New Interface Thursdays: Looking back and a chance to meet the team

With more AdWords advertisers using the new interface each week, we'd like to take a moment to recap the topics we've covered on New Interface Thursdays these past two months.

We started the series with a list of learning resources including the new AdWords interface website. The next week we showed you how you could use keyboard shortcuts to manage your campaigns more efficiently. We then wrote about how you can use filters and customize columns to help you focus on the data that's most important to you. Most recently, we took close looks at both the Keywords tab and Networks tab.

If you want to take the next step in mastering the new interface, and if you plan to attend SMX Advanced in Seattle, Washington next week, you can learn about the new interface from the people who built it. The new AdWords interface team will be doing a deep dive into the new interface and demonstrating some of the latest tools we're adding to AdWords:

Deep Dive into the New AdWords Interface

When: Tuesday, June 2, 11 AM to 12:15 PM

Where: Sound Conference Room, Bell Harbor Convention Center, Seattle, WA

If you'd like to attend our session, you'll need to register for a free expo hall pass. We hope to see you at the session, and please visit us at booth #32 and tell us your thoughts about the new interface.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Top Ten Myths About Google Analytics

We've noticed some misconceptions about Google Analytics floating around, and we thought we'd take a shot at correcting the most common ones. Without further ado, here they are, the top ten myths about Google Analytics debunked.

MYTH 1: "You get what you pay for." Google Analytics is free, which means the system is down a lot.

Google Analytics makes use of the same network of secure and reliable data centers used to power Google.com, making downtime an extremely rare occurrence. We have a large team focused exclusively on keeping your data safe and accessible, and benefit from multiple redundancies in our infrastructure around the globe (this makes us fast as well).

We even rely on Google Analytics for our own mission-critical products such as AdWords, which see huge volumes of traffic every day. If you're still having doubts, we'd encourage you to talk to some users and ask them how their experience has been with uptime.

MYTH 2: Google Analytics is basic and doesn't have any "advanced" features or metrics

Ack, this one is a tough one to swallow! A more frequent complaint is actually that Google Analytics has too much data. The product includes over 90 standard reports with more than 125 metrics and dimensions covering everything from visits to internal site search queries.

Custom reports and user-defined variables allow you to create your own metrics and reports where the standard ones don't meet your needs. With Pivoting, Advanced Segmentation, Secondary Dimensions, Event Tracking and the ability to share customizations, Google Analytics reports are more powerful than ever.

Google Analytics may look "basic," on the surface, but it can do a lot more than you think! If you have complex needs try talking to a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant or diving into the documentation on the Google Code Site.

More Info (Feature List, Custom Reports, Advanced Segmentation, Analytics API)

MYTH 3: Google Analytics only supports third-party cookies

False! Google Analytics has always used first-party, not third-party cookies. First-party cookies are important because they allow Google Analytics to track repeat visitors, so you can see which keyword, referring site, etc is responsible for bringing buyers even when it takes multiple visits for them to convert.

MYTH 4: Google Analytics is not really accurate

If you've spent time doing web analytics work, you'll know the sinking feeling that comes when two sets of numbers don't match. If you're experiencing a data discrepancy, don't panic. There are many others in the same boat.

Google Analytics uses JavaScript tags to collect data. This industry-standard method yields reliable trends and a high degree of precision, but it's not perfect. Most of the time, if you are noticing data discrepancies greater than 10%, it's due to an installation issue. Common problems include JavaScript errors, redirects, untagged pages and slow client-side load times.

For tips on how to sensibly approach data reconciliation, check out this post by Avinash Kaushik, Google's Analytics Evangelist, or this whitepaper on accuracy in Google Analytics. You can also talk to an expert.

All web analytics tools face the same technical limitations posed by JavaScript tags, so if another vendor claims their tool is more accurate, ask for some evidence.

More Info (Web Analytics Data Reconciliation Checklist, Whitepaper)

MYTH 5: It's not possible to export your data from Google Analytics

Not true! You have two options for exporting data. Use the "export" button at the top of each report to export the current view in PDF or XML (up to 500 rows). Or, use the new Analytics Export API to extract large amounts of data in any format you like. Also, if you want to share data with a colleague, you can schedule reports to be delivered directly to their email inbox, or even send regular updates to your own email address.

More Info (How to Export your Data, Analytics API)

MYTH 6: With Google Analytics you can't control your data

You have three options for data sharing in Google Analytics. You can change these options at any time from inside your Analytics account.

