Google Analytics New Features

On December third, I went to a Google Analytics seminar in Google’s Chicago office (a very NICE office I might add). I always thought that I was getting close to a 100% from Analytics – boy was I wrong! That’s especially true in the light of recently added features, such as motion graphs and advanced segmentation.

I think every internet marketer, SEO or a webmaster should take a closer look at Google Analytics and what it can do for you. First of all it is a free, web-based service that gives you very in-depth data about your visitors. You can find out exactly who, when, and how got to your website and more importantly what was it that hey did while on your website.

Google Analytics can help you understand both sides of the story – how the got there and what they did there. Knowing what keywords or keyphrases got you the traffic, you can make educated decisions on which keywords to target for your organic and pay-per-click campaigns. Additionally, defining conversion goals, such as a lead, sale, subscription, etc. can help in increasing revenue fro the traffic driven to your website.

The new features can give you an even greater understanding of your visitors, their needs and behavior. Motion graphics, for instance, give you a great way of comparing variables over time – think seasonal PPC campaigns for instance. Motion Graphics add more dimensions and historical comparison to your analysis. Below, you can find a short video describing this new feature.

Advanced Segmentation allows you to divide your traffic into subsets, such as paid traffic or converting traffic, and create completely new, customized ones based on your needs. Best of all you can analyze historical data, which you might have analyzed before. Now you can go back and re-do your analysis with greater amount of detail and new tools readily available.

Another new feature are the custom reports. You can now create 100% customized traffic reports with the exact data you need. You can also schedule the reports to run at predetermined times, and send the results as an email attachment to a specified address. If you are an SEO, then this is a great way to keep your clients up-to-date and let them know that the service provided by you is in fact worth their money!

Google Analytics is a great and, I think, undervalued tool which provides many great insights to your traffic and is worth more than a passing glance!

– Konrad
http://www.kocisz.com

When asked about the other features, the gentleman replied that we will be able to pause keywords instead of having to delete them. Same with ad groups – a pause option will be added. The third feature was supposed to be addition of new tools that would allow working with keywords, ads, and others all in the same place.

Sounds like a step in a good direction but Microsoft will have to do better than that to catch up with Google and its AdWords. I guess we’ll see how it works out.

I will keep you all posted if I find out anything more.

Thanks for reading!

UPDATE:

I just received an email from MSN AdCenter that the new adCenter has been uploaded and you can now:

• Pause the delivery of your ads and keywords. Now you have more control and flexibility as you manage your campaigns.

• Receive better help with disapproved ads and keywords. Get easier-to-find information about the reasons for the disapproval and how to update the ads and keywords for resubmission.

• Create multiple users for your account. You’ll find new options for easily creating multiple account users and assigning user permissions