Google Analytics Blog in German

Today we're delighted to announce a new blog for our German speaking Google Analytics users. The German Conversion Room blog launched recently and is run by our colleagues in Europe. In addition to covering Google Analytics tips and advice, the new blog will also include posts about Website Optimizer and Google AdWords conversion tools such as Conversion Optimizer.

Check out the new blog today by visiting conversionroom-de.blogspot.com. You can sign up for the site feed to have weekly posts delivered directly to your inbox.

And don't forget we have other conversion focused blogs for our non US readers...

• conversionroom.blogspot.com for our readers in the UK and Ireland
• central-de-conversiones.blogspot.com is our Spanish conversion blog
• analytics-fr.blogspot.com for our French speakers and
  
• analytics-ja.blogspot.com in Japan
  

Posted by Evelyn O'Keeffe, Google Analytics Team

New version of the AdWords API

For those of you who use the AdWords API, we are happy to announce the launch of the latest version of the API, v2009. This version offers more speed, scale, and flexibility to developers, at a lower cost. Since v2009 is a production beta, developers can sign up for access and will be whitelisted on a rolling basis. For full details on what you'll find in v2009 and how to get started, visit the AdWords API blog.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords click measurements accredited by MRC

We're pleased to announce today that the click measurement systems in Google AdWords has now been accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC). MRC accreditation certifies that Google's click measurement technology adheres to the industry standards for counting interactive advertising clicks and that its processes supporting this technology are accurate.

The industry guidelines were developed over the past three years in an effort coordinated by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the MRC. We're proud to be one of the founding members of this group, which established the first ever industry guidelines governing how interactive advertising clicks are counted and how invalid clicks are detected and handled. The audit against these guidelines was conducted by a CPA firm engaged by the MRC to perform the audit. You can view the IAB / MRC Click Measurement Guidelines here.

We look forward to continuing to work with the rest of the industry in promoting rigorous standards and practices in click measurement and analysis. As ever, our Ad Traffic Quality team continues to work hard on protecting advertiser ROI. To read more about our work in this area, please visit our Ad Traffic Quality Resource Center.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

And that’s not all! What Marketers Can Learn From Billy Mays?

Late night infomercials lost one of their star voices this week with the death of Billy Mays, the memorable pitchman for products like OxyClean and OrangeGlo. With his trademark catch phrases, memorable voice and loud enthusiasm, Billy was a master marketer. So, in honor of his passing, here are some lessons all marketers can borrow from Billy.

Hi! Billy Mays here -- Be excited about what you have to offer and catch the audience’s attention

Hard water deposits, soap scum, calcium and rust, not a problem -- Show consumers what your product can do for them

Unlike other products – Show what’s wrong with the competition’s products

I’m not done yet – Bundle products to offer complete solutions and add value

Call now and I’ll throw in – Create a sense of urgency and ask for the sale

Now that’s the power -- Have passion for your product and say it with style and enthusiasm

Want to see how the master pitchman does it? Watch a collection of Billy’s best infomercials from infomercialaddict.com at http://tinyurl.com/n8bo5f.

Back to Basics: Free Google Analytics Tools

We've picked two free tools that anyone can use while setting up Google Analytics for your site. The tools below are pretty basic but are applicable to anyone tracking a campaign with an Analytics account.

URL Builder

The first tool we want to introduce our beginners to is the URL Builder. In order for Google Analytics to track your marketing campaigns effectively, you'll need to tag your online ads with the right information (e.g. campaign, medium and source) so that Google Analytics can track your marketing campaign and show you which activities are paying off. To help the the tagging process goes smoothly, you can use the URL Builder from our Google Analytics Help Center.

Tagging your campaign links will consist of a URL address followed by a question mark and your campaign variables. But, you won't need to worry about link syntax if you fill out the URL Builder form and press the Generate URL button. A tagged link will be generated for you and you'll be able to copy and paste it to your ad.

SiteScan

The Google Analytics SiteScan tool, created by EpikOne, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant, is a very handy tool to verify that all pages on your site include the tracking code.

SiteScan picks up on some classic signs indicating that your site has improperly implemented tracking code like:

1. No data in your account. (The tracking code was either never implemented or has the wrong account number)

2. You're seeing a high bounce rate even though your site isn't a blog and has more than one page. (If you've only tagged your homepage, your Google Analytics account will be unable to identify any other pageviews from your site. )

SiteScan then reports each page in an easy-to-read CSV file after you've installed the tool. This makes it easy for you to isolate the pages with tracking problems, fix them, and effectively manage your Google Analytics Tracking Code installation.

We're constantly working on developing tools to diagnose problems associated with your account or increase the usability of Google Analytics. We hope that you find the above two tools useful and leave us a comment about any other diagnostic tools you would like to tell us about on this blog!

Posted by Christina Park, Google Analytics Team

Google Analytics on your Mobile Phone

With recent launch of the Google Analytics Data Export API, Google Analytics data is starting to show up in some new places. One of the most exciting places is on your mobile phone.

In the past it was challenging to keep up with your performance data while on the go. Using the new API, a number of developers have created mobile solutions to tackle this challenge. Note, it still takes our system some time to process your data, so if you're checking today's data, proceed with caution.

For the Android OS:

Check out Mobile GA from Actual Metrics.

Mobile GA's date range comparisons

This app is great since it allows me to quickly identify what metrics are changing on my site.

