Amy Gesenhues says, “According to Google Analytics, it will be rolling out new Benchmark Reports over the coming weeks for any users who have opted in to share their data anonymously with Google. The new reports pull industry acquisition and engagement metrics from 1,600 industry categories, 1,250 markets and seven size-buckets, allowing users to analyze data by channel, location, or device category dimensions. Also included is a heat map feature which Google Analytics claims will identify areas that could use more attention. Along with the announcement, Google Analytics included comments... [...]

Jim Bilello says, “In the world of web marketing, I have found there is so much confusion in client reporting that unless you are a Google Analytics and PPC pro it is easy enough for your agency to position the data in ways that are confusing at best and downright misleading at worst. You have a dashboard you say not just spreadsheets? OK—but does your dashboard report on the items discussed below? How do you really know if your Google Pay Per Click or AdWords campaign is performing well against the competition? This brief post is in no way meant to be exhaustive in scope, but it will give... [...]

Ben Barrass says, “Benchmarking – for those that were in the know – was once a fantastic feature of Google Analytics. Discontinued in 2011, and then followed by the removal of Adplanner the following year, meant it became a lot harder to contextualise the great work marketers were doing and get valuable market information. Alternatives for benchmarking have always been available, based on toolbar tracking or proprietary stats vendors for example, but those that used Google Analytics benchmarking reports loved the feature for its simplicity, the fact that it was perceived to be well informed,... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Google publishers using the Google Publisher Toolbar can now see Google Analytics data directly in the toolbar. The toolbar is available for those using AdSense, Ad Exchange or DoubleClick for Publishers. Rather than having to open Google Analytics separately, the Toolbar window provides analytics about that page, including visitors, pageviews, bounce rate and average time on page during a specific time period“. Google Brings Analytics To Chrome Toolbar For AdSense And Other Google Publishers Marketing Land  [...]

Chow says, “Everyone who runs a website has the same thought going through their minds at some point every day – how do I generate more traffic to my site?? Especially when it comes to a small business with a tight SEO/marketing budget! There are a few options that cost money – ie SEO, PPC and banner ads – however there are a few ways to generate traffic without spending any extra money. Let’s review those options! After all, why spend money when you don’t have to?”. Increasing Web Traffic – The How To’s John Chow’s Blog  [...]

Chow says, “I remember a few years back taking my first job as a web analyst – it seemed pretty easy at the time. I mean, how hard was it to read some Google Analytics reports and explain what was going on to the clients. Little did I know how deep I would explore the world of analytics, and how this data has such a big impact on how businesses both big and small can use it to mold so many facets of their business. Studying the teachings of super-smart guys like Avinash Kaushik taught me the art of interpreting data, and how data may be more than meets the eye”. How To Understand Google... [...]

Graham Charlton says, “Are you doing what’s best, or simply seeking the protection of the herd? It’s an enticing idea: ‘Best practice’. It suggests a clearly defined path to success; a recipe for perfectly honed websites, trouble-free projects, delighted users; a silver bullet. But what is ‘best practice’? I don’t mean best practice for UX design, or best practice for SEO, or best practice for project execution. But the concept of ‘best practice’ itself.  Where do best practices come from? How do we recognise them? How do we adopt them?”. The... [...]

Frederick Vallaeys says, “AdWords is great at telling you how much money your ads cost and how many conversions you’re getting but what happens between the click and the conversion remains a mystery unless you add Google Analytics to the equation. It can tell you what people do on your site, so if they’re not converting, it can help you find out why. And when you can fix conversion rate issues, your AdWords performance will get better. With the speed at which new features get added, it’s easy to overlook one or two cool capabilities so here’s a roundup of 10 of my favorite ways to... [...]

Graham Charlton says, “We’re pretty big on measurement on this blog, and we use analytics to identify key topics, improve our content, and prove our effectiveness.  To this end, we’re big users of Google Analytics, supplemented by paid tools from Moz and others. We use a bunch of custom reports, segments and dashboards for measurement but I’ve only recently come across the Google URL builder, thanks to our Head of Social Matt Owen”. How to use Google Analytics URL builder to track campaigns ‘Econsultancy’ Blog  [...]

David Moth says, “All digital marketing activity is measurable. Right? It’s nice to think that’s the case and there are a lot of people who believe it, but unfortunately it’s simply not true. The reasons for this are numerous, not least that companies are struggling to keep up with the constantly shifting digital landscape. In the past digital analytics mainly focused on desktop activity, but now businesses have to employ a broader range of analytics products to measure activity across relatively new channels such as mobile and social”. Which analytics tools do marketers use?... [...]