• do not share your data
  
• share your data with Google to improve its products
  
• share your data anonymously for benchmarking

No matter which option you choose, your data is protected by several layers of defense:

1. Dedicated security and infrastructure teams
   
2. Multiple redundancies to prevent data loss
3. Network redundancies to keep data accessible
4. Advanced security, firewalling and routing to keep data secure
5. Restricted access and principle of least privilege for personnel
   

If you opt-out of data sharing, your data will remain within Google Analytics and will not be shared with other products or services. If you decide to share your data with Google, it will be used to improve those products and services. Lastly, if you decide to share your data anonymously with others, it will be blended with other data to support the Google Analytics benchmarking feature. For more information on these options and what they mean, refer to the Google Analytics data sharing FAQ.

If you're still concerned, Google also offers a software product called Urchin (www.urchin.com) that you can run locally.

More Info (Data Sharing FAQ, Google Privacy Policy)

MYTH 7: There is no professional support for Google Analytics

Contrar! We flipped the model. Instead of providing an expensive analytics product with a one-size-fits-all professional services plan, we provide a free product and let you purchase the professional services that fit your needs.

There are several ways to get support: email support, help forums, the help center, and a network of Authorized Consultants. Authorized Consultants speak your language, accept your currency and often share your timezone. More than 80 companies across the globe provide a full range of installation and analysis support for Google Analytics. Some examples of things they can help you with are:

• Validate and troubleshoot your installation
• Integrate your analytics data with other data sources or CRM
• Optimize your marketing efforts
• Train your staff on how to use Analytics
• Respond to support tickets, phone calls and provide on-site consulting
  

To find out more, give one or two of them a call. Our Authorized Consultants are hand-picked and are the best in the business.

More Info (Google Analytics Authorized Consultants)

MYTH 8: Google Analytics does not support A/B or multivariate testing and isn't well-integrated with other tools

Google offers a full range of marketing products including a free testing tool called Google Website Optimizer. You can use it to test different page elements and find out which ones yield the highest conversion rate and ROI. You can also use Google Analytics in conjunction with Website Optimizer to create an optimization plan for your site.

Google Analytics is also integrated with many of Google's other business products including AdWords, AdSense, and AdPlanner. It is also widely supported by third party tools ranging from content management systems, to email suites, to call center applications. In addition, you'll find many products that are complementary to Google Analytics including DoubleClick, TVAds, Webmaster Tools, Google Trends, Insights for Search, Feedburner, and more.

More Info (Google Website Optimizer, GWO Blog)

MYTH 9: You can't segment data in Google Analytics

In the fall of 2008, Google Analytics released three new Enterprise Features: Advanced Segmentation, Custom Reports and Motion Charts. Advanced Segmentation lets you segment visits by dozens of metrics and dimensions such as geographic location, time on site, referral site and much much more. You can create segments on the fly and apply them to virtually all the standard reports in Google Analytics as well as custom reports.

More Info (In Depth Look at Advanced Segments, Video)

MYTH 10: You have to spend a lot of money to get "real" web analytics

Getting a return from your Analytics data does take an investment. The most important investment to start with is making sure you or someone at your organization has the expertise and time to put your data to use. If at that point you still feel you need to pay more for a more complicated tool, that's OK, but remember that every dollar you spend on a tool takes away from money you could be spending on actually getting results, i.e. hiring or contracting a talented analyst (see the 90/10 Rule).

The question sometimes comes up, "if Google Analytics is free, what's in it for Google?" Google benefits from Google Analytics in two ways. First, if webmasters build better sites, it helps us connect searchers with the information they need faster. Second, if advertisers use Google Analytics, they are able to see their advertising ROI, which helps us demonstrate the value of Google AdWords. Both aspects have helped create a strong business case for Google Analytics over the years.

Google Analytics is getting more powerful with each new update, and you may be surprised by what it can do. Find out more by attending an Analytics Seminar for Success or talking to an Authorized Consultant in your area. If you're an AdWords advertiser, you can also speak with your Customer Service Representative.

More Info (90/10 Rule, Google Analytics Authorized Consultants, Seminars for Success)

Leave a comment

That's it for the top 10 myths. Still not convinced? Leave a comment and let us know!

Posted by Sebastian Tonkin, Google Analytics Team

Pondering the Road Ahead - what will change?

Could we finally be seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel? There are reports of some positive economic indicators. And, economists are suddenly cautiously optimistic, even forecasting a recovery ahead, albeit slow.

When we come out of this morass is a question I'll leave for others. But I do think we as marketers and planners need to spend some time thinking about how the world will have changed in response to this unprecedented financial crisis.

How will what has happened in banking and the economy over the last 18 - 24 months change our industry in the next 10 years?

I'm not talking simply about the regulatory changes we will all have to navigate, but, what has this done to the psyche of our customers?

Ponder the following and share your thoughts so we can paint a picture of what to expect in 2020.

How will the experience of surviving and economic meltdown change how businesses and individuals deal with their finances?

Will customers have new expectations of their financial partners as far as transparency, knowledge, guidance, etc.?

Will this change how customers seek credit? More cautious about
accepting credit? More skepticism about the fine print?