I reached out to Mike and Kirk from Actual Metrics to get a sense of how difficult this application was to build. "The GA API was very easy to use, Mike mentioned, "it is extremely flexible and allows us to get the data we want. What may require multiple calls in other product APIs can be done with just one with the GA API, allowing for higher product performance. "

For the iPhone:

Analytics App by Michael D Jensen	The Google Analytics for iPhone App by Sergej Mueller	Ego App by Garrett Murray

Analytics App is great for accessing all your GA Data. The Google Analytics for iPhone app also has some great reporting. Finally, Ego App allows you to consolidate reporting from different services, such as FeedBurner and Twitter, all in one simple dashboard.

Note, these apps were developed by third parties, so if you encounter any bugs or issues, you should reach out to those developers directly.

That's it! Do you have a cool app you want to share? Post a comment and let us know!

Posted by Nick Mihailovski, Google Analytics API Team

It's about the preparation...

Greetings and Happy Friday!

This week, I had the pleasure of taking my son to a showcase baseball camp in Omaha, NE. The camp was for 96 invited and selected student athletes from ages 15-17. He was one of 8 athletes that were 15 and the rest were 16 and 17.

We also had the opportunity to attend the College World Series games between Texas and LSU. What an amazing experience.... even with the 112 degree heat index!

As I watched the showcase camp of up and coming baseball players and also what were arguably the two best college baseball teams, I noticed striking similarities.

The warm-ups drills....the same
The time need to warm-up...the same
The coaching slots...the same
The positions....obviously the same

What was different? Their approach and preparation!

The college athletes did everything with a single purpose...get better and win the game. Passion. Yes. Focus. Yes. but both teams had it....the difference between everyone was preparation and then ultimately the execution.

The college athletes did everything with a purpose and they realized that "how" they practiced is how they play...and warm-ups and practice is the perfect place to practice the perfect execution and not just at game time.

So, my story for today....make sure you prepare EVERY day like it is the world series...when you finally get to the "game" (or have a customer come in) you and the entire team are ready for flawless execution, based on every one's perfect preparation!

Cheers!

Bruce Clapp

New Interface Thursday: Exploring campaign settings

A few of the changes we've made in the new AdWords interface improve how you manage your campaign settings. In today's post, we'll cover these changes.

Edit Settings for Multiple Campaigns

Have you ever wanted to quickly see which of your campaigns are running on the Google Content Network? Or compare ad scheduling settings for multiple campaigns at once?

Now you can, using the new account-level Settings tab. On the All Online Campaigns page, click the Settings tab to see the primary settings for all your campaigns in a single table.

(click for larger image)

Some settings, like campaign name or daily budget, can be changed directly in the table using in-line editing. To edit advanced settings such as location targeting and ad scheduling, simply click on the setting you'd like to change and you'll be taken directly to the Settings tab for that particular campaign.

You can also use bulk editing to change settings for multiple campaigns at once. Say, for example, you'd like to copy the Networks & Devices settings from one campaign to three others.

Simply select all four campaigns, click Edit, then use the copy-down button to copy the setting across all selected campaigns.

(click for larger image)

Better Organized Settings

We've also changed how campaign settings are grouped together within the campaign-level Settings tabs for easier navigation.

The Audience section contains settings to specify the audience you want to reach. Language, location, and demographic targeting for the Google Content Network are now grouped together in this section.

(click for larger image)

The Bidding and Budget section now contains advanced settings such as position preference and delivery method in addition to campaign mainstays like daily budget and bidding option.

(click for larger image)

Finally, you'll notice a new campaign setting in the Advanced Settings section: frequency capping, which lets you limit the number of times your ad is shown to the same unique user on the Google Content Network.

(click for larger image)

New Interface Webinars

If you want more help learning the new interface, we're holding two free webinars in the next week to help you get up to speed. During the 1-hour sessions, we'll walk you through the new interface, show you the new features, and answer your questions.

The first webinar is tomorrow, Friday, June 26th at 11 AM PDT. Following that, the next one is on July 1st at 9:30 AM PDT. You can register on our new interface webinars page.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

"Data Driven Discussions" series premiere!

We're lucky to have Avinash Kaushik, web analytics practitioner extraordinaire, on our team here at Google. We're also lucky to have Nick Mihailovski, our developer programs manager who was a member of the Urchin team before the acquisition by Google. And they're lucky to have each other - they are two peas in a pod. If you know one of them, you know what I'm talking about.

It's said that you can sum up a friend in three words. Me = tall, nice, good dancer :-) Sounds a little boring I know. I think Avinash and Nick could be summed up by the following: energy, intelligence and bluntness. I also find both of them inspiring and hilarious. I sit right near these guys and listen to them bicker about, I mean, discuss everything related to using data in online marketing; from best traffic metrics to monitor for certain industries, to new analysis tools or features that Google should roll out, to how to track rich internet applications, to what's going on in the online marketing industry. It may sound like standard geeky analytics stuff, but the intensity and level of expertise of their discussions is great to be exposed to. And in addition, they're easily understandable regular guys who are just passionate about changing the way marketing is done - and their belief in the power of using data is infectious.

