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http://www.google.com/analytics/
Google Offers Web Analytics for Free
Nov. 13, 2005
Webmasters can get free, sophisticated tools to determine how many people
are visiting their sites, and what they're clicking on, causing suffering
among pricey competitors.
By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
Disrupting yet another market, Google Inc. is now offering enterprise-class
Web analytics for free.
In March, Google acquired San Diego-based Urchin Software Corporation and
promptly lowered the monthly cost of the company's hosted Web analytics
service, Urchin On Demand, from $495 to $199. Today, the search company is
re-branding Urchin under the name Google Analytics and making it available
to everyone for nothing.
"From an enterprise standpoint, the price is right," says Brian Comeau, a
search engine optimization specialist at e-commerce network Ritz Interactive
Inc., which currently relies on Urchin.
Web analytics is the analysis of the data generated by visitors to Web
sites -- the pages they visit, the ads they click on, and various related
metrics -- for the purpose of marketing and content optimization.
According to Eric Peterson, a senior analyst at JupiterResearch, competing
enterprise Web analytics vendors charge anywhere from several hundred
dollars annually to millions of dollars per year for complex, high-traffic
installations.
For small business and individuals, ISPs often provide Web analytics
software in conjunction with Web hosting service. And there are a variety of
limited but free Web analytics programs and services available.
Peterson speculates that Google's new price point will cause some pain. "My
suspicion is that because a lot of companies shuddered when Google bought
Urchin, this is going to make them blink," he says.
Even so, higher priced competitors may still find opportunities. Peterson
notes that in March, JupiterResearch determined that some 83% of companies
in the U.S. with $1 million or more in annual revenue were under-invested in
Web analytics. By his count, that's over 250,000 companies.
Google Analytics has been updated to integrate with the company's AdWords
advertising service, enabling marketers to obtain ROI metrics without the
need to import ad campaign data. It also includes new summary views of
traffic and trends, pre-formatted for executives, marketers, and webmasters.
Emily Jipson, senior product manager at FT.com has been using Urchin since
June, at no cost though a special arrangement with Google, and she speaks
highly of the software. "What we get out of it is a really specific insight
on our customers," she explains. "For larger organizations, it offers all
the reporting functions you need to really understand what customers are
doing."
"Adding more visibility is really important to us," says Paul Muret, an
engineering director at Google and the former CEO of Urchin.
Visibility is great if you're doing the looking; it's less desirable when
someone else can see your data. Google, however, insists that it takes the
trust users place in it seriously. "We understand that Web analytics data is
sensitive, so we accord it the ironclad protection it deserves," the company
says.
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=173602188
DanlK, FYI Services Collectibles - www.FYIS.org
*** Our eBay Sale ends in one day! ***
http://tinyurl.com/d24pt
Google Offers Web Analytics for Free
Nov. 13, 2005
Webmasters can get free, sophisticated tools to determine how many people
are visiting their sites, and what they're clicking on, causing suffering
among pricey competitors.
By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
Disrupting yet another market, Google Inc. is now offering enterprise-class
Web analytics for free.
In March, Google acquired San Diego-based Urchin Software Corporation and
promptly lowered the monthly cost of the company's hosted Web analytics
service, Urchin On Demand, from $495 to $199. Today, the search company is
re-branding Urchin under the name Google Analytics and making it available
to everyone for nothing.
"From an enterprise standpoint, the price is right," says Brian Comeau, a
search engine optimization specialist at e-commerce network Ritz Interactive
Inc., which currently relies on Urchin.
Web analytics is the analysis of the data generated by visitors to Web
sites -- the pages they visit, the ads they click on, and various related
metrics -- for the purpose of marketing and content optimization.
According to Eric Peterson, a senior analyst at JupiterResearch, competing
enterprise Web analytics vendors charge anywhere from several hundred
dollars annually to millions of dollars per year for complex, high-traffic
installations.
For small business and individuals, ISPs often provide Web analytics
software in conjunction with Web hosting service. And there are a variety of
limited but free Web analytics programs and services available.
Peterson speculates that Google's new price point will cause some pain. "My
suspicion is that because a lot of companies shuddered when Google bought
Urchin, this is going to make them blink," he says.
Even so, higher priced competitors may still find opportunities. Peterson
notes that in March, JupiterResearch determined that some 83% of companies
in the U.S. with $1 million or more in annual revenue were under-invested in
Web analytics. By his count, that's over 250,000 companies.
Google Analytics has been updated to integrate with the company's AdWords
advertising service, enabling marketers to obtain ROI metrics without the
need to import ad campaign data. It also includes new summary views of
traffic and trends, pre-formatted for executives, marketers, and webmasters.
Emily Jipson, senior product manager at FT.com has been using Urchin since
June, at no cost though a special arrangement with Google, and she speaks
highly of the software. "What we get out of it is a really specific insight
on our customers," she explains. "For larger organizations, it offers all
the reporting functions you need to really understand what customers are
doing."
"Adding more visibility is really important to us," says Paul Muret, an
engineering director at Google and the former CEO of Urchin.
Visibility is great if you're doing the looking; it's less desirable when
someone else can see your data. Google, however, insists that it takes the
trust users place in it seriously. "We understand that Web analytics data is
sensitive, so we accord it the ironclad protection it deserves," the company
says.
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=173602188
DanlK, FYI Services Collectibles - www.FYIS.org
*** Our eBay Sale ends in one day! ***
http://tinyurl.com/d24pt