Seminars for Success coming to Melbourne, Phoenix and Toronto in May

That's right, we're going to be in Australia, Canada and of course the USA...

Seminars for Success are day-long seminars designed to help you improve your online marketing and get the most out of Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer. We've selected industry professionals from our Google Analytics Authorized Consultant network to teach these seminars in cities around the U.S.

Google Analytics – Introduction & User Training

Thursday, May 14 - Melbourne, Australia
Tuesday, May 26 - Toronto, Canada
Wednesday, May 27 - Phoenix, AZ

Walk away from day one with the knowledge to take actionable information out of Google Analytics and drive your business decisions. Day one topics include:

• Introduction to Web Analytics
• Common Interface Features
• Dashboard Reports & Customization
• Understanding Visitors
• Much, Much More…

Google Analytics – Advanced Technical Implementation

Friday, May 15 - Melbourne, Australia
Wednesday, May 27 - Toronto, Canada
Thursday, May 28 - Phoenix, AZ

Day two takes you through Google Analytics configurations, best practices, filter set ups and advanced installs and implementations. Day two topics include:

• Profiles and Strategies
• Filters – Uses and Implementation
• Profile and Filter Combinations
• Goals & Funnels - Configuration & Setup
• And much, much more…

Landing Page Testing with Google Website Optimizer

Friday, May 29 - Phoenix, AZ

The Google Website Optimizer experts present this practical course taking you through the process of testing your site to improving your users’ experience and seeing your conversion rates soar. The course includes an overview of Website Optimizer, loads of testing best practices, and hands-on experience to better understand and run A/B and multivariate tests on your website and key landing pages.

Seats are limited, so register today!

• Melbourne Seminars for Success
• Toronto Seminars for Success
• Phoenix Seminars for Success

Posted by Sebastian Tonkin, Google Analytics Team

New AdWords interface more widely available

Beta testing for the new AdWords interface has been expanded to an even larger number of advertisers. The new interface is now available to most active AdWords accounts in these languages:

• English
• Spanish
• French
• German
• Italian
• Dutch
• Hebrew
  
• Simplified Chinese
• Japanese
• Brazilian Portuguese

We'll be adding more AdWords languages in the future.

If your account has been added to the beta test, you'll be directed to the new interface the next time you log in. The previous interface will still be available if you need it: during the beta you can switch back and forth using the "New Interface (Beta)" and "Previous Interface" links in the top corner of your account, next to your email address.

Have questions while using the new interface? The new interface microsite has videos and a how-to guide that will help you with the changes. For example:

(click to view video)

In the coming months we'll continue to add features to the new interface and make additional adjustments based on your feedback. Once we're confident that the new interface meets the needs of our advertisers, we'll convert all AdWords accounts to use the new interface exclusively.

To start managing your campaigns with the new features available in the new AdWords interface, simply log into your AdWords account.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 4 of 4

Last week we looked at finding your ROI for AdWords and also identifying keywords that aren't performing well. This week, in the last part of our series, the Google Analytics team will take a look at keywords that bring in revenue and also how to use Analytics to improve your ROI overall.

Which keywords drive revenue?

Just like you did with your poor performing keywords, go to the AdWords Campaigns report and click down to the Keyword level. Once you are in the AdWords Keywords report, click in the Revenue column header (you may have to click twice) so that the highest revenue keywords are listed first.

The high revenue keywords may or may not be your highest ROI keywords. If your ROI shows that you are losing or making little money on a high revenue keyword, you might want to adjust your strategy.

Using Analytics to improve overall website ROI

This series has shown you how to use Analytics to identify low and high performing keywords, find your highest revenue keywords, and weed out low performing keywords. Now that you're familiar with Analytics, you might want to explore some of the other ways it can help you improve your website's ROI. Here are some suggestions for getting started:

• Use Analytics to create an optimization plan to improve the conversion rate on your site
• Track your email marketing campaigns with Analytics
• Expand your keyword lists using Analytics with Insights for Search and the Search Based Keyword Tool
• Follow the 9 steps to becoming an Analytics Emperor
  
• Hire a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant to handle all your tracking for you
  

You can also find regular updates on how to improve your Analytics skills on the Google Analytics blog and Youtube Channel.