So, we decided to bottle these discussions and share them in short YouTube videos. We recorded a series of unrehearsed, unscripted sessions where I posit a question to Nick and Avinash and then get out of the way as they answer and sometimes bicker, I mean, discuss. We didn't have a name for the series when we recorded (the marketing irony is hopefully not lost on you) and later decided to call the videos "Data Driven Discussions". They're hopefully fun, high energy, and informative. And we're going to record more, so we'd love to talk about topics you'd like to hear about. You can submit a question or vote on an already existing one for a future episode of Data Driven Discussions at google.com/analytics/ddd.

As you know, a few months ago Google Analytics released a feature called Advanced Segmentation, a staple of web analytics which was championed internally by Avinash. In this first episode above, Avinash and Nick offer their favorite ways to segment data.

All future episodes will be posted on this blog, as well as on the Google Analytics Youtube Channel.


Posted by Jeff Gillis, Google Analytics Team

Seminars For Success July - Edmonton, Canada

Hello, Edmonton Canada! Home of the worlds largest shopping and entertainment center (West Edmonton Mall) and gateway to some of the North's most spectacular National Parks and our first Seminars for Success in province of Alberta!

Our Google Analytics Seminar Leader, Benjamin Mangold from Mangold Sengers is making a special trip from his home country of Australia to teach the Google Analytics Intro and Advanced session.  These are great in person trainings and will jump start you in Google Analytics.  Return from these trainings with a practical understanding of how to use these products for your business along with some great tips & best practices.. and maybe some pictures of Elk and Bighorn Sheep.

They're tooting the horns on how beneficial these courses are. Here's what a recent attendee said:

"Well worth it all, travel, money and the time spent at the seminar flew by. "
David Wentworth Barton Publishing, attendee Seminars for Success, June 2009, Miami, FL

Google Analytics – Introduction & User Training  

Edmonton, Canada - Tuesday, July 7

Day one offers an introduction to Google Analytics and then some. Learn how to turn the sea of web analytics data into information that you can use to make the decisions that drive your bottom line. Day one topics include:

• Introduction to Web Analytics
• Common Interface Features
• Dashboard Reports & Customization
• Understanding Visitors, Traffic Sources, Content, Goals and Ecommerce
• Motion Chart Visualization
• Analytics Best Practices for Branding, Lead Generation & Ecommerce
• And much, much more…
  

Google Analytics – Advanced Technical Implementation

Edmonton, Canada - Wednesday, July 8

The second day will show you how to install and configure the advanced features and capabilities of Google Analytics. We'll show you how to use every ounce of this tool with tips and tricks, technical aspects, and how to avoid common problems. Day two topics include:

• Profiles and Strategies
• Filters – Uses and Implementation
• Goals & Funnels - Configuration & Setup
• Ecommerce Implementations
• Site Search, Event Tracking, Custom Reporting and Advanced Segmentation
• And much, much more…
  

Seats are limited, so register today for the July seminars!

Register for Edmonton, Canada Seminars

Posted by Eva Woo, Google Analytics Team

Twittering with Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer

Our good friend John Marshall just posted this Facebook status update: "cycling to work this morning I hear the birds twittering. Instinctively I wonder if they should be doing something more productive."

Lol, John. He's referring to twitter.com and the fact that with it, your opportunities to waste time have increased. Anyone following Ashton Kutcher? Consider this recent tweet:

you are the man @tonyhawk skates the halls of the white house http://twitpic.com/7sx4j

Actually, that is kinda cool. Definitely a good way to waste time if you want to. =) And we appreciate how Twitter has been a powerful force in the current Iranian election. It's a novel and intimate way to broadcast - and even moreso to listen - many to many.

If you work with and love web analytics like John does and we do, then following some tweets from thought leaders in the industry will keep you on the forefront of what's going with your favorite products. It's an energizing and quick way to connect and engage, in 140 characters or less. Here are a few Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer-related tweets from last week along with some of their latest and greatest posts.

Brett Crosby
twitter.com/brettc(@brettc)
Google Analytics Group Product Marketing Manager
Twitter bio: "One man brand"

• New Aberdeen report, Google Analytics wins enterprise: http://bit.ly/HK3RY
  9:13 AM Jun 22nd from web
  
  
• New Google Analytics website launched, what do you think? http://www.google.com/analytics (retweet all you want)
  about 15 hours ago from web

• Google Analytics cost data issue fixed, no longer in "direct": http://bit.ly/18eGbk
  about 20 hours ago from web
  
  
• Now use Conversion Optimizer with Google Analytics goals: http://analytics.blogspot.com/2009/06/import-your-google-analytics-goals-into.html
  10:45 PM Jun 17th from web
  
  
• RT @avinashkaushik 2 say the downside of free tools is U have 2 invest in people is wrong. Paid tools with Analysts? Free tools=more $ 4 U.
  11:01 AM Jun 17th from web
  
  
• How to visually explain analytics to the world: http://bit.ly/1p1U0J
  10:26 PM Jun 15th from web
  
  
• @DennisMortensen sounds like it is going to be extremely entertaining... esp'ly if you end up having to do it in your underwear.
  9:30 PM Jun 15th from web in reply to DennisMortensen
  
  

Avinash Kaushik
twitter.com/avinashkaushik (@avinashkaushik)

Analytics Evangelist, Google
Twitter bio: "Author - Web Analytics: An Hour A Day | Analytics Evangelist - Google | Co-Founder - Market Motive Inc"

• Want to improve conversion rates? Consider following Seth Godin's specific advice for ecommerce: http://tr.im/p4SL
  about 3 hours ago from web
  
