Upgrading to Google Analytics Asynchronous Tracking

Posted By WebAdvantage.net on Aug 17th, 2010

Google Analytics asynchronous tracking is the latest version of the Google Analytics tracking code designed to take advantage of web browser support of asynchronous JavaScript technology.  In a nutshell, using asynchronous technology allows the Google Analytics tracking code to load at the same time as other page content.

Speed! Using the traditional Google Analytics tracking code, there may be a slight delay as the JavaScript code is downloaded and executed independently within the web browser.  When properly installed, GA asynchronous tracking will run within the browser while other page content is being rendered at the same time.  This allows the overall page to load faster, increasing visitor satisfaction and helping to reduce bounce rate.

Another huge benefit is more complete visitor tracking.  Properly installed Google Analytics tracking code allows it to load sooner while the page is