Google Analytics New Features & Clicky
Monday, October 27th, 2008When we spend time trying to optimize a web site to increase traffic, I find the need to check how our optimizations are performing. There are two tools that I am addicted to, Google Analytics and Clicky.
Last week Google released a bunch of new features to their Google Analytics product. I check our sites analytics just about everyday. It’s interesting to see who visited our site, where they linked in from, what pages they viewed, how long they stayed and other juicy info. I haven’t had much time to play around with the new features, but I am looking forward to the new custom reporting.
Here is how Google(http://www.google.com/analytics/features.html) describes the new custom reporting feature:
“Create, save, and edit custom reports that present the information you want to see organized in the way you want to see it. A drag and drop interface lets you select the metrics you want and define multiple levels of sub-reports. Once created, each custom report is available for as long as you want it.”
However, I think the e-commerce tracking is by far the most profitable feature with Google Analytics. Using Google Analytics we can determine which links, keywords, banner ads, Adwords or other sources generate the most revenue. We can also see what visitors are trying to look for and if they are finding what they are seeking. Then we can tell the percentage of customers who bail during the checkout process and at what point. All very cool stuff. All this info helps us to work with our clients to make their websites generate more revenue.
While Google Analytics has very powerful reporting tools, I have to wait until tomorrow to see today’s traffic. Not so with Clicky. With Clicky I can see reports of real time traffic as it happens. I find myself checking in two or three times a day. They even have an iPhone optimized version for the hard core analytics addicts. The reports are great and I can drill down and see the entire session of each vistor. Very nice.
Each of these solutions require a little bit of javascript on each page. If you are a client of Aslan, please let us know and we’ll be happy to set your site up for analytics.