  
• Hurray! Auto-tagged Google paid search campaigns move back fm Direct 2 the Search report: http://tr.im/p4vp Thanks Phil!
  about 3 hours ago from web
  
  
• [And this is in NYC!] What is a Browser? Video, 3 mins http://tr.im/oYTe
  about 14 hours ago from web
  
  
• "Simplicity good. But simple it is not." - Yoda.
  about 21 hours ago from web
  
  
• @links4legends You could set them up as separate sources http://tr.im/oYPH and then segment them as normal. Pls try it.
  about 22 hours ago from web in reply to links4legends
  
  
• Just look at it... http://tr.im/oYc0 Its the most perfect gorgeous day in San Francisco. I love this city!
  about 24 hours ago from web
  
  
• The best free e-book on Web Analytics+Testing+Usability, 30 pages: http://tr.im/oT6x So simple ur grandma will love it!
  9:18 AM Jun 18th from web
  
  
• This is cool web analytics: The 50 most frequently looked-up words on nytimes.com in 2009: http://tr.im/oSQf
  11:38 PM Jun 17th from web
  
  

Trevor Claiborne
twitter.com/tclaiborne (@tclaiborne)

Google Website Optimizer Product Marketing Manager
Twitter bio: "Product Marketing Manager for Google Website Optimizer and a nice guy too"

• Free new AdWords interface webinar today at 11 AM PDT. Register here: http://bit.ly/1kePS
  about 6 hours ago from web
  
  
• Holy crap - RT @MotivityCMS: Google Website Optimizer Increases Conversion 591% http://ow.ly/eH8e. I love #gwo
  10:02 PM Jun 17th from TweetDeck
  
  
• @oggy Sure it can. Are you doing an A/B or an MVT test? Happy to walk you through it if you DM an email address.
  4:15 PM Jun 16th from web in reply to oggy
  
  
• @waynepelletier What issue are you seeing? And have you read this: http://bit.ly/VBYWL? GA and GWO should play nicely together.
  10:06 AM Jun 11th from web in reply to waynepelletier
  
  
• RT @josh_baker Interpreting Google Website Optimizer’s Page Sections Report http://tinyurl.com/quasvf #GWO #optimization - Nice post!
  10:17 AM Jun 4th from web
  
  
• In Seattle for #SMX. Come to my session Deep Dive into the New AdWords Interface tomorrow at 11.Also at the Google booth for #GWO
  1:11 PM Jun 1st from web
  
  

Justin Cutroni
twitter.com/justincutroni (@justincutroni)

Google Analytics Authorized Consultant with Epikone and author of Google Analytics Shortcut
Twitter bio: "Dad, husband, skiier, hiker, cook, data nerd, author."

• Are you an @avinashkaushik fan? Are you a Timbuk2 fan? Check out their new bag: http://tr.im/nTO8 How about a discount Avinash? :)
  6:21 AM Jun 9th from tr.im
  
  
• @BrainsOnFire Try creating an INCLUDE filter to only include traffic from your home country.
  1:49 PM Jun 3rd from TweetDeck in reply to BrainsOnFire
  
  
• What it's like to be the Comcast's Twitter guru. Could you handle 6,000 email a month + 30,000 tweets? http://tr.im/njlb
  11:17 AM Jun 3rd from tr.im

• Ok, I'm a fan of using new media (Utube) 2 drive innovative marketing ideas.But I think this might be going a bit too far! http://tr.im/niXp
  10:01 AM Jun 3rd from tr.im
  
  
• RT @jonathanpb: Podcast catchup #1: my interview with @justincutroni is now posted online #btv http://bit.ly/3iSL Thanks Jonathan!
  5:43 AM Jun 3rd from TweetDeck
  
  
• #GA ToTD:Advanced Segment data sampling sucks.To avoid create different profiles for the segments that you need to measure accurately.
  5:42 AM Jun 3rd from TweetDeck
  
  
• Has anyone used SeeWhy abandonment tracking? Looks like a simple way to follow up on abandoned carts. http://tr.im/ncly
  11:56 AM Jun 2nd from web
  
  
• Went a whole week without any social media. Quiet, but very refreshing. Surprisingly the world has not changed that much :)
  11:33 AM Jun 2nd from web
  
  

Bryan Eisenberg
twitter.com/TheGrok (@TheGrok)

Google Website Optimizer Authorized Consultant with FutureNow.
Twitter bio: "Website Conversion, Persuasion Architecture expert and best selling author of Waiting for Your Cat to Bark, Call to Action, and Always Be Testing."