That's it for this series. Happy tracking.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics and AdSense, Together at Last

For the past few months, more and more Analytics users have been invited to integrate their Analytics and AdSense accounts. Today that feature has become available to everyone. That means if you have an AdSense account, it's time to get it linked! Here's how:

Linking your Analytics and AdSense Accounts

1. Log in to AdSense
2. Click the link that says "Integrate your AdSense account with Google Analytics" on the Reports > Overview tab
   
3. Follow the on-screen instructions

Having trouble? Visit this help center article.


Which Reports are Available

Once you link your accounts, you'll find an AdSense-specific menu under the "Content" section of Analytics containing these reports:

• The Top AdSense Content report allows you to see more details about specific pages on your site and analyze ad performance. For instance, if you find that some of your pages generate a high number of pageviews but aren't monetizing as well as other pages, you can focus your optimization efforts on improving these pages.
  
• The Top AdSense Referrers report can help you see how different incoming traffic sources contribute to your revenue.
  
• Last, the AdSense Trending report lets you analyze how your site generates revenue during different times of the day and different days of the week.

How to Read the Reports

Check out this video to get a better understanding of how to use these reports:



You'll also notice that other sections of your Analytics account will show a new "AdSense Revenue" tab. You'll be able to compare how much of your AdSense revenue is coming from new visitors versus existing ones, and view revenue based on user language.

Enjoy your new data, and be sure to visit the Help Center if you have other questions about linking your accounts or reviewing your reports.

Like the new feature? Hate it? Leave a comment and let us know!

Posted by Sebastian Tonkin, Google Analytics Team

Never Give Up

As I am in the final stages of preparing for my first marathon (gulp!), I've been drawn to a powerful quote from Dean Karnazes - an ultramarathoner who recently completed 50 marathons, in all 50 states, on 50 consecutive days:

“Run if you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must ... but 

never give up." 

Over the last month, this quote has driven me both personally and professionally.  I hope that you find some strength in it as well.

No matter your market's economic environment...

No matter your current marketing budget...

No matter what challenges you face at home...

No matter what obstacles are thrown your way...

Persevere and NEVER GIVE UP!

Take care,

Eric

Announcing our Small Business Network

The success of your business both online and offline is very important to us, which is why today we'd like to share a message from David Fischer, our VP of Global Online Sales and Operations:

It's no secret that small businesses play a key role in Google's success as a company and drive the economy as a whole. AdWords, AdSense, Apps – you name it – have all grown because small businesses use them. Because of that, increasing their bottom line is very important to us.

In Washington, D.C. and state capitols across the country, we often witness policy debates, legislative initiatives, and regulatory changes that significantly affect the small business constituency – the same constituency that has helped make Google what it is today. But the recent economic downturn has turned entrepreneurship into an uphill battle. So we asked ourselves a simple question: What can we do to help broaden the collective voice of small business both on Capitol Hill and in the states? We want to know about the issues that are important to our small business partners so that we can better invest in their goals and objectives and ultimately, their success.

Today we're launching a new initiative called the Small Business Network. It's designed to promote business-friendly policies at the federal and state levels. We plan to tackle a number of important technology policy issues - the first two of which are increasing broadband access and preserving an open Internet. And we also want to have a dialogue with small business owners about other issues that affect their online business.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama in February, sets aside $7 billion to increase access to high-speed Internet or broadband for the 20 million Americans who live in underserved areas. By expanding broadband access and preserving an open platform, small businesses in America have the ability to reach all consumers at an affordable cost and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world. We hope that the Small Business Network will encourage lawmakers to grant those funds to the right providers and create broadband access for all small businesses across the country.

If you are a small business owner who is interested in learning more this initiative, visit Google's Small Business Network site to find out how you can be a part of it.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

The Analytics Pro's Tools of the Trade

Just as having the right web analytics data is critical to making smart marketing decisions, having the right set of tools is equally imperative when it comes to testing & tuning your Google Analytics implementation. Read on to discover the tools used by one Analytics Pro in troubleshooting and solving Google Analytics problems every day.

Why you need tools and what you can use them for

Implementing Google Analytics can be easy - just copy and paste the script produced during the account or profile creation process, right? Yes, and no. For more complex websites, it's a good idea to take some extra steps yourself, or hire someone, to validate your installation and make sure everything's working as it should.

