulting page.
This became reality quite fast :)
But really, this is a very logical step from Google.
Repeat after me: We are all individuals
It is flamebait to have actual experience with the service and share that it doesn't track all the traffic?? All hail Google, apparently.
I don't know what's special about analytics, but if there's anything noteworthy, I hope the open source alternatives, such as awstats or webalizer will pick the ideas and offer versions that will not depend on a third party such as google.
And hell, why doesn't google releases this thing (or at least a lite version) as open source for the webmasters?
I'll do the stupid thing first and then you shy people follow...
BTW, Slashdot has been using this for a while ... if you have any doubt, do a view source and look about 20 lines down. Since they already have access to the raw log files (argueably better data), the tin-foil hat crowd shouldn't be too worried about this WRT /. ... but it is pretty interesting that web sites are (basically) allowing Google to collect (and potentially view) this data for them.
Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
Am I the only person who sees danger here? I've never heard it mentioned before, but Google gradually amassing the ability to track your every movement on the web.
Now, web servers have long been capable of logging every move that you make ON THEIR SERVER, but once you go to another server, they lose you. What Google is doing is (intentionally or not) bugging millions of web pages with Javascripts which are loaded from their own server.
For those who don't understand web technology, every time a resource is loaded from a server, your browser tells that server who you are (IP and any applicable cookies) and also what page sent you to fetch this resource (referer header). So, every time your browser loads an "Ads By Gooooooooogle" advertisement script, or a creative usage of the Google Maps API, or now a "Google Analytics" image/script; your browser checks in with Google's server and says "Hi! I'm browser #2j823 and I've just visited this URL."
As more Google resources are dumped onto web pages by enthusiastic webmasters, their "surveillance coverage" of the web grows, and, even now, it's considerable enough to give a good outline of each user's general habits and usual haunts.
So, Slashdot, is it a good thing that a private company is taking on an ability that would be terribly controversial for the government to take on; especially when the government is just a phone call away from requisitioning that data?
You can run but you can't hide, except, apparently, along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
Front company for the NSA?
I don't know if anyone else has noticed but this is as good a place as any to throw out the question. I put my site on Google Analytics right after it was post on /. in November. I have also been using AdSense on the site since August or So. Oddly enough, shortly after adding Analytics to the site, AdSense revenue started dropping. Revenues are now less than half of what they were before Analytics.
Anyone else seen that behavior or is my site just a statistical outlier?
Slashdot is an anagram for Has Dolts, and I am Dolt number 468543
My Firefox tab says "Slashdot | Google Re-Opens Anal"
Google is such an event that some people use it to make competition to know who can make number one for the search Microsano (spanish).
Hi, :)
could you invite me please?
Would be kind! Thanks in advance!
promalo@gmail.com
Is that theft of service, trespass to chattels, or exceeding authorized access? The site is stealing your line time. If you're on dialup, and have a few pages open, this will eat up a considerable fraction of your bandwidth.
Firefox will need blocking for this.
In fact, I think we've reached the point that Flash can't be allowed to run beyond the first displayed frame unless clicked on. User control over animated GIFs was added long ago, and now it's needed for Flash. Another feature Firefox needs.
Firefox's big edge is becoming that it's "the browser that puts you in control". That needs to continue, and be strengthened.
what? is this not beta yet?
Sent from my desktop computer
Google failos to track many of my visitor`? That's great news! That means http://www.calvin-and-hobbes.org/ have even more visitors than I thought! ;-)
This message has been ROT-13 encrypted twice for higher security.
I agree, and I touched on this topic of Google's growing ownership of data and people seeming not to care about it here. It was more centered on the "google wifi" proposals in the news last fall, but the idea is the same. Many people really DON'T see any harm in it, or "so what, google should be rewarded for this" type of attitude. I've met very few people who understand the importance of how much control google will have over web metadata.
Will we see antitrust actions against google at some point? Maybe that's why they moved the analytics program to 'invite only' from 'free for all'? Imagine if MS had bought an industry leading application (urchin), rolled it in to the next Windows Update, and given it away for free. What would the reaction have been?
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Could you please send an invite to trashtonull@yahoo.com? Thanks!