• Web Analytics and Yellow Lobsters http://tinyurl.com/mr5lt2
  about 8 hours ago from twitterfeed
  
  
• Conversion Rate Exercise: Why Should I Do Business With You? http://tinyurl.com/m6rok7
  4:25 AM Jun 18th from twitterfeed
  
  
• Import web analytics data from Google Analytics in to an Excel spreadsheet http://tr.im/oTQi #wa
  2:15 AM Jun 18th from TweetDeck
  
  
• Bagging the Conversion Elephant: Google Analytics Blog http://tr.im/oQZC
  3:36 PM Jun 17th from TweetDeck
  
  
• Are Your Analytics Causing You to Lose 30% of Your Sales? http://tinyurl.com/lha4sq
  12:24 PM Jun 17th from twitterfeed
  
  
• RT @minethatdata: #IRCE Top 500 Internet Retailers represent 65pct of e-commerce sales. Mercy.
  6:45 AM Jun 17th from TweetDeck
  
  
• RT @Mike_Stelzner: Interesting stats on how much video people watch online: http://bit.ly/srS6L
  6:16 AM Jun 17th from TweetDeck
  
  
• Do you think Twitter will become obsolete?- iMedia connection's Jason Clark does - http://tr.im/owWI
  5:37 AM Jun 15th from TweetDeck
  
  
• The Day the Media Died http://bit.ly/12Le0c
  4:17 AM Jun 14th from TweetDeck
  

Posted by Jeff Gillis, Google Analytics Team

Advertisers share their success stories and AdWords tips

After reorganizing their ad groups, ExecutiveChefEvents.com saw a 140% increase in their click-through rate (CTR). Many advertisers ask us how to improve their performance, and the answer is that simple one day projects, like the one ExecutiveChefEvents.com completed, can lead to big improvements in your performance.

Click on any of the video links below to see how these AdWords advertisers received more visitors to their websites, more paying customers, and more awareness about their businesses with a few simple changes to their campaigns. Each video will show you the problems the advertiser was having in their campaigns, how they improved their performance, and how you can do the same.

Expanding keywords: After adding keywords to their account, Adventures Cross Country saw a 55% increase in the number of people who filled out forms on their site. Watch the video and see how adding new keywords with consistent CPCs can help you reach more customers.

Organizing ad groups: After creating tightly themed ad groups, ExecutiveChefEvents.com saw an influx of visitors to their site and a 140% increase in their click-through rate. Watch the video and see how reorganizing your campaigns makes it easier for your customers to find you.

Testing new ads: After testing new ads, Studio 132 saw a 200% increase in CTR and a huge increase in phone calls for their services. Watch the video and see how testing ads with optimized rotation helps attract more potential customers.

Adjusting bids: After raising some keyword bids to meet or exceed their first page bid recommendations, MoonKnight Networks saw their call volume shoot up by 200%, with a 270% increase in CTR. Watch the video and see how adjusting bids can help you get more exposure and more clicks for your ads.

You can also view the entire playlist of videos here: www.google.com/optimization-success.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

New Analytics Desktop Wallpapers

Late last week we launched an updated version of the Google Analytics website. Some keen-eyed observers noticed that we updated our logo as well. This is consistent with a larger Google effort to update logos on all of our consumer and business products.

Consumer product logos now generally have the word Google followed by a lower case word in blue. While business products like Google Analytics are in upper case with everything following Google in gray. To celebrate the new look, we not only updated our website and blog, but one of our newest team members created some new desktop wallpapers in his 20% time. Thanks Leo.

If you're note sure how to add these to your desktop, check out this tutorial by eHow.

Traditional Blend	Download: 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 1280 x 800 1440 x 900 1680 x 1050 1920 x 1200 2560 x 1600
The Shiny	Download: 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 1280 x 800 1440 x 900 1680 x 1050 1920 x 1200 2560 x 1600
Organic	Download: 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 1280 x 800 1440 x 900 1680 x 1050 1920 x 1200 2560 x 1600

Posted by Brett Crosby and Leo Baghdassarian, Google Analytics Team

Google Analytics Gets a New Site

We've given the Google Analytics site a refresh! Drawing upon insights from conversations with the Google Analytics community -- both online and in person, and from looking carefully at our own Analytics reports, we've reorganized the site to do a better job of exposing the information you're looking for. And, we've added a dash of visual style in the process.



How did we go about deciding what needed to be changed? The vast majority of visitors come to the site simply to log in to their accounts. After filtering these visits from our analysis, we looked at conversion rates -- new account sign ups-- and what content people looked at. It was clear that much important content, for example relating to training and professional services, was too buried for people to find. Although some visitors used the search box, we were surprised to find relatively few searches for education and professional services. Our guess is that not enough people know about these services, so we decided to create new sections for this content and address site navigation to make it more intuitive.

So, what is the result? Here are a few highlights.

The new updated Product area groups key features to help new and prospective users understand how the parts work together and how Google Analytics fits into the larger ecosystem of Google offerings that includes AdWords and Website Optimizer.

Considerable resources -- both free and fee-based -- are available to organizations using Google Analytics. The Support section provides a single point of access to these resources ranging from online communities to professional services offered by Authorized Consultant companies. You can quickly search our expanding global network for an Authorized Consultant in your region that specializes in the areas you'd like help with, whether that be installation assistance, consulting, customized training, or Urchin Software.

The Education section outlines ongoing opportunities to learn more about how to use Google Analytics more effectively. If you're an individual looking to develop skills for your career or a manager looking for cost effective ways to train your staff, you'll find the latest information you need on the Google Analytics IQ online course and test, Seminars for Success, and helpful videos.

Of course, the site won't be static. While we don't want to fall into the trap of trying to test everything, you may notice subtle site changes going forward as we use Website Optimizer to inform ongoing iterative updates.

We hope you like the new site and find it useful. Feel free to post a comment and let us know what you think. We'll share what we learn going forward. We're going to be working on the blog design and resources as well over the next couple of weeks.