When problems arise they are usually easy to spot within Google Analytics reports. Odd data such as a high degree of "self-referrals" (visits being reported as "referred" from your own domain name), a strangely high rate of conversions for an unexpected traffic source or medium, or an amazingly low bounce rate (3.8% bounce rate isn't really good, it's broken) are signs something may be wrong.

Enter the toolbox! In it you'll find an array resources for quickly identifying the root causes of Google Analytics anomalies - those most commonly being

• JavaScript errors,
  
• cookie problems, or
  
• client-side page load time issues (not to be confused with slow connections... this is different).
  
  

Tools every Google Analytics professional should have

1) The Browser to Start with: Firefox

The Firefox browser is probably the most important tool for technical debugging work with Google Analytics. The browser itself isn't what matters so much as the myriads of add-ons that are available for it. To get started on building your toolbox, get Firefox if you don't have it already (and don't worry, there are some tools for Internet Explorer too!).

2) Working with JavaScript: Firebug for Firefox

This is where the march of add-ons for Firefox begins. The first and probably most important tool in the box is Firebug, an add-on for Firefox. Use the following Firebug features when debugging Google Analytics implementations:

• Detecting JavaScript errors quickly and easily - identify the script and line of code within the script that is the culprit
• Testing JavaScript code within the browser environment without having to edit an actual page on the server using the script console window in Firebug

Firebug can do much more than just detect script errors and help you rapidly test JavaScript, but these applications are particularly useful for Google Analytics technical work, especially when used in conjunction with additional tools detailed below.

3) Working with Cookies: Web Developer Toolbar in Firefox

The Web Developer Toolbar is most useful for Cookie analysis and diagnosis when working with Google Analytics. It is much faster to use when needing to view just what cookies have are currently set for a given page you are viewing. You can easily see key information for each cookie, find the "utm" cookies, and view details such as the domain the cookies were written for and what the values are.

4) Tracking the Data Stream: Live HTTP headers

Debugging JavaScript and cookies is where troubleshooting begins. Once you are confident the scripts are working properly and cookies are appropriately set, the reporting mechanism for Google Analytics, the utm.gif tracking hit, must still take place in order for data to be reported into your Google Analytics account. Live HTTP headers is a tool of choice for identifying when these utm.gif tracking hits take place.

Bonus configuration option for Live Headers: under the "config" tab enter ".*__utm\.gif.*" (without the quotes) into the "Filter URLs with regexp" field, and make sure the field is checked. This will limit the Live Headers window to only show utm.gif hits, otherwise finding one or two utm.gif hits amidst all the other requests that will fly by may feel like the proverbial search for a needle in the haystack

5) Page Execution Speed: Chrome JavaScript Console

The JavaScript Console in Google's new Chrome Browser is perfect for detecting potential issues on sites that have a lot of other JavaScript running or have the Google Analytics tags placed on the page in a manner that other elements may slow down the code from running. The JavaScript console "resources" pane shows the number of seconds it takes for the Google Analytics script to be loaded and the utm.gif tracking hit to run.Consider this example: it took 6.58 seconds from when the browser began loading this page to when the ga.js file was loaded - and it took even more time before the utm.gif hit was fired! How many people leave before 6.58+ seconds? We will never know because of a latency issue on this page.

Tip: using this tool, if you detect a latency problem, consider optimizing the other JavaScript running on your site, optimizing image files, or placing the Google Analytics code higher in the page so that it does not have to wait for everything else to complete before it runs (note that placing the code in the of the page can bring some additional dependencies with it, so consider seeking the counsel of an experienced Google Analytics professional if considering this change).

Tools for Internet Explorer

While many will argue that Firefox or Chrome is a "better browser," we must face the reality that, for now at least, Internet Explorer sill leads the global market in browser use. Thus, if you do all your debugging in Firefox or Chrome, you may easily miss problems that would arise for Internet Explorer users. Or perhaps you're already aware of such problems and need to diagnose them further. Here are a few tools that are available for IE.