Will customers become more receptive to financial management products?

Is the increased interest in savings products and a rise in the personal savings rate a newly ingrained behavior of the future or is it a temporary reaction?

How will the dramatic crisis of trust in the financial services industry impact our ongoing customer relationships? How can we turn the tide? Are there other industries that have faced a similar break in trust that have overcome it successfully? What did they do?

I'm sure there are other questions to look at to see how the relationship between customers and financial services providers will change. Share them as you think of them.

Now the big question -- how do we incorporate these changes into how we market and what financial services products we offer?

We are looking ahead at MarketMatch, asking questions and realizing that we will be doing business in a changed world. Call me and let's ponder the future together.

Deanna

6 tactics for maximizing your AdWords investment

The current economy has been tough on businesses and customers alike, and it can be a lot harder these days to connect with more price-concious customers. To reach these customers, our internal team of AdWords optimizers has come up with 6 tactics that will help your AdWords campaigns be more relevant to your customers.

1. Focus your ads on low prices and savings.

2. Use value-related keywords.

3. Make sure your ad groups are targeted and relevant.

4. Don't waste money on irrelevant clicks.

5. Make it easy for customers to buy.

6. Focus your money on your high-performers.

You can read more about each of these tips including examples and instructions at www.google.com/adwords/tactics and you can also view these tactics in a pdf format at www.google.com/adwords/tactics/top_tactics.pdf. We hope these tactics will help you continue to see good returns from your AdWords investment.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Branding ... It's Not What You Say, But What You Do.

If you don't think that you can afford to rebrand your institution in this economy, think again.

It’s all in the definition.  Yes, your brand is tied (in part) to your name, logo and visual appearance.  But it is defined by the customer experience.

To rebrand your institution properly, you need to focus less on the creative department and more on strategy and day-to-day interactions.

Check out this great article published on customerthink.com.  

Where are you in the continuum of: do-nothing; basic Customer Loyalty programs; CRM (customer relationship management) and CEM (Customer Experience Management)?

As financial institutions, we know more about our customer’s activities than most any industry – yet we are one of the most commoditized.  We help our customers manage their money – yet we tend to take the emotion and empathy out of our messages. 

This is why branding is my passion!  It’s about people … it’s about turning “potential-customers” into “customers” and converting “customers” into “evangelists!”

When there is little tangible difference between “Bank A” and “Credit Union B,” can you afford NOT to rebrand in this economy? 

Take care,

Eric

Attitudes of Consumers in the Multicutlural Marketplace

As part of our ongoing series of reports supported by DMS Research, the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University has released in March 2009 a new study of attitudes of consumers in the Multicultural marketplace.  The full report can be obtained at:  http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu.

The data in this report includes 39 attitudes and multiple demographics to provide a sense of how members of different cultural groups feel about select aspects of life and commerce. The list of specific attitude items is in the section dealing with overall trends below.

The data revealed a six factor structure that resulted in six factor score coefficient weighted indexes:

• Network Oriented or an inclination to use social media and being sociable
  
• Gay Favorable or a positive predisposition to GLT issues and people
  
• Sports Oriented or a favorable disposition towards sports
  
• Brand Lifestyle or strong positive feelings about brands
  
• Social Cultural Sensitive or empathy and openness to other cultures
  
• Marriage Oriented or strong feelings about the importance of marriage
  

The results indicate that Hispanics who answered the online questionnaire in Spanish (HS) are more likely than anyone else to be Network Oriented, and interestingly, that Non Hispanic Whites (NHW) are least likely to be Network Oriented. Hispanics who answered the questionnaire in English (HE) and Asians (A) are most likely to be Gay Favorable, while HS were most negative. Also HE and A are most Sports Oriented, while NHW are least sports involved. Brand Lifestyle is more prevalent among African Americans (AA) and least among HS. The most Socio Culturally Sensitive are HS, while the least are NHW. A are the most Marriage Oriented while HS and AA are the least.

Alternative explanations were explored with the data, by looking at gender and age groups, and

conclusions and implications were derived for marketing to these diverse groups. These findings

highlight the importance of considering attitudinal orientations when positioning products and servicesnin these diverse cultural communities. The results make it evident that not all members of the different major cultures in the US can be reached with homogeneous messages and ideas.  Find the report at: http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu

budget cut woes?

If you are a marketing director, you may be experiencing a "recession depression" brought about by severe cuts to your marketing budget. Are you experiencing these symptoms?

• Wondering why you are always the first budget item to be hit?
• Asking why other bank projects are still being funded and your budget is still cut?
• Curious as to why every golf outing is still in the budget?

Well, you are probably not alone. What is the cure for these symptoms?

I suggest a couple of remedies.