Posted by Brett Crosby, Google Analytics Team

New Interface Thursdays: Finding features from the previous interface

The basics of AdWords, such as bids, budgets, and Quality Score, haven't changed with the new interface. Still, every once in a while, you might find yourself asking, "Where did that go?" Here's a set of pointers to help you pick up where you left off in the previous AdWords interface.

Search my campaigns

In the previous interface, you could search your campaigns using a search box in the top corner of your account. In the new interface, we've replaced this functionality with text filters. You can now search for ads or keywords across your account by setting up a text filter. For searches you run often, you can save the filter to quickly access it at any time. Filters allow for more than just searching though, and you can read our earlier post to learn more about how filters can help you zero in on the data you care about most.

Keyword destination URLs

If you'd like to edit the destination URLs for individual keywords, you can do so by clicking the checkbox next to the keywords you'd like to edit, and then clicking on the "Edit" button at the top of the table. This will open up all keyword fields for editing, including the destination URL. If you'd like to see your destination URLs in your Keywords tab all the time, you can do so by customizing columns. By customizing columns, you can also find additional metrics like Quality Score that you might want to view and add them to the table.

Negative keywords

In the previous interface, you created negative keywords by adding a - sign to them. For example, you would add -free if you didn't want your ads to appear for searches containing the term free. Negative keywords were also mixed in with your regular keywords in your overall keyword list. With the new interface, negative keywords now have a home of their own. You'll find a section for negative keywords under your regular keywords in the Keywords tab. You can also view your campaign and ad group level negative keywords side by side.

Google Analytics and Website Optimizer

Where did the Analytics tab go? If you're looking for Google Analytics or Website Optimizer, you'll now find them under the Reporting tab at the top of your account.

Other questions?

If you'd like a side-by-side comparison of how to complete common tasks in new interface, we have a What's Changed page on the New Interface website.

Finally, we're providing webinars as another resource to help orient yourself in the new interface. The first webinar is tomorrow, June 19th at 11 AM PDT, and there's still time to register. We've scheduled the second webinar for June 26th also at 11 AM PDT.

Register for the June 19th webinar

Register for the June 26th webinar

We hope to see you at a webinar, and please continue to send us feedback on the new interface.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Update Regarding AdWords Cost Data Reporting

Do you have a Google Analytics account that:

• is linked to AdWords and
  
• has auto-tagging enabled and
  
• does not have AdWords cost data applied?

If so, we have an important update on how your AdWords cost data is reported. If you are among the majority of users who do not meet all three of these conditions, you can stop reading now.

In early March, we changed how Google Analytics imports AdWords cost data to improve security and provide greater control and convenience. If you were an administrator on a Google Analytics account that was affected by this change (i.e. you either had auto-tagging enabled and/or had a linked account without cost data applied to some or all of your profiles), you received an email in March asking you to link your accounts and apply cost data to all linked accounts. This remains the best practice.

This change caused autotagged AdWords search traffic for which cost data had not been applied to be reported as "direct" traffic. We have now fixed this and Google Analytics now logs autotagged/non cost data traffic as source=google and medium=cpc. Only a small percentage of customers fall into this category, but if you were affected by this issue, as of midnight PST this morning you will see a drop in direct traffic and an increase in paid traffic, appropriately. Please note that organic and non-AdWords paid traffic remains unaffected.

For more information, please read this help center article on AdWords cost data importing.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Analytics Team

Import your Google Analytics Goals into AdWords

Last month we published a post showing how you can setup Goals in Google Analytics. Today you can now import your Google Analytics Goals and Transactions into your AdWords account to use as conversion actions. This lets you track campaign ROI and optimize your account for conversions directly inside the AdWords interface.

In the past, you needed to install a separate tracking code to make use of this feature (called AdWords Conversion Tracking). Today all you need is a Google Analytics account and a Goal that receives traffic from AdWords.

One of the benefits of importing your Google Analytics Goals and Transactions into AdWords is that you can use them with the Conversion Optimizer, an AdWords CPA bidding tool that has been shown to help advertisers get more conversions from AdWords. Conversion Optimizer makes it a lot easier to manage your AdWords bidding and maximize results.

For more information including step-by-step instructions on how to import your Goals, visit the Inside AdWords Blog.

Posted by Sebastian Tonkin, Google Analytics Team

Import your Google Analytics Goals into AdWords and use them with Conversion Optimizer

In order to track your return on investment (ROI) from AdWords, you need to be able to see which keywords, ads and campaigns lead to conversions on your site. If you use Google Analytics, you can now import your Google Analytics Goals and Transactions into your AdWords account to use as conversion actions. This lets you track the ROI from your AdWords campaigns directly inside the AdWords interface. In the past, you needed to separately install AdWords Conversion Tracking to make use of this feature.

If you're new to Conversion Tracking, a "conversion" happens when a visitor to your site completes a desired action (such as making a purchase or requesting a quote). A conversion is very similar to the concept of a Goal or Transaction in Google Analytics, and is crucial to assessing the ROI from your online advertising spend.

One of the benefits of importing your Google Analytics Goals and Transactions into AdWords is that you can use them with the Conversion Optimizer, an AdWords CPA bidding tool that has been shown to help advertisers get more conversions from AdWords. Conversion Optimizer makes it a lot easier to manage your AdWords bidding and maximize results.

Here's how to get started importing your Google Analytics Goals and Transactions into AdWords:

Link your Accounts, Enable Sharing and Setup a Goal

First you need to link your Google Analytics and AdWords accounts and create at least one Google Analytics Goal or track at least on Google Analytics Transaction. You'll also need to enable data sharing in Google Analytics by completing the following steps.