6) JavaScript Debugging in Internet Explorer: DebugBar

DebugBar is sort of like an Internet Explorer hybrid incarnation of the Web Developer Toolbar and Firebug add-ons for Firefox. Using this tool you can track down JavaScript errors in Internet Explorer in the same way Firebug works, plus some advantages. You really have to check it out to get a feel for all the features. Bottom-line: use this tool for analysis of JavaScript errors you suspect are holding up accurate Google Analytics reporting.

7) Live Data Stream Analysis in Internet Explorer: Fiddler2

Fiddler is like Live HTTP Headers, except that it is a standalone application that can detect HTTP traffic between any application your computer and outside web servers. This makes it more accurate than Live Headers in Firefox. It can be used with Internet Explorer, but also other browsers, including Firefox. The tools for analyzing captured requests, utm.gif hits included, are superior to Live HTTP Headers in many ways.

8) Cookies in Internet Explorer: IE Cookies Viewer

This small but powerful tool lets you easily find, view, and even modify cookies for Internet Explorer. It is indispensable for Google Analytics diagnostic and troubleshooting work when encountering cookie domain issues.

In Conclusion

So, there you have it: a plethora of tools that are tried and true means to the trouble-free Google Analytics end you're seeking. Here's a recap shortlist of the tools:

• Firefox browser
• Firebug for Firefox
WebDeveloper Toolbar for Firefox
• LiveHTTPHeaders
• Internet Explorer
• DebugBar: web developer toolbar for Internet Explorer
• Fiddler2 for request header analysis
• IE Cookies Viewer
• Chrome
• JavaScript Console tool for latency measurement

Posted by Caleb Whitmore of Analytics Pros, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant

Back to Basics: Using Motion Charts

The Motion Charts feature seems like an advanced tool, but it's actually designed for Analytics users at all levels. It's useful for spotting trends and relationships amongst individual variables when your visits may look flat as an aggregated set of data. Today, we'll illustrate how Motion Charts can graph and compare several keywords over time.

For example, let's say you want to graph traffic over time for each of the top keywords in the report below. You can easily do so by going to the Keywords report under the 'Traffic Sources' section.

Of course, you can click each keyword to see a graph over time, but this doesn't allow you to make comparisons.

However, Motion Charts allow you to graph and compare individual keyword performance over time. To access Motion Charts click the "Visualize" button at the top of most reports, such as the "Keyword" report located under "Traffic Sources."

You can now see that, except for a dip in traffic between Mar 23 and Mar 30, "google store" sent more traffic every day than the other keywords. "google downloads" sent the least amount traffic each day.

But this graph also provides a bonus. If you set the size of the dots to represent revenue, you can identify the days during which traffic actually paid off in revenue. For example, "google store" doesn't generate revenue every day (even when it sends lots of traffic). "google shop" and "google software" frequently generate revenue, but not as much as "google store".

Generating this graph is easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Go the Keywords report (or any other report with table data) and click 'Visualize.'
   
2. Select "Time" for the X-axis and "Visits" on the Y-axis. For Size, select "Revenue" (or any other metric you want to track).
3. Now, select the keywords you want to graph (use the 'Select' box below the 'Size' menu) and select Trails. Press 'Play' or drag the slider across to the end of the time period.
   

After following these steps, a graph like the image above should appear. If you've selected a lot of keywords, your labels may bunch together, but you can drag and reposition the labels to see parts of the graph that are obscured.

Of course, you can use this technique on any report which has a 'Visualize' button. If you discover a new use for this technique, please post a comment and share your best practice with us.

Posted by Alden DeSoto and Christina Park, Google Analytics Team

New "Google for Advertisers" site has launched

We're excited to announce the launch of Google for Advertisers. Google for Advertisers is a place where we've brought together information about the broad range of our marketing solutions -- and where you can explore and discover the combination of tools that best meet your own objectives.

Here are four ways to dive in and get the most from the site:

1. Read up on our various media platforms. This site gives straightforward descriptions of each of Google's platforms (like search, TV, the Content Network or mobile) and all of the supporting tools. You'll learn how to reach your audience in relevant and useful ways across devices, locations and languages.
2. Take a ride on 'The Marketing Cycle.' We put Google solutions in the context of how they can be applied across all the stages of building an effective advertising campaign -- ways to sculpt your strategy, creative development, media deployment, measurement and optimization -- which together help you better plan campaigns that make an impact and deliver strong ROI.
3. Stick it to a marketing objective. Explore a [very fictional] marketing example that illustrates how Google tools could come together to solve for a particular goal. We hope it inspires you, and offers a chuckle or two.
4. Build your personal 'toolkit.' As you browse the site and find Google tools that pique your interest, you can add them to your online toolkit. This way you can easily hone in on the solutions that are right for you and share them with your colleagues.