• First, sit down with your president and/or CFO and review the bank's goals and priorities for 2009. From where we are today (which is very different than a few months ago), what is it that will help the bank's bottom line the most?
• Review the opportunities you may be missing by not being proactive right now.... are there mergers or acquisitions or bank closings in your market area? Do you compete with some big banks that are struggling right now? How much could you benefit by being out there with an agressive product offer (deposit or loan) right now? Will this opportunity still be there in 6 months?
• Review your media budget. Have you reallocated your marketing budget to reflect today's media needs? Have you reduced your mass media budgets to allow room for email marketing and social media? If not, you are probably overlooking your most cost effective forms of communication with your existing and potential customers/members.
• Review with your president and CFO your marketing plan and together prioritize those items you still want to ensure get accomplished.
• Remember that by being a shining star and contributing to the bottom line now in a meaningful way is the best way to ensure that you get your marketing budget restored to it's former levels for 2010.

The recession will pass and good times will come again. But to ensure that management restores the marketing budgets you want, you need to see this year as an opportunity to be a valued partner in achieving goals with fewer dollars. Communication and joint prioritizing will go a long way to making that happen.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Sharon Litherland-Lovejoy

Update: Analytics Webinar with Avinash Kaushik

A couple weeks ago we posted some upcoming Google webinars, and last week, Analytics Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik, led a discussion on the 'Top 5 Things Marketers Can Do Now" in order to maximize ROI. We realize some of you may have missed the opportunity to hear Avinash speak, but may still be interested in the tips he was able to provide. As such, we've posted a recording of his talk onto the Google Brand Channel on YouTube.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Share Your Google Analytics Data With Everyone

Almost everyone uses Google Analytics to calculate overall site traffic as a way to measure the value of their website.

Many users are clamoring for a simpler way to share their Analytics traffic data with their external stakeholders. These stakeholders, such as investors and advertisers, typically use data reported by other services to evaluate the performance of a company. Many times these estimates are significantly different than that from Google Analytics.

One way to share your Analytics data with everyone is to use our recent integration with Google Ad Planner. With this, you can replace Ad Planner traffic estimates with actual data collected by Google Analytics.

Now you can use the Google Analytics Data Export API to create your own integrations to share Google Analytics data with everyone. For example, if you use WordPress blogging software, you can display Google Analytics traffic data directly on your website using the new Analyticator plugin by Sprial Web Consulting.

Ronald Heft explains, "this plugin allows WordPress users to easily configure tracking and reporting of Google Analytics data without having to manually edit their WordPress template files. The plugin uses the new Google Analytics API to retrieve the unique visitor information and display it directly on your blog."

Example of the Analyticator plugin display

To use the plugin, download it from the WordPress plugin Website or just search for, "analyticator" in the "Add a New Plugin" section of the WordPress Administration page. According to Heft, Sprial plans to surface more Google Analytics API data, such as a summary dashboard of website statistics and a widget to display the most popular pages.

We're looking forward to watching the evolution of this plugin and excited to see the applications developers are building with the Google Analytics Data Export API.

Posted by Nick Mihailovski, The Google Analytics API Team

New Interface Thursdays: Managing keywords and the Search Query Report

In this week's post, we'll take a deeper look into the Keywords tab in the new AdWords interface.

The Keywords tab lists the keywords within your account. Just like in the previous AdWords interface, you can add, edit, and create new keywords on the Keywords tab in your account. However, the new interface takes keyword management a step further with a feature called roll-up tabs. A Keywords tab is available at every level of your account, allowing you to see the keywords for a whole campaign, or even across all campaigns in a single list. This is helpful for tasks like identifying your top-performing keywords across your account.

You can also make changes to your keywords directly from any Keywords tab. For example, you can change a keyword's match type by clicking on the keyword and then selecting the desired match type from the drop-down.

(click to view larger image)

Additionally, you can pause and resume keywords, change your bid, or change the keyword itself on any Keywords tab across your account. If you want to make changes to multiple keywords at once, you'll want to use bulk editing. Select the keywords you want to change and then click the Edit button at the top of the table.

A nice feature of bulk editing is the Copy down button, which allows you to change bids across a number of keywords. For example, if you want to change your bids across multiple keywords rather than entering the bid manually for each one, you can click on the Copy down button next to the bid you're editing. Your bid will then be copied to all of the selected keywords. You can also copy down changes to keyword status or destination URLs.

(click to view larger image)

You can also find many of the features that we posted about in the past few weeks in the Keywords tab. If you want to quickly edit your keywords, remember that you have keyboard shortcuts at your disposal. You can also use customizable columns to look at the date in which you're interested. And, of course, you can filter your keywords, which can be especially helpful if you're looking at all the keywords in your account.

Another feature you can try on the Keywords tab is segmentation. By clicking the Filter and views button and then selecting Segment by Query Match Type, you can see the performance for each of your keywords broken out into broad, phrase, and exact match.