1. Sign in to your Google Analytics account.
2. Click "Edit Account and Data Sharing Settings."
3. Make sure you've selected at least the "With other Google products only" options under "Share my Google Analytics data."
4. Click "Save Changes" to finish.

Import your Goals into AdWords

1. Navigate to the "Conversion Tracking" page from within your AdWords account.
2. Click "Link your Analytics goals and transactions" from the Conversion Tracking table.





(Click to view larger image)


3. Select the Goals or Transactions you want from the list.
4. Edit the action name so you can identify the goals in your AdWords reports.
5. Select "Link" from the bottom of the table to finish.

That's it! Your imported Goals and Transactions will show up in your account, along with AdWords conversion metrics. You can use this data to see which ads, keywords and campaigns are bringing in the best ROI and then optimize your campaigns based on this information.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Bagging the Conversion Elephant

In reading an Occam’s Razor blog post from earlier this year, “Aggregation of Marginal Gains: Recession Busting Analytics!," I noted that Avinash is discussing exactly the same experience we at FutureNow underwent. Ten years ago, low hanging fruit in the conversion improvement space meant high traffic, high impact changes from fixing obviously-wrong calls to action: bad linking, non-obvious next steps, poor UI (user interface).

In fact, for several years conversion improvement was all about UI. Remember that? The theory was (mostly from the UI people, of course), that if you just improved the UI then conversion would follow. What we found out was that if you had a weak UI then of course fixing it would help... but only so far. When it worked you got big fireworks-busting improvements, but only at a singular point in the sales process.

A few years after that it was analytics. If you simply measure everything, then (wave hands here, sprinkle magical pixie dust) you’ll “just know” what to do to improve. If you want to improve more well then just “measure more” — get more analytics apps installed. Or buy more expensive ones.

In the last year or so, the buzz word technique seems to be testing. If you just test everything then somewhere, somehow you’ll know what helps conversion. And when I say “everything”, I mean “EVERYTHING.” Testing is great — in fact, I wrote a best-selling book on this very topic, "Always Be Testing", centered specifically on Google Website Optimizer — but if there’s a bee on your grandmother’s nose, do you honestly have to do a test to determine whether to swat it away? Yet, some companies out there imply to clients they should freeze like a deer caught in the headlights unless and until they have a test to back up every decision made. And if you don’t have enough traffic for the test to be valid just drive more traffic, any traffic, even if precision comes at the cost of accuracy. It's lunacy. No thanks, m’am, that bee on Granny gets swatted and I don’t need 95% statistical confidence to make that decision.

Each time the industry thinks it’s got the elephant in its sights, that five-ton peanut-eater slips away. I think it’s because everyone keeps chasing technology as the solution to pachyderm-sized conversion improvement. If you install the right mix of digital toys, then whamo you’re sure to be the next market leader in your space. Again with the pixie dust.

But it just doesn’t work that way. What we’ve learned is that the big wins come from a long series of small wins, accumulated over time. And small wins come from experienced insight and hard work. And it has to be the type of hard work that a company is willing and able to perform. Not pie-in-the-sky goals without any mechanism for implementing.

I'd recommend focusing less on "big projects" and more on iteration. At FutureNow we did just that, re-tooling our entire business model around this "OnTarget" concept, letting clients decide how many resources they have to devote to improvement in a current cycle, and delivering experienced recommendations specifically for that cycle, and using analytics tools to measure the improvement and testing tools to back up any conclusions. "Rinse and repeat". How do you eat the conversion elephant? One small bite at a time. Exactly what Avinash was speaking about.

Posted by John Quarto-vonTivadar of FutureNow, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant

Website: Online Brochure or Resource?

As online, email, and social media are becoming increasingly popular by the second, more people that ever are being directed to your website.  What impression does your website portray of your financial institution?  Are you managing your visitors' online experience?  It’s time to take a second look at your website in the eyes of your visitors.

Here are a few questions to determine if you are effectively communicating to your visitors and making your website a resource to them.

10 Website Audit Questions:

1.    What is the immediate impression perceived from reading the home page?

2.    Does the visitor determine which product(s) best suits them or are they directed to the best-suited product(s) for them?

3.    Are product features communicated as relevant consumer benefits or described in financial lingo and acronyms?

4.    Is relevant timely information on financial topics available?

5.    Is up-to-date information about the financial institution available?

6.    Are easy-to-use financial tools readily available? (i.e. Budget Planning Tool, Home Affordability Tool, Home Inspection Checklist, Financial Calculators, etc.)

7.    Do the financial tools have a "next step" that directs them to an employee?

8.    Are the appropriate features in place to contact an employee by email, phone, or online submission form?

9.    Why would you revisit this website?

10. What is the final impression after leaving the website?

Creating an online experience instead of an online brochure can ultimately exceed consumer expectations, encourage interaction, and increase return visits to your website. In the virtual world we only have a few seconds to make an impression – let’s make it a great one and WOW our website visitors!

Good Luck! 

Jamie

Free Webinars for the New AdWords Interface

Last week we shared tips on how you can get ready for the new AdWords interface. We now have another resource to help you prepare for the change. Starting this week, we're holding weekly webinars about the new interface.

The first webinar is this Friday, June 19th at 11 AM PDT. The free 1-hour webinar will be led by Ariel Bardin, Product Management Director for the new AdWords interface. Ariel will walk you through the new interface, show you how to use the new features, and answer your questions.

You can register for the webinar here: New Interface Webinar Registration. Also, we have set up a Google Moderator page where you can send us your questions and vote for the questions you want answered. You can visit this page to submit your questions.

And, remember you can always visit the new interface microsite for additional help. We hope to see you on Friday.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Getting started with AdWords workbook

If you'd like more help getting started using AdWords, we'd like to show you the free Step by Step workbook that details the simple steps in building successful AdWords campaigns. The workbook breaks down advertising with AdWords into four steps:

• Organizing your campaign
• Picking the right keywords
• Writing targeted ads
• Putting it all together

Within each section you'll find definitions, tips, screenshots, and other helpful information to help you navigate your account and build your campaigns. Check out www.google.com/adwords/pdf/step_by_step.pdf to get started.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

The Death of the Postal Service???

Good morning...

It's Monday. The 1st day of the week and the day when most bills arrive at your home or office. I read an interesting article today (http://tinyurl.com/kuvy7p) about the pending "death" of the US Postal Service

Sound familiar?

In the past decade, people have called for the "death" of paper money, checks, the branch, and banking in general. This all reminds me of the famous announcement of Mark Twain's demise, that was premature.

Today, there are more bank branches than ever before, banking is evolving and changing...while it is true that the number of checks written has fallen precipitously, they are still being written.

So, is the post office dead? I think not. Perhaps it's current status and structure is surely dead, but as a process, certainly not.

We have much to learn about people and process...people always win out. Banking is still a relationship business and the post service is still about creating a written connection between people. That will evolve but not die! Banking still uses and needs the written word to connect to our customers and direct mail (in its many formats) will be a part of that for a long time....Twitter, Facebook, texting, etc. will continue to evolve and grow, too, but the written word on printed paper will survive. Sounds like a history speaking, doesn't it??

Here's to capitalizing on the changes and putting the written word together with our customers for a long time!

Cheers!

Bruce Clapp

New Video: Segment Your AdWords Data

If you use AdWords, you're probably familiar with the AdWords reports in the Google Analytics Traffic Sources section. Using these reports, you can compare AdWords campaigns and ad groups against each other and track individual keyword performance. But wouldn't it be useful to instantly compare - in every single one of your reports - the performance of AdWords traffic against the performance of all site traffic? Even better, what if you could compare a specific subset of AdWords traffic to AdWords traffic as a whole and compare both of these segments to all site traffic?

You can do all this and more using Advanced Segments. The latest Google Analytics in 60 Seconds video shows how to create a segment that includes only AdWords traffic and then how to refine that segment to include only a specific set of keywords. We illustrate how to isolate brand related keywords in the video, but with a little experimentation, you can create the AdWords segments that are most relevant to your business. Then you could compare how frequently visitors from each segment use the search box on your site (Site Search Overview report), how many new visits versus returning visits came from each segment (New vs. Returning report), and how many visits from each segment came from New York (Map Overlay report).




You only have to define your segments once and they'll be available to any user who has access to the profile. This means you can define segments for others in your organization to use. Also, segments can be used with historical data as well as current data. So, if you want to go back and see how an AdWords segment performed one year ago, you can.

Leave a comment and share your favorite AdWords segments.

Posted by Alden DeSoto, Google Analytics Team

How to Get Ready for the New Interface

By now you probably know that we've been working on a new interface for AdWords to help you save time managing your account and get even better results from your campaigns.

We've built a number of new features that make managing your campaigns faster and easier: more graphs to track your performance over time, integrated reports that provide ready access to detailed search and content network data, and faster editing to help you make changes quickly.

You've probably received an email from us letting you know that your account will be converted to the new interface in the coming weeks. Today we have two release updates to share with you: we've recently made the new interface available to everyone who uses AdWords Standard Edition, and we've begun the migration process with a small number of accounts.

In our email, we stated that you would have at least 30 days before we update your account. This 30 day period is a minimum; in fact, most advertisers will have more than 30 days before their accounts are upgraded. We're taking a gradual and deliberate approach to ensure a smooth transition, and we won't upgrade your account until we're confident that the new interface meets your advertising needs.

So, how should you prepare for the transition to the new interface? First, the single most important resource to help you get up to speed is the new interface microsite. Here you can find short videos explaining the benefits of the new interface, a before and after guide, and even a short quiz you can take to make sure you're ready for the changes.

Next, if you haven't explored the new interface yet, now is a good time; try it by signing in to your AdWords account. If you notice any issues that make it difficult to manage your campaigns in the new interface, please let us know right away by submitting feedback.

If you've already sent us feedback on the new interface, thank you! We're listening closely to your comments and are working to fix the problems you've reported. Examples of top issues we're working on are wide pages that require too much scrolling, and slow load times for some types of browsers and Internet connections.

We've already made a number of changes in response to your feedback, and this week we've released updates to the new interface that address many of the top issues we've heard. And we're not done yet; we'll continue to make ongoing improvements to the new interface over time.

For those of you who joined the beta test early, we hope you like how the new AdWords interface has improved. And for those of you just getting started, we hope you're already noticing a few of the ways the new interface can help you get more out of your AdWords campaigns.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew