Google Analytics | Internet Marketing Blog

Best practices in data management: report

Data is everywhere. As the cost of storing and collecting data decreases, more of it becomes available to marketers looking to optimize the way they acquire new customers and activate existing ones.

In the right hands, data can be the key to understanding audiences, developing the right marketing messages, optimizing campaigns, and creating long-term customers. In the wrong hands, data can contribute to distraction, poor decision-making, and customer alienation.

Over the past several weeks, I asked over thirty of the world’s leading digital data practitioners what marketers should be thinking about when it comes to developing a data management strategy.

The result is the newly available Best Practices in Data Management report. A few big themes emerged from my research, which I thought I would share.

by Chris O'Hara 11 December 2012 16:43pm 1 comment

Why I love using the Google Analytics API

As a self-confessed analytics geek, I was very excited when I first took a look at what the Google Analytics API can provide.

The best thing about it from my point of view is that it's about making the data more accessible to people who may not like digging around in figures.

So whether you are an analytics nut or whether you just want a simple way to see the numbers that matter to you, this post will help you understand why you should be considering the Google Analytics API.

by Anna Lewis 06 December 2012 09:55am 11 comments

What is a data scientist and do you need one?

Although it's fast becoming a hot position, ask different people what a "data scientist" is and you'll get different responses. Invariably, you'll hear buzzwords like Big Data, Hadoop and Cassandra, as well as technical terms like predictive modeling and regression analysis.

If you're not familiar with these, the role may be something of a mystery, but it is an important and lucrative one at many tech companies.

by Patricio Robles 05 December 2012 15:04pm 0 comments

When Google analytics doesn’t tell you the whole picture (and what you can do)

We’ve been investigating how and when the free version of Google Analytics uses data sampling to give you information on what’s happening on your website, and what that means for your data.

My colleague Adam put together his thoughts on the matter and I wanted to share these with you here.

by Ben Gott 21 November 2012 09:20am 9 comments

Google brings Mobile App Analytics into open beta

Analytics can play a crucial role in creating compelling user experiences and it's no secret that some of the savviest companies study their analytics data religiously in an effort to satisfy their users and customers.

Thanks to the rise of the smartphone, 'creating compelling user experiences' for many companies increasingly involves building native mobile apps. And that means collecting mobile analytics data.

by Patricio Robles 30 October 2012 16:35pm 3 comments

80% of online retailers are using Google Analytics incorrectly

While Google Analytics is the most widely used analytics tools for e-commerce sites, a new survey suggests that the vast majority are failing to make the most of it.

The stats, from a DBD Media survey of 50 e-commerce sites, find that 73% of businesses are inflating traffic in their reports, while 67% haven't integrated social media tracking.

Here are some stats from the survey, while the findings from our Online Measurement and Strategy report shed some light on the barriers to effective use of Google Analytics...

by Graham Charlton 19 October 2012 09:56am 10 comments

Web analytics: stuck in a world of reporting

Web analytics is now seen as a standard part of the site owner’s tool box and the data it provides has become a staple of web marketing.

However, the technology and approaches underpinning analytics are moving on, but the market is failing to keep up to speed with these changes.

by Ian McCaig 15 October 2012 10:01am 6 comments

Eight great free SEO and Google Analytics tools

All SEOs have certain tools and tricks that they use to monitor their client's performance and that of their competitors.

At BrightonSEO several of the speakers revealed some of the free tools they have found most valuable, as well as some custom reports created for Google Analytics.

This list is compilation of tools suggested by Auto Trader head of search and online partnerships Berian Reed; Forward3D head of SEO Danielle Fudge; and Koozai digital marketing executive Anna Lewis.

You can find more useful GA dashboards and report relating for social media and email marketing on Lewis's blog...

by David Moth 18 September 2012 11:50am 24 comments

Does investment in paid search brand campaigns deliver incremental revenue?

For this month’s post I thought I’d share a practical example of how you can use testing to validate the impact of your paid search campaigns.

This is aimed at client-side digital marketing teams and agency staff who are learning the paid search ropes and might not fully understand the interaction between SEO and PPC.

The example I’m using is a test plan that seeks to answer the question “Does investment in brand keywords cannibalise or deliver incremental sales?”

This is based on the most common form of paid search, Google Adwords.

by James Gurd 17 September 2012 10:17am 23 comments