We invite you to have a look around and afterward, we welcome your feedback.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

I Think; Therefore I Am...[Not]

The simple meaning of French philosopher, Rene Descartes’ phrase is that if someone is wondering whether or not he exists, that is, in and of itself, proof that he does exist.  However, too many banks and credit unions ignore the inherent value of the voice of the customer (VOC) in their product development and marketing processes.

Consumers want a marketplace that is in direct parallel to their lifestyles, and one that puts them more in control of their buying experiences.  They want to share their personal insights so that companies will be better equipped to respond to their specific needs.  Consumers don’t want assumptions made about their needs and preferences.  They want companies to hear their voice and to make more relevant decisions in their product development.  And their personal preferences are the deciding factor in the choice of products they deem to have relevance to their lifestyles.

Consumers want to be part of the process.  They want to participate in the creation of their products.  They have the power because through technology they already know what many of their options are before they walk into your financial center.

Who do we talk to?

Current customers are the first source of information if the product is aimed at the current market. Potential customers are the primary source of information if the product is aimed at a new market. In addition, talk with competitor’s customers. They provide a good source of information on the strengths of competitor's products and why they don't buy from you.

During customer discussions, it is essential to identify the basic customer needs. Frequently, customers will try to express their needs in terms of HOW the need can be satisfied and not in terms of WHAT the need is. This limits consideration of development alternatives. Development and marketing personnel should ask WHY until they truly understand what the root need is.

Challenge, question and clarify requirements until they make sense. Document situations and circumstances to illustrate customer needs. And then address the priorities related to each need. Not all customer needs are equally important. Use ranking and paired comparisons to aid in prioritizing customer needs. Fundamentally, the objective is to understand how satisfying a particular need influences the purchase decision.

Incorporating the VOC is the key to deepening existing relationships and gaining new ones.  Whether it’s through focus groups, customer advisory boards or surveys, banks and credit unions need to be more proactive in order to stay relevant to their customers.  Consumers are more than willing to share their insights and needs.

As Rene Descartes once said, “Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.”

Carpe Diem,

Nick Vaglio, CFMP

Google and OTX present: The Brand Value of Search

You may use your AdWords campaigns to drive people to your site or to drive sales online, but did you know that paid search can also be a powerful brand-building tool?

In a recent study, Google and the OTX research firm explored how search can impact branding across five travel product categories: Air Travel, Car Rental, Cruise, Hotel and Online Travel Agency.

Join us on Thursday, April 30th at 1:00pm EST to learn how paid search can:

• Lift key metrics for your brand
• Increase traffic to your site

You can register here to attend.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

New Interface Thursdays: All about filters

Have you used filters in the new AdWords interface yet? Filters allow you to look at just the data you want within your account. You can use filters throughout your account and save them for later use.

Let's take a look at some of the cool things you can do with filters. First, no matter what tab you're in, you'll find filters under Filter and views.

(click to view larger image)

Setting up a filter is the same whether you're working with ad groups, keywords, or placement; though, the criteria you can filter by does depend on what you're trying to filter. For example, you can filter keywords by match type, but you can't filter ad groups by match type.

(click to view larger image)

To set up a filter, just specify the criteria you want. You can add additional rules to make your filter more specific. For example, you can set filters for clickthrough rate (CTR) and average position at the same time to see keywords with a high CTR appearing on the second page of search results. If you want to re-use the same filter repeatedly, you can save it by checking the Save Filter box.

Let's say we'd like to find high performing keywords across our account. Rather than hunting down all the keywords from ad group to ad group, we can just filter for high performance. Let's look for keywords with a CTR greater than 2% and conversion rate of at least 5%.

(click to view larger image)

Then, after we've filtered the list, we can make changes to our high performing keywords directly in the results table instead of having to click through to each ad group one by one.