Making this service 'invite-only,' the same way Gmail was introduced, in an excellent strategy in my opinion. It creates buzz around the service because demand will exceed supply initially. it also keeps spam accounts to a minimum because after they go through and identify legitimate users and allow them access, it is generally assumed that those legitimate users will prefer to only invite their friends with legitimate purposes, due to the scarcity of invites at this stage of the program. Even though it is their plan to make it publicly open eventually, doing it by this method keeps the system much 'cleaner' and also generates some hype around their new product. Brilliant move on their part.
I did not really like Google Analytics ! I was expecting a LOT from it since it is a Google product, was very disappointed.
I'm seeing my AdSense revenue increase after Analytics, and I've no reason to believe that the two things might be related at all. As before, I still see clicks worth really less, as well as those worth really more -- it's the number of clicks that has gone up, but the price per click is more or less the same as before Analytics.
I've never belong to the omg people are watching me through my cookies paranoia brigade. However, with the spawning of all these (very useful) Google services, I've got into the habit of using different browsers / browser profiles for different things. I don't want Google drawing conclusions (however non-evil they might be) between, for example, my emails and my search habits.
And upon reading about Google analytics when it came out, and noticing some of my favorite sites were already using it, I gave it the honor of being the only "foreign" entry in my /etc/hosts file:
... but calling Google Analytics a glorified hit counter is seriously misleading, and overlooks one of its main functions: it allows the advertiser to link ad performance to conversion rate. If a particular ad generates 20,000 clicks it may appear to be more effective than one that generates only 1000 clicks. But if the ad that generates 20,000 clicks only generates 100 conversions (orders) and the ad that generates 1000 clicks leads to 200 conversions, the second ad is obviously more valuable to the advertiser. That's the kind of metric a "hit counter" can't give you, but Google Analytics (and other SEM products) can.
Some firms that provide these types of services are listed here: http://www.sempo.org/home
rooooar
how does google analytics compare to other hosted services like webtrends ? Obviously google is free, but it doesn't seeem very reliable and they are lacking customer support that companies need.
I know why a small site would use it. I have it on mine because it gives me a lot of information in some really nice formats. My host gives me access to this information but it is not packaged so nicely and I don't really want to take the time to do anything to get it there.
Now what I haven't even touched yet is the capability to do campaigns and track their effectiveness. I can imagine that this could be very useful for larger sites like the dot.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
For the do it yourself crowd, I wrote a short article on how Web developers can create custom passive monitors using a library I wrote. I haven't yet posted the other individual parts that make for a complete solution, but this is an easy way to get started with the passive client-side monitor.
What I don't know if everybody has figured out yet is that web stats give them yet another metric by which to rank sites and pages. In fact, Nielson-like ratings -- so not only do they get another tool in their ranking toolbox, they also gain in their usefulness to potential advertisers.
Acquiring an analytics tool that they could data-mine was a very smart move.
Tweet, tweet.
Click stream analyisis for websites is not a trivial problem.
Um... why? What's different about "click stream analysis" than simply grabbing lists of requests from a given user out of the server logs?
Libertarianism is rich wolves and poor sheep playing gambler's ruin for dinner.
Google Analystics is Googles attempt to make a product that can rival this:
s /hbx-analytics/overview.html
http://www.websidestory.com/products/web-analytic
Another great tool... is it "new"?, not really, its a "statistics" generator + adwords...
step 1... Google search (draws millions of hits)
step 2... Gmail (nother million hits here and there) (plus your email/data)
step 3... Throw in google earth,picasa (more hits)
step 4... Track users for you.
Google may not be "Evil", but it sure in control of ALOT of information (and statistics). Keep in mind EVERYTHING hits of their servers.
Google will be (you can quote this) the largest information holder on the net (if not the planet) once everything comes out of beta and a NEW application is released based upon all the freebies they have provided its users.
Am I the only one that is just a little bit worried?
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Awesome. Please hit me up if you could.
hwoarang29 @ yahoo.com
I noticed a lot of comments from people concerned about Google tracking their every move. But guess what? That's been happening for years.
... browsing through Google is sure to give them some idea of what you're doing.
... in case your browsing habits aren't enough they can go a little deeper.
- Ads by Goooooooogle don't "discard" the evidence that you were there. These would give Google a fairly clear idea on where you're going on the net.
- Toolbar, if you've got this you're consenting to them inserting tracking microchips in your sphincter.