Using the Search Query Report

Earlier this week, we posted about the enhancements to the Search Query Report, which you can access directly from the Keywords tab in the new interface.

As a reminder, this report shows you the search terms that triggered your ads. To see the report, select the keywords of your choice and click See search terms, then Selected. You'll be presented with a list of search terms that triggered your ads for those keywords as well as metrics like CTR and conversion rate.

You can then make changes to your account directly from the report. For example, if you a see a search term that looks like a good fit, you can add it to your campaign. Just select the term and click Add as keyword. You'll also have the opportunity to set a specific bid and set the match type for the keyword. Likewise, if you see a search term that isn't a fit for your campaigns, you can add it as a negative keyword. When adding negative keywords, it's best to wait for data. You don't want to exclude a keyword too soon as you might miss out on relevant traffic. Also, you might try using a lower bid or using more targeted ad text before you exclude it completely.

When using this report, it can be tempting to tweak keywords that only have one or two clicks. If you want to get the most out of the Search Query Report, we recommend you focus on keywords with the most impressions and clicks. That's where you'll get the most value out of the changes you make.

Your feedback on the new interface

You've already given us lots of helpful feedback on what you like about the new interface, such as easier Content Network management and faster account navigation, and feedback on what needs improvement.

You can learn more about some of the top issues we're working to address by reading this article. We continue to work on changes to the new AdWords interface based on your feedback. Please continue to send us your feedback on the new interface using the Send Feedback link in the top corner of your account. Your feedback is very valuable to us as we continue to improve the new AdWords interface.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords Success Stories

Last quarter you gave us feedback on what you'd like to see on the blog, and many of you asked for more case studies on how other advertisers have succesfully used AdWords. Google has a site devoted to AdWords Success Stories, and today we'd like to highlight two of those stories:

Twiddy & Company Realtors

Twiddy is a vacation rental company in North Carolina that has effectively used Analytics and AdWords to optimize its website and deliver profitable traffic. Check out Twiddy's success story.

(click to view video)

JustAnswer

JustAnswer is a pay-per-question site based in San Francisco that has used AdWords and the Google Content Network to cost-effectively reach its customers. Check out JustAnswer's success story.

Be sure to check out the other 22 success stories or submit your own.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics Tracking for YouTube Brand Channels

Today we're excited to announce a new feature in Google Analytics, tracking for YouTube brand channels. YouTube brand channels allow partners and advertisers to have a hub of content on YouTube, where they can collect videos, publish playlists, and get YouTube users deeply engaged with their brand. Now brand channel owners can get fully enabled Google Analytics reporting on their channel as if it were their own site.

For more information, check out the newly launched YouTube Biz Blog.

Posted by Beth Liebert, Google Analytics Team

S.T.O.P.

How many times, as marketers, do we let a great creative idea drive a campaign or program ... OK, I'm guilty of it too.

Next time you sit down for planning, S.T.O.P. and think if you're going to S.T.O.P. your customers in their tracks.

S - Segmentation.  Taking the time to focus your target will save your budget and increase your ROI.

T - Timing.  Is the economic environment right?  Does your target need your product now?

O - Offer.  The delicate balance here ... be impactful, create urgency, don't give away the farm!

P - Piece.  NOW, you can think about the creative piece.  Is it broadcast, print, mail, electronic?  does it break the clutter and deliver a simple, easy to understand message?

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!!!

Take care,

Eric

How to Setup Goals in Google Analytics

In this post, we'll explain what Goals are in Google Analytics, why they're useful, and how to set them up. Let us make two assumptions before we start. First, you know the rules of basketball, and second, you are a Lakers fan (or at least you know who the Lakers are).

Note that if you run an ecommerce site, Google Analytics has additional features to help you track purchases. For more information on this, check out how to configure ecommerce tracking.

Understanding Goals in Google Analytics

Goals (with a capital G) are a way to measure business objectives for your website in Google Analytics. Goals must correspond to a measurable action performed by your website's visitors, for example, a visit to a "thank you" page. This combination of a business objective and a measurable action make up a Goal. Here are some common examples.

Business Objective	Visitor Action	Success Measure
Generate Leads	Complete Contact Form	form_submitted.html
Drive Loyalty	Sign up for Newsletter	subscription_confirmed.html
Drive Revenue	Complete a Purchase	thankyou.html
Raise Awareness	Whitepaper Download	download_redirect.html

To use a real world example, the Lakers objective is to win games, and the measurable action is scoring baskets. Keeping this goal in mind helps the team focus on winning and not worry about things that don't matter -- like the number of times the team is photographed or their average height. Goals serve this same purpose in Google Analytics.