Another place you might find filters very handy is in the Ads tab, which displays all your ads across your account, campaign, or ad group. Here's a way you could use filters to get better insight into your campaigns:

The Google Store has campaigns with two types of landing pages: product pages for a specific product like this t-shirt, and category pages for entire groups like all wearables. We'd like to know which type of page generates more sales. Since the URLs for our product pages are formatted differently than the URLs for our category pages, we can create a filter to show only ads that have category landing pages by filtering for destination URLs that start with http://www.googlestore.com/category.asp?

(click to view larger image)

With this filter, it's easy to see performance across all ads that drive traffic to our category pages. We can compare this to the performance we see on product pages. For the Google Store, we found that the category pages generate more sales than the product pages-- information that will help us improve our campaigns.

With filters on the Ads tab, you can also quickly identify ads with a specific approval status. This is a quick way to identify all pending or disapproved ads across your account.

(click to view larger image)

As you can see, filters have a lot of possible uses. We encourage you to try looking at your campaigns in different ways. You might be surprised at what you find. Happy filtering.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Advanced Segments Swissotel Style

Are you segmenting your data or just looking at aggregated numbers (like total visits)? If you're not segmenting, you're barely scratching the surface of what you can do with Analytics data. This is a favorite topic of Avinash Kaushik, Google's Analytics Evangelist, who has been encouraging segmentation since way back in 2006.



In a recent talk at a Google Analytics Masterclass in Singapore, Barbara Pezzi of Swissotel shared her company's experience using Advanced Segmentation to zero in on high-potential customers.

You can find the full story and presentation on the new Google Solutions for Southeast Asia blog. Check it out and get started segmenting your data today!

Posted by Sebastian Tonkin, Google Analytics Team

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 3 of 4

Once again we've asked the Google Analytics team to share some of their tips on how to use Analytics and AdWords together.  Last week we talked about how to link your two accounts and view your results.  To recap, the three steps you need to take are:

1) Link your AdWords and Analytics accounts (how-to video)

2) Configure goals (Help Center article)

3) Assign a value to your goals

This week we'll show you how to use Analytics reports to find your true return on investment (ROI) and identify poor performing keywords.

Which keywords lose money?

As we mentioned last time, the report for tracking keyword ROI is the AdWords Campaigns report in the Traffic Sources section. To identify the keywords that are losing you money, click the ROI column header twice so that the lowest ROI keywords are at the top of the list. Do you have any -100% ROI keywords? These are keywords on which you lost all of the money you spent (you paid for clicks on those keywords but no one completed actions on your site). But before you take any action in your AdWords account, consider how much you spent and whether you have enough data yet to make a decision. 

Very often, -100% ROI keywords are those that have only received a few clicks. You might want to wait until you receive more than one or two clicks on a keyword before you make any changes. And if you've only spent a few cents on a keyword, it's probably worth waiting to see if the keyword pays off.

If you want to learn more, you can check out this video on finding poor performing keywords.

Short date ranges may obscure your true ROI.

It’s generally not a good idea to make keyword changes on the basis of a few days worth of data. You’ll make better decisions if you also take into account your sales cycle and everything else you know about the specifics of your business online.

Consider your return customers – those that find you via an AdWords ad and then return later to buy again. You’ll miss these repeat conversions if you set too short of a date range. Also, it may take a few days for many of your visitors to become customers. By making decisions based on a date range that is shorter than your sales cycle, you might actually lower your ROI by discounting keywords that are actually profitable.

Try out different date ranges and see how your ROI is affected. Try the most recent days, week, month, and then look at this year’s data. You’ll have more – as well as more interesting – information upon which to base your decisions.

Next week we'll look at the Keywords Positions report and see how your ad position can affect performance.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Start Planning for the Online Hispanic Marketing Course for this Fall 2009

While the Summer 2009 course on Hispanic Marketing has started and is closed you can plan for this Fall 2009.  Classes begin August and it is never too early to apply to secure your place.  Visit http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu for details on the online course.  

 

For application information, contact Jennifer Boss at inquiries@campus.fsu.edu.

 

THOSE INTERESTED ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY IMMEDIATELY AS REGISTRATION IS LIMITED.