- Search, everyone's heard about how they log all the searches, cookies that never expire etc etc.
- Accelerator
- GMail
It's super-duper-obvious that Google already knows way too much about way too many people, but they're only going to learn a *little* more with Analytics.
Analytics is all about measuring ROI - how those "Ads by Gooooooogle" are working for you. Over time Google is going to have a *very* good idea on what you and I and everyone else is actually spending $$$ on. I would not be surprised in the least if Analytics was *purely* a move to get that (goldmine) of data.
Having said all of that, I'm sure that 2006 or 2007 will see Google brought back to earth. There is no disputing that most people blindly love them, but there is also a growing number of people who have realised Google isn't what they used to be. Now they're just profiteering whores like all their competitors, playing in the crumbs of innovation.
For those who think Analytics is actually something new, it used to be a software package called Urchin. Google bought, badged and buggered it.
I'd like an invite if you have one.
space is pretty cool.
My AdSense revenue has gone up. However, I've expanded my ads to more of my site so I expect that. I don't see any kind of relationship between the two.
SCO, Microsoft, P2P, what's your hot button?
The really valuable data they are gathering is the invitation relationships. Who invites who. For example, if someone invites a lot of people that turn out to be spammers, then there is a good chance that person know who spammers are, and possibly even who invited them, too.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Go to digg and after your browser loads digg.com, it loads data from google-analytics.com.
Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
Javascript is pure evil and totally unreliable. If you want something to be reliable, it absolutely must be done serverside, period.
Google bought Urchin.
Google/Urchin continued to charge customers $199/mo
Google changed Urchin to "Google Analytics" and gave it away for free
On the first day, so many people signed up and started that it brought down the service completely.
Google locked out new customers.
Google locked down the number of profiles (or websites you can track) to 5.
Google has recently opened up the number of profiles to 50 for longer term customers.
GetTheJob.com : Nothing but Real Jobs.
I had the same experience: a drop in ad revenue, although to be fair, it seems to fluctuate pretty wildly from day to day, from week to week anyway.
Can someone please send me an invite at joevandyk at gmail.com?
Hi can you please be so kind to send me an invite? I am catalin.braescu@INVITEMEgmail.com
I really need Google Analytics... thanks in advance to anyone who will help me!
Best regards,
Catalin
Catalin Braescu
Ofaly.com
I need an invite for Google Analytics, I am catalin.braescu@INVITEMEgmail.com
Whoever NEEDS an invite please reply to this comment.
I kindl ask the readers who can to share their invites, helping fellow slashdotters this way.
Many thanks in advance to all who will answer our request.
Catalin
Catalin Braescu
Ofaly.com
that's interesting, because in my Google Analytics, it shows what % of users have javascript enabled. Is there a 2nd part of that function that allows them to do that?
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To create a marketers wet dream. Their offering to marketers is "What are people interested in right now?" Google analytics is more good for Google than the participating site, since they get to know what people are actually looking at on the different sites that participate.
You know what? I got in on this when it was first released, and a few weeks down the line, I'm not that impressed.
True, I didn't review every single aspect of the system, but from a cursory overview it just seems like a jazzed-up version of Analog, which most webhosts offer as standard built-in logfile assessment. It's filled with 'executive' displays so you can show your boss fancy pie charts and graphs with nice-looking displays, but if you really just need page stats there's many simpler ways (and unlimited in signups) to go about it, particularly without loading google's external JS into your site. I personally found AXS to be pretty straightforward but usable.
unfortunately some of us don't have access to the apache logs. i'm sure we're a minority but keep that in mind. for free, which is what i can afford, i have the choice of (a) using google analytics, or (b) using a php/etc script to create my own logs, manage them, etc. and in case (b) i don't get the primary info i need for my purpose: the geolocation stuff.
if you don't like it, feel free to adblock google analytics.
(no i won't switch to a 'better' host - i use a community server with all sorts of other advantages, this is the only disadvantage.)
Glad to see Im not the only one who has taken to calling it "The Google".
I'd very much appreciate one; thanks in advance!
I have a PHP discussion forum with over 7500 members about pickup trucks and our Adsense revenue has dropped by roughly 1/3rd since I set it up. I installed AdSense back in October 05 and then Analytics in December. I don't think the drop was related but it is an interesting point you bring up.