Understanding the Goal Funnel

Usually the visitor action that's associated with a goal involves multiple steps. Together these steps make up the Goal Funnel, or the sequence of steps that lead up to the successful completion of a Goal. Like the Goal itself, each of these steps must correspond to a measurable action, such as a pageview of a specific page.

Here's a real world example. Let's assume that Phil Jackson, the Lakers head coach, wants to score more baskets using a specific play. The path for that play is as follows: Kobe Bryant passes the ball to Derek Fisher, Derek Fisher passed the ball to Pau Gasol, and then Pau Gasol scores.



In this example, the Goal is scoring a basket and the Goal Funnel is Kobe > Derek > Pau. The ball moves from player to player until either Pau scores (Goal completed) or they lose the ball (Goal abandoned).

Now pretend the Lakers players are pages on a website and the ball is the website visitor. From now on we will look at the players as the following:

• Kobe Bryant: kobe-bryant.html
• Derek Fisher: derek-fisher.html
• Pau Gasol: pau-gasol.html
• Point: point.html
  
  

How to set up a Goal and Funnel:

Step 1) Define your Goal Funnel

Navigate to your website, and move through through the steps required to complete your Goal. As you navigate, note down the URLs for each page in the sequence (or take screenshots).

If the sequence includes only one step (the Goal) than you don't need to define a funnel at all. If the sequence includes events other than pageviews (such as clicks), you will need to use virtual pageviews or another method beyond the scope of this tutorial.

In our Lakers example, the funnel is defined as:

Another example might be:

1. start_registration.html
   
2. enter_shipping_info.html
   
3. enter_subscriber_preferences.html
   
4. finalize_registration.html
   
5. thank_you.html

Step 2) Configure Goal Settings for Each Profile

Log in to your Google Analytics account and then click "Edit" beside your profile. You will need to configure goals for each profile you want them to show up in.

Go to Conversion Goals and Funnel and click "Edit"

Set "Active Goal" to "On"

Set "Match Type" to to either "Exact Match," "Head Match," or "Regular Expression Match." In our example, we chose "Exact Match," because there is only one exact URL for our Goal page "point.html."

If you have multiple Goal pages, or multiple pages for one of the steps leading up to the goal, you might need to use a different match type. For more information about the difference between Head, Exact, and Regular Expression match, visit this Help Center article.

If your Goal has a specific dollar value, be sure to enter it under "Goal Value". You may need to look at your financial data to determine how much a Goal completion is worth to you.

Step 3) Define Your Goal Funnel

Enter the URL and a meaningful name for each step in your funnel. In our example the Goal URL is "/point.html" and the name we gave it is "Point." If you only have one step (the Goal) than you don't need to complete this section.

Step 4) Wait a Few Days and Analyze your Goal Performance

Your Goals will not work backwards, so you will need to wait for Goal data to appear in your reports. Once you have data to analyze, navigate to the Goals section and open the Funnel Visualization Report.

Now we can analyze the entire goal funnel or just an individual page.

This report shows

• 356 visits entering the funnel (at kobe-bryant.html)
• 88 visits in which the person moved from "kobe-bryant.html" to the next step in the funnel "derek-fisher.html"
• 55 visits that completed the entire funnel and reached the Goal
  

Looking across the entire Funnel, it looks like Kobe Bryant is not doing a great job getting the ball to Derek Fisher, so the team should consider working on that part of the play. Derek's doing a great job getting the ball to Pau, so he'll get some more playing time. Overall, the play leads to a basket 15% of the time, which is below the average for the team, so Phil might consider scrapping this play for a new one (site redesign anyone?).

Summary

So there you have it. Goals and Funnels in Google Analytics let you see how well your website is living up to your business objectives. They also help you identify specific areas of your website to improve on. Overall, they're a crucial element in a successful web strategy.

• Before implementing Google Analytics Goals, identify what your business objectives are for your website, and what visitor actions they correspond to.
• Identify the steps visitors must go through to complete the desired action, and note down the specific pages that make up those steps.
  
• Use this information to configure Goals and Funnels.
  
• Take action on the data. Make simple design changes or try using Website Optimizer to make improvements.
  

Other Resources

• Google Analytics IQ Lesson: Goals in Google Analytics
  
• How to Use Ecommerce Tracking
• Tracking E-mail Clicks as a Goal
• All About Analytics Goals
• Goals for Bloggers
  
• Video: Setting up Google Analytics Conversion Funnels
• Video: Goals and Ecommerce
  

Still have questions? Get help at the Google Analytics help forum. Or, leave a comment and let us know how you use goals.

Posted by Sebastian Tonkin, Google Analytics Team, and Allaedin Ezzedin of E-Nor, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant

Enhanced Search Query Performance reports

In order to provide you with more visibility into the performance of your ads and to help you make more informed marketing decisions, we are expanding the Search Query Performance report to provide more granular insight into the queries that trigger your ads.

