Google Analytics, the hosted Web analytics service provided by search giant Google Inc., is now free. Formerly known as Urchin from Google, Google Analytics helps businesses use performance data to improve their online marketing campaigns and websites. With Google Analytics, businesses can determine what keywords attract the most visitors, which email campaigns create more customers, and how to design Web pages that hold people’s attention.
“We want to give all online marketers and publishers access to powerful Web analytics to help them better understand what their customers want. With this knowledge, businesses can create more accurate advertising and build better websites,” says Paul Muret, Google engineering director and one of the founders of Urchin. “By making this powerful service free, we aim to give all websites – large and small – the tools they need to better serve their customers, make more money, and improve the Web experience for everyone.”
According to Muret, Google Analytics can enhance every aspect of online marketing—from selecting and bidding on effective keywords to determining the most relevant offers in email campaigns to optimizing website design. By acting on this information, businesses of all sizes can attract more visitors, convert more prospects to customers, and improve the overall return on their marketing investments. Google Analytics is simple enough for businesses new to Web analytics to get started quickly and sophisticated enough for the most advanced online marketers, Muret says.
In addition to being free, Google Analytics:
• Integrates with Google AdWords and works with any online ad network. Users of Google AdWords can access Web analytics from a new interface within their AdWords account. Google Analytics automatically tags keyword destination URLs and imports cost data for return-on-investment reports. Google Analytics also is able to track the results of any online marketing campaign, including banner ads, referral links, email newsletters, and organic and paid searches.
• Includes new reporting dashboards. Google Analytics executive summary reports for the three most common decision makers – executive, marketer, webmaster – will ease access to crucial information across departments.
• Is available in 16 international languages: U.K. English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Russian.
Google Analytics runs on the same computing infrastructure that powers Google.com so it can support the traffic demands of any site, from those with a few visitors a week to hundreds of millions. Businesses like The Financial Times, National Semiconductor, Ritz Interactive, Agency.com, and Deckers Outdoor Corporation use Google Analytics to improve the user experience and marketing effectiveness of their websites.
Google Analytics is available immediately for free to existing customers of Urchin from Google, as well as all new customers. Free online support also is available. Businesses can obtain customization or advanced integration from Google representatives and select Google service partners.
