Latest from Google - Tools and Updates

GOOGLE WEBSITE OPTIMIZER

Google Website Optimizer and Google Analytics (or Urchin) have both dropped the Beta label as both offerings from Google have graduated their initial ‘testing’ phases (umm… just how many business models are dependent on an analytics program in Beta testing).

Google’s announcement on Google Website Optimizer:

Today at the ad:tech conference in San Francisco, Google Website Optimizer™ launched out of beta as an independent product. Formerly a feature within the Google AdWords™ advertising service only, this free website-testing tool is now accessible through its own website (http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer) as well. In addition, Google's Website Optimizer has introduced its own blog (http://websiteoptimizer.blogspot.com/).
Google Website Optimizer helps improve user experience on the Web by showing its users what their visitors want to see. Rather than debating or guessing how a webpage might look best, users can continually test different combinations of website content, such as images and text, to see which one yields the most sales, sign-ups, leads or other goals.

Google Website Optimizer provides value "beyond the click" as part of Google's suite of advertising tools offering heightened precision, accountability and scale. Together with Google AdWords, which drives traffic to your website, and Google Analytics™, which measures that traffic, Google Website Optimizer further helps you convert your traffic into customers.

In addition to the new website, the Google Website Optimizer blog is now live. The blog will feature up-to-date product news, industry insights, testing strategies, and other educational information from the Google Website Optimizer team and our partners.

The product is available in 27 languages worldwide: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia, UK & U.S.), Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil & Portugal), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai and Turkish.

The Google Analytics and Urchin software announcement was made on the Google Analytics blog.

GOOGLE ALERTS

Google Alerts is a great way to let the world's largest search engine become your personal online investigator. Search engine optimization has now reached a whole whole new level. Here's an excerpt straight from Google....

"Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic."
Some uses of Google Alerts include:

- monitoring a developing news story
- keeping current on a competitor or industry
- getting the latest on a celebrity or event
- keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams

The second item above is an important one; "keeping current on a competitor or industry."

The way it works is that each time Google finds a reference to the query or topic requested an email will be sent with the details. This is like having an online agent to make sure competitors are not using your protected keywords (trademarked names, company names, etc.). It's also an instant identifier to know when your site or product is mentioned in a news story or when a topic is hot so you can take advantage of the situation. It's a great way to stop competitors' underhanded tricks and identify trends to take immediate advantage of.

It's fast, free and works 24/7. Let Google Alerts do time consuming grunt work while you get the benefits!

GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Google Analytics (http://www.googleanalytics.com/) has become one of the most popular analytics software available. There are now numerous resources available which deal with configuration, implementation, analysis, and reporting. See below a list of the most useful resources for Google Analytics related strategies.

EpikOne: Improving the quality of your report's data
EpikOne: Google Analytics E-Commerce Tracking Pt. 1: How It Works
EpikOne: Google Analytics E-Commerce Tracking Pt. 2: Installation & Setup
ROI Revolution: Google Analytics ROI Calculation Macro
ROI Revolution: Should You Join the Migration? urchin.js Migrates to ga.js
ROI Revolution: Tracking Secondary Sources and Autoresponders Using Site Search
Google Analytics Blog: Where Did My Paid Search Traffic Go?
Google Analytics Blog: Site Search Now Available
YouTube - Alex Ortiz: Advanced Techniques in Google Analytics
YouTube - Avinash Kaushik: Google Analytics -Context and actionability in web analytics
YouTube - Nick Mahailovski: Tracking Offline to Online Campaigns
YouTube - Google Analytics Interface Tutorial
Wilson Web: 10 Tips for Getting Better Data from Google Analytics
Top Rank Blog: Google Analytics Tips - 5 Analytics Features You May Not Know ...
Daily Tips: Top 5 Google Analytics Reports for Bloggers
Marketing Power: Landing Page Optimization: A Process using Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer
A-SFUG: Flash website tracking with Google Analytics
LisTrak: Using Google Analytics to Increase Reporting Capabilities of Email ...
BtoB Online: Can Google Analytics help my e-mail marketing?
SEO 24: Lead Generation Form Optimization Tips and Tricks - Google Analytics