The Search Query Performance report is a useful tool that can help you optimize your campaigns and manage your phrase and broad match keywords by tracking the performance of keyword variations that trigger your ads.

If you've used the Search Query Performance report before, you may have noticed that some of your traffic was grouped under a line item called "other unique queries." This line encompassed queries with very low volume, often occurring triggering your ad only one or two times. However, some advertisers found that a significant portion of their spend was grouped under this heading, which made it difficult to manage keyword variations.

Starting today, the Search Query Performance report will show all queries that resulted in a click, where the user has not specifically blocked their referrer URL. In other words, this includes all queries that you would see in your server logs or if you use a tool like Google Analytics. In requiring that the referrer URL be present, we are upholding our commitment to user privacy.

As a result of this update, you will likely see longer lists of queries in your Search Query Performance reports, many of which will have very low traffic. We encourage you to focus your decisions about the performance of your keyword variations on those variations that occur most frequently and have a significant amount of performance data.

We are excited to be able to make this update and believe that it will help make the Search Query Performance report even more useful. To learn more about running Search Query Performance reports, you can visit our AdWords help center.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Back to Basics: Graph mode

One way Google Analytics can help you quickly spot trends and anomalies is through the 'Graph mode' feature. This feature lets you compare multiple metrics on your graph to see if there are any obvious correlations. You can graph by one metric, compare one metric to another (e.g. visitors versus average time on site), or compare a metric to your site average. Once you graph your selected metrics, you can roll your mouse over the graph to see the actual values of the two metrics you're comparing.

For example, let's say your site saw a sudden surge in traffic from an search engine optimization effort. You can use the 'Graph mode' option to graph 'visits' and '% new visitors' on the same graph. This will show you whether the SEO campaign successfully reached new visitors or whether it was more successful in driving repeat visits.

To use graph mode, click the pulldown menu in the top left of the graph of a selected report. Then, select the graph view you'd like to see. To finish, click the pulldown menu tab one more time.

Posted by Christina Park, Google Analytics Team

The Reality of Monday....

Mondays. Half of us say "uggghhhh....already?" The other half simply say, "come on Friday."

However, I want to share a different perspective that I hope helps everyone with the malaise that seems to take over days like Monday.

To me, Mondays are a fresh new start, full of opportunity, and everyone is rested and recharged (some more than others, I will admit!!) from the weekend.

I find that on Mondays, people are anxious for the week to unfold...ready to make progress, quick to make decisions, and looking forward to Wednesday!

Two fun facts for today...

1. The average person has over 1460 dreams a year
2. "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog"...this sentence uses every letter of the alphabet

The lesson?

What were your dreams last night? Your customers dreams? What can you do to make them happen?

And...get creative, sometimes the simplest things (the sentence with all the letters of the alphabet) may be cool!

Have a GREAT Monday...

Cheers!

Bruce

Lollapalooza Tracks Social Media Campaigns with Google Analytics

Let’s face it: Social media is here to stay, and day by day it continues to encroach on nearly every aspect of our online lives. But to publishers, promoters, advertisers and site owners, there’s one essential question left hanging in the air long after the race to join the social media crowd: “Is it working?”

This year’s Lollapalooza Music Festival is using Event Tracking and Google Analytics to find out.

Social Media Applications

There may not be a more perfect application of social media than promoting a music festival, and C3 Presents, (the folks behind Lollapalooza) came up with some good ways to capitalize. This year’s lineup page alone features a Facebook Connect application to maintain and share personal lineups, MySpace blog, bulletin and site postings, Twitter updates and email sharing, and AddThis social bookmarking.
“You don’t find anyone who thinks social media is a bad idea, but the questions on our minds are, ‘what is this doing for our fans and what kind of return are we getting back on this investment?’” says Michael Feferman of C3 Presents.

Questions to Answer

As with any successful web analytics strategy, this one started out by posing the questions that Google Analytics should answer. Specifically:

• Who’s using these sharing and social media outlets? Are they benefiting?
• Which ones are being used the most and what are their applications?
  
• Does social media make a visitor more likely to buy a ticket?
• Are we driving more traffic to our site as a result? Are we driving more sales and revenue?

WebShare, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant, was brought in to help implement and configure Google Analytics to help answer these questions. Measuring the impact of social media for Lollapalooza has two sides:

• The impact on those who use social media applications while on the site
• The impact of those who arrive at the site as a result of social media

The Implementation

Event Tracking and Campaign Tagging were employed in order to provide the data required to answer these questions.

Event Tracking

While a user is on the site, events “fire” as the visitor interacts with the various social media applications. Lollapalooza tracks when sharing applications are clicked, when users log into Facebook accounts via Facebook Connect and perform various actions, and when visitors register or log into their Lollapalooza accounts.


*Actual values have been modified

Drilling down into the event categories, actions and labels reveals even more about user behavior, and coupled with the secondary dimensions and pivot tables that were recently announced, we can answer some very detailed questions, like:

How much revenue and how many transactions resulted from visitors in Chicago that used Facebook Connect and found the site via the keyword “lollapalooza 2009”?

*Actual values have been modified

Campaign Tagging

In order to track visitors arriving at the site as a result of social media, links that are generated and shared are tagged with unique values to define campaign parameters. The reports and segmentation options of Analytics then help us understand these visitors and their value in terms of Goal and Ecommerce conversions.

When visitors share via Twitter, for example, a pre-populated message with a bit.ly compressed link is used that includes Google Analytics campaign tag parameters:


When followers of this user click on the link, Google Analytics attributes the visit to a source of “twitter” and a medium of “share”. This data is then available in our reports, and we can answer questions like:

What kind of revenue and ticket sales resulted from Twitter sharing yesterday?

*Actual values have been modified

The Results

The data continues to roll in, but some impressive insights have been gained so far:

• Over 2/3 of the traffic referred from Facebook, MySpace and Twitter is a result of sharing applications and Lollapalooza’s messaging to its fans on those platforms.
• Users of the social media applications on Lollapalooza.com spend twice as much as users that don’t.
• “Fan Engagement” metrics such as time on site, bounce rate, page views per visit and interaction have seen significant boosts across the board as a result of social media applications.

More details and findings are available on C3's digital marketing blog.

“This kind of data is fantastic,” says Michael. “Not only does it help us give our fans what they want, it let’s us know how they respond to it and tells us that these efforts are worth it.”

Other Resources

To learn more about the reports, configurations and features highlighted in this post, take a look at the following resources:

• Event Tracking with Google Analytics
• Campaign Tagging and tracking traffic sources
• Secondary Dimensions and Pivot Tables

Posted by David Booth of WebShare, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant

Quick Branding Exercise

Just getting a chance to go through my notes from the Indiana Bankers Association Mega Conference held in Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago. Came across a great tidbit from Joe Sullivan's presentation on creating brand differentiation.

"Take the seemingly inconsequential things that

differentiate your brand and blow them out of proportion."

Sounds like it could be a fun Friday afternoon branding exercise. Spend a few minutes listing those things big or small that make your bank or credit union different from the ones down the street. Make it fun. Think of all of the quirky things that make you different. Think of the little things that customers comment on, like the dog biscuits in the drive-through.

Look at the list and see what you think could really resonate with customers needs today. Now, determine how to market that differentiation to customers as a benefit and you've created something to give your brand the "Wow" factor in a commodity market.

Enjoy,

Deanna

Update to U.S. ad text trademark policy

Imagine opening your Sunday paper and seeing ads from a large supermarket chain that didn't list actual products for sale; instead, they simply listed the categories of products available - offers like "Buy discount cola" and "Snacks on sale." The ads wouldn't be useful since you wouldn't know what products are actually being offered. For many categories of advertisers, this is the problem they have faced on Google for some time.

That is why, in an effort to improve ad quality and user experience, we are adjusting our trademark policy in the U.S. to allow some ads to use trademarks in the ad text. This change will bring Google's policy on trademark use in ad text more in line with the industry standard. Under certain criteria, you can use trademark terms in your ad text in the U.S. even if you don't own that trademark or have explicit approval from the trademark owner to use it. This change will help you to create more narrowly targeted ad text that highlights your specific inventory.

For example, under our old policy, a site that sells several brands of athletic shoes may not have been able to highlight the actual brands that they sell in their ad text. However, under our new policy, that advertiser can create specific ads for each of the brands that they sell. We believe that this change will help both our users and advertisers by reducing the number of overly generic ads that appear across our networks in the U.S.

Please note that this policy update will only apply to ads served in the U.S. on Google.com and to U.S. users on the Search and Content Networks. Also, while we will start accepting new ads that contain trademark terms as of 11am PDT on May 15th, those ads will not begin showing until June 15th.

If you have ads in your account which were previously disapproved for trademark policy and that comply with the new policy, you may submit those ads for re-review and eligible ads may begin showing in the U.S. starting June 15th. For instructions on editing your ad text, click here.

In order to help advertisers understand whether their landing pages meet our policy guidelines we've added some new functionality to our Search Based Keyword Tool. If you visit www.google.com/sktool and enter your website URL, you may see a list of brands on the left side of the page if your site contains those brands. When you click on any of those brands you'll notice a column titled "Extracted from webpage." Those landing pages may be opportunities for you to show re-sale or informational ads.

We believe that this change will offer you the opportunity to provide users with more relevant information, choice and options while respecting the interests of trademark owners.

For more detail on our updated trademark policy in the U.S., please visit the FAQ in our Help Center.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew