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The ROI Revolution Blog

« August 2006 | September 2006 | October 2006 »

Tracking Multiple Domains

September 26, 2006

Justin Cutroni has yet another great series of articles over at his blog, all about common Google Analytics configuration mistakes. His most recent post discusses third party domains, and getting Google Analytics to track across them. As usual, it's well-written and very informative.

One thing that many people don't know, however, is that, by default, Google Analytics will track only the request URI of its tagged pages.

What's the URI, you ask? Take a look at the URL below:

You see that the part of the URL that is surrounded by red is "/index.htm". So, when a visitor hits the page above, Google Analytics registers a unique visit to "/index.htm". Because the majority of Google Analytics profiles are focused on only one domain, the hostname (surrounded by blue) is ignored in the reports.

But what if you have two domains? And what if you have pages on both domains that have the very same URI?

Keep Reading »

$6,000/month on Google AdWords w/o Google Analytics?

September 23, 2006

I received a very interesting telephone call early yesterday afternoon from a business owner of a lead generation website who had seen his PPC (Pay Per Click) ad spend on Google escalate in the last month or so from $4,000/month to $6,000/month with no detectible, corresponding 50% increase in business.

From beginning to end of the conversation his entire focus was on his concern that he was the victim of invalid clicks (a.k.a. click fraud).

Not coincidentally yesterday, Marketing Pilgrim's Andy Beal pointed out a lengthy Business Week cover story which was breaking yesterday about the very same topic.

Update: today's New York Times publishes its own article on the subject.

It's plausible that the business owner's (I spoke with) issue is not invalid clicks at all (or if so, perhaps less than suspected) but a less-than-analytics approach to his online marketing coupled with a surge of interest in his hot field. First clue: he had long ago opted *out* of the Google Content network. Further, he had Google's AdWords conversion tracker in place, but *not* Google Analytics.

Perhaps other real issues include a recent spike in competitive activity (driving his bid prices up) compounded by untested PPC ads, poorly performing landing pages, etc--all which could be analyzed in Google Analytics and then corrective action taken.

Further, he could also use Google Analytics to check on the click activity of potentially over-zealous competitors using the "Domains" or "Network Location" Visitor Segment Performance reports, had he suspected that problem.

The well spoken business owner wanted to know his options.

Here's what I told him:

Keep Reading »

You're the Guest Blogger: Google Analytics Stories from the Trenches

September 22, 2006

A couple of days ago, I pointed out a ClickZ article which discussed how a New York-based retailer (BuiltNY) tracks their print campaign with Google Analytics. Later in my post I asked for YOUR success stories.

Well the very next morning I heard from Terry Howard, owner of a fishing community site for Central Florida.

Here's Terry's story:

I work on a new project starting up that is a fishing community site for Central Florida.

We wanted to use business cards to place at bait shops, marinas, sub shops, wherever.

In order to track how successful these are we used our abbreviated domain cflfr.com instead of our primary centralfloridafishingreport.com on the cards and I set up a 301 redirect that is triggered whenever the short url is accessed and there is no referrer data sent.

This redirect sends type in traffic of that domain to our homepage with a tracking variable "?ref=offline" tacked on the end.

Now we can simply go into analytics under dynamic content, find the tracking URL page views and check conversion rates.

We can also do a crossview on the city stats to get roughly how we converted at specific card drop locations and even determine the range our cards have, like if people picked them up at one of our location and then took them home to a city across the state to look up our site at home.

Very cool!

Terry, great looking website by the way and great Google Analytics battlefield story. Send me your address and I'll mail a gift card for dinner for you and the Mrs.

Anyone else want to guest blog about how you're using Google Analytics successfully and get some free exposure for your website (and a PR5 link)?

Drop me a line and I'll publish your story if you've got your own good-great example.

Manoj interviews Google Analytics Brett Crosby

There's a great interview just published by Manoj on his blog with Google's Brett Crosby.

Brett is one of the founders of Urchin Software company which got acquired by Google in March, 2005. Brett is a great guy in every respect and has a good deal of passion for spreading the web analytics gospel whereever he can.

When Manoj ask Brett about his goals for Google Analytics Brett said:

...one of my general goals is to get more and more people to use this data in order to make actionable decisions. More specifically one of my goals (and my entire team's) is the opportunity to bring the market up to speed by using analytics to make decisions for their website. This was not the case a little while back where only a small percentage of users had access to this type of data. It's an industry wide challenge to get the right information to the right people at the right time so this is something we're taking serious considerations into.

Manoj also asked Brett about how AJAX measurement might be implemented in the future and here's what he said:

Great question, although my thoughts are proprietary to Google, we did purchase a company called MeasureMap a little while back and one of the founders of Measure Map: Jeff Veen has written a book on AJAX/Web design. Jeff and his team are highly versed in AJAX so therefore we definitely have some thoughts on how to handle it.

Read the whole interview here.

Start at the Beginning: Making Sense of the Google Analytics Toolbox

September 21, 2006

I have a confession to make. I'm not really 'Mrs. Fix-it', if you must know. Oh, I can use a hammer and a screw driver to do basic stuff like hang a picture, but hand me a toolbox crammed with exotic and complex tools and I'll just stand there with a perplexed look on my face (You should have seen the time I tried to set up a lofted bed back in college...).

I've noticed that something similar happens to people when they get Google Analytics set up. There are so many gleaming reports, so many options, so many numbers running around on the screen that you're left standing there wondering, "Ok...Now what?"

The best way to prevent this is to sit down with the appropriate people in your company and figure out what you really want to get out of Google Analytics.

See, that sounds so simple, doesn't it? Well, I hate to break this to you, but it's a little harder than that (although I wish it wasn't).