BE SURE TO REGISTER SOON!

Channeling Yogi Berra

When I was in 7th grade, I was put in a situation (at the last minute) to prepare and deliver a speech in front of my entire middle school...parents, teachers and all...for the 8th grade graduation ceremony. Not sure how or why I was chosen, but this is how it went down.

I called in my hero for help. "Dad, what am I gonna do???" And that's when Dad introduced me to Toastmasters and the magic of Yogi Berra quotes. You may not know who he is, but it's always a great (and well understood) ice breaker! My first speech was great...nobody fell asleep and I did not throw up! This was the beginning if many fond memories of combing through Yogi Berra-isms with my Dad hoping to find the perfect opener for a speech or presentation. I think that's how I landed where I am today...speaking of today..

This is how my day started: From a fellow Twitterer Paulsworld: "EARTH DAY THOUGHT: If I were Yogi Berra I would say, 'Sustainability is here to stay'" AWESOME!! Thanks, Paulsworld!

So, what does this have to do with marketing and are we really talking about Yogi Berra? Because, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." As the wise man once said. He must have been talking about the evolution of electronic communications in banking, right?!?!

So, that's my thought for the day. Fellow bank marketers, we are facing a fork in our road right now. The economy is changing, the marketplace demands are changing, and your delivery options are changing. Will you be changing with them or hanging out the dugout watching the game?

"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going because you might not get there." Yogi is so relevant, isn't he??

So, will you take the fork?
Jenna

Attention Developers: Google Analytics API Launched!

A Google Analytics API has long been one of our most widely anticipated features. Today we're pleased to announce that the Google Analytics Data Export API beta is now publicly available to all Analytics users!

What's so exciting about an API? The API will allow developers to extend Google Analytics in new and creative ways that benefit developers, organizations and end users. Large organizations and agencies now have a standardized platform for integrating Analytics data with their own business data. Developers can integrate Google Analytics into their existing products and create standalone applications that they sell. Users could see snapshots of their Analytics data in developer created dashboards and gadgets. Individuals and business owners will have opportunities to access their Google Analytics information in a variety of new ways.

For example, how would you like to access Google Analytics from your phone? Now you can, with this Android application from Actual Metrics. How about accessing Analytics from your desktop? It's here from Desktop-Reporting.  

And if you're interested in seeing how integrating Google Analytics can enhance your own business take a look at these examples. MailChimp has integrated Google Analytics into their email marketing  platform and ShufflePoint® provides a service for adding Google Analytics data into PowerPoint® presentations. See how youcalc has created apps that allow you to mashup Google Analytics, AdWords, Salesforce.com and other enterprise data. 

Check out more customer examples on our developer site. These apps demonstrate only some of the creative possibilities and we know you'll discover other interesting ways to use the Analytics API.  

So, how does the API work?  

The Data Export API is easy to use and provides read-only access to all your Analytics data.  Any data that's available through the standard Analytics web interface is available through the API. The Analytics API is a Google Data API. This is the same API protocol for Google Calendar, Finance and Webmaster Tools.  If you've used any of these APIs, the Google Analytics Data Export API will look very familiar to you. 

For the JavaScript and Java programming languages, we've provided client libraries to abstract and simplify the process. We're also working on supporting more programming languages. In the meantime, for any programming language you want to use you can make requests directly to the API over HTTP and access the data in XML.  

How do I get started? 

There are three key resources you'll want to use when you start developing on top of the Google Analytics API.  First, all the documentation you need can be found on our Developer site at Google Code. Here you'll find example code, a developer guide, FAQ, and the complete API reference. 

Second, be sure to sign up for the Google Analytics API Notify email group so you get the key announcements on feature updates, code changes and other service related news that relate to the API. (Don't worry, this will be a low-traffic email list and we promise to only send emails when there is something important that affects developers.)  

Finally, you'll want to become a part of the Google Analytics developer community by joining the Google Analytics APIs Group. This user forum is a great way to share ideas and get feedback from other developers. We also check in on these forums so let us know what you think about the API there, and share your ideas and your applications with us. We look forward to seeing your creativity!

Posted by Nick Mihailovski and the Google Analytics API Team 

Search-based Keyword Tool: Wider availability and improvements

At the end of last year, we announced the launch of the new Search-based Keyword Tool. This tool examines the content of your website and matches it against actual Google search queries, providing you with a list of highly relevant, actively-searched keywords. Since the launch, we've gotten lots of positive feedback from our advertisers, so we're happy to announce that the tool is now available in Australia, Canada, China, Japan, and New Zealand. Additionally, on the Settings page, you are now able to select the currency for which you'd like to see suggested bids.

We've also added new features to enable greater customization and help you get even more targeted results:

• Language/Country-specific results: Narrow your results by adjusting your country/territory and language settings. For example, you can use this if you only want to have the tool match your website against searches from Canada or Australia.
• Ad/Search Share filters: Filter by Ad Share and Search Share, in addition to the other advanced filtering options. These filters help you customize your results to focus on queries where you're not showing up in the natural search-results.

If you haven't tried the tool yet, getting started is easy:

1. Go to http://www.google.com/sktool.
2. Sign in to your AdWords account.
3. Enter the URL of your website.
4. Use the Language or Country/territory settings to get results specific to your selection, or keep the default settings to show global data.
5. Click Find keywords.

As always, we welcome your suggestions on how we can improve the Search-based Keyword Tool. We'll be expanding to additional languages and more countries in the near future, so stay tuned.

For more information on the tool, please visit our Help Center.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Choosing the right mobile ad

Back in December we launched mobile ads for iPhone and Android devices. Unlike standard mobile ads, which show on WAP devices and require you to create mobile-specific text and image ads, the mobile ads for iPhone and Android phones allow you to show your regular text and image ads on these devices.

If you’ve been thinking about getting into mobile advertising, but don’t know where to start, check out this video to get a quick overview of the benefits and differences between the two ad formats:

You can also check out this post on the Google Mobile Blog which goes into more detail about the differences between the two types of ads.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Back to Basics: Pressing the right buttons

One of the many ways Google Analytics keeps its reports dynamic with interesting data is to add buttons and other interactive features for you to analyze your reports with. Almost every report has over ten clickable features for you to jigger with, so this can get overwhelming for beginners -- especially if they've always seen their reports as flat pie charts or data tables.

Below are a few examples of how you can use these features and implement them as a part of your report analysis routine.

1. The 'Graph by' button

Beneath the date range selector for your graphs, there is a 'Graph by' feature that lets you graph your data by day, week, or month so you can analyze trends according to the selected view. Some Visits reports have an additional hourly view you can graph by if you really need that extra granular level of data. Get more details about each graph view here.

2. 'Views' button

The 'Views' buttons underneath the graph gives you the option to view your top content data by a variety of criteria - either by data table, pie chart, bar graph, or comparison view.

For the Top Content report, the 'Comparison' view is very useful to spot which pages outperform or underperform the site average. In the Comparison view shown above, we've sorted the pages based on the number of pageviews they each received and are comparing the bounce rate for each page to the site average. We can instantly see that the page that received the most page views also underperformed the site average in terms of bounce rate. But the second and third pages out performed the site average bounce rate.

Read some tips about keeping your visitors on your site and improving your site's conversion health.

3. Dimension segmenting pull-down menu

The 'Dimension' pull-down menu lets you segment one report within Google Analytics by one variable, giving you further context about your visitors. For the content detail reports, you can see how people came to a particular page by changing the dimension to 'Source,' or see what kind of traffic has been referring people by clicking 'Medium.'

If your site is seen in multiple languages, try selecting 'languages' for the dimension. Once you see an unusual spike in visits for a particular language or country, try modifying your site to serve your customers (i.e. translating certain pages or adding country-specific products) and see if your conversions grow, like this guy's. You never know if Mexicana music is enjoying a new revival in Venezuela!

4. Graph mode option

Visualize and compare two metrics at a time for a selected report by selecting from the 'Graph mode' pull-down menu in your reports. Comparing two metrics can show trends you may not have been able to spot solely from within your data table. Although there isn't much actionable insight this feature may give you, you can use it to raise some educated guesses about your traffic patterns and test them out.

To learn how to use the multi-line graphing feature, please read this article.

Hopefully this post has you starting out your week by pressing all the right buttons in your reports!

Posted by Christina Park, Google Analytics Team