The first thought most people have is to say they want more traffic coming to their website. However, I'd like to argue that what they REALLY mean is that they want more BUSINESS.

Keep Reading »

View Visitor IP Address in Google Analytics

September 20, 2006

There's no way to view your visitors IP addresses right out of the box with Google Analytics. You can view visitor location and ISP in Marketing Optimization > Visitor Segment Performance, under the Domains and Geo Location reports.

But surely Google Analytics must collect the IP address, or there's no way that it could calculate visitor location and ISP.

In fact, it does collect this data from each visitor that accesses your site. Better still, the data is easily accessible with a fairly straightforward Advanced Filter and the User Defined variable. Here's how.

Keep Reading »

New York-Based Retailer BuiltNY Tracks Print Campaign with Google Analytics

Earlier this year ROI Revolution's Michael Harrison wrote a very useful post for marketers who wanted to track their offline (print, radio, TV, etc) ads using Google Analytics.

Yesterday, Kevin Newcomb (writing on the ClickZ network), wrote how New York-based retailer BuiltNY actually implemented this and agreed to be interviewed about it:

To track the print campaign, BuiltNY put a unique, easy-to-remember unique URL in the ad, which was only in use for that campaign. That landing page shows colorful x-ray images of objects like wine bottles, lunches, seashells and beach gear, all inside the appropriate BuiltNY bag.

Through Google Analytics, BuiltNY was able to attribute an 800 percent boost in traffic when the ad hit newsstands, and a 40 percent increase in online sales from visitors that came through that URL, Steve Bowden, art director for BuiltNY, told ClickZ.

"We can read it like the Wall Street Journal for our own Web traffic," Bowden said. "Every morning we get an update on how our Web, print and e-mail campaigns are doing, correlated to sales."

"Instead of gathering around the table scratching our heads, we actually have data to show how the campaign is performing," added Aaron Lown, a principal at BuiltNY and its co-creative director.

and finally, check this subsequent paragraph out (sound familiar?):

BuiltNY ran a more traditional test ad in Dwell earlier this year, before it began using Google Analytics. "But I have no idea if it worked," Lown said, since he had no way to track its success. Prior to implementing Google Analytics about the same time the X-ray campaign began, BuiltNY hadn't used any Web analytics products for its first three years in business. "We just had too many other things to do, like design new products, run our business...," Lown said.

Who else has used Google Analytics to track a print or otherwise offline advertising campaign? Write to me and if you've got a good case I'll post it here.

New Google Analytics Paperback Hits the Streets

September 19, 2006

It was only a matter of time, based on the massive adoption of Google Analytics since it became free last November, before someone published the first paperback book on/about it.

Released one week ago, you'll find the book co-authored by Mary E. Tyler (tech journalist and former software/web developer) and Jerri L. Ledford (freelance business tech writer) on Amazon.com.

Here's an excerpt:

You know you need to analyze the success of your Web site, but how? Do you even know what to look for? Is there a tool powerful enough to help you evaluate your marketing efforts, products, and services, but simple enough to use if you're not a propeller-head?

Google Analytics is that tool, and this is the handbook you need to make it work for you. Learn to set up Google Analytics, understand the reports it generates, and use the information to make your Web site a real asset to your business.

I've ordered my copy and will post a book review as soon as I crunch through it.

Keep Reading »

Classic Combo: Google Analytics & PPC

September 12, 2006

Peanut butter and jelly, a picnic and ants, a dinner and a movie... some things just go better together. Google Analytics and pay-per-click advertising are definitely on the list of things that naturally pair well!

A famous quote by John Wanamaker helps to illustrate just why they go together so well: "I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half."

Well, Google Analytics helps you to break down just how well your pay-per-click advertising is working and literally tells you where you are wasting money, and making money! Here's a run-down of some of the reports to keep handy as you optimize your pay-per-click campaigns:

Keep Reading »

Google Analytics Gadget for Google Desktop

September 11, 2006

Camden Daily and Chris McKeever have whipped up this nifty little Gadget for the Google Desktop program. It doesn't give in-depth analysis of your GA data, but it's worthwhile if you're interested in keeping an eye on hourly and daily numbers without logging into your account:

See your visitor statistics in real time without leaving the comfort of your desktop. This little guy plugs right into your desktop and pulls all your Google Analytic profile Data in daily and hourly views.

Click to download.

Neat, Easy Way to Track 404 Error Pages in Google Analytics

September 10, 2006

Alex Ortiz, from the Google Analytics team, posted a very useful how-to tip on the Official Google Analytics Blog the other day.

Entitled "Tip: Tracking 404 Pages", Alex says:

Besides telling you from which sources your site traffic originates, Google Analytics also tracks just about any activity that occurs on your site, including popular navigation paths, plus track downloads, outbound links, and activities on cross-domain properties. But one shortcoming is the lack of reporting on 404 pages, which appear when there's no file or page that corresponds to the visitor's request. For example, sometimes visitors will type in a filename that they think is available on your site, or sometimes your site might have a obsolete link which routes to a deleted or non-existent file or directory. In both cases, a 404 or "Not Found" error page will appear on the browser.

It's valuable to see these requests so you can learn what visitors are looking for, and consider adding new content or fixing the broken link.

How easy is this to do? Piece of cake...and in just 3 simple steps:

1. Create a custom 404 error page and add the Google Analytics javascript code to the page.

2. Modify the script on this page by adding one line of code using the urchinTracker method.

3. Wait a while, then go to the Google Analytics Dynamic Content report and expand the list for "/404.html."

So what are you waiting for? Learn how to modify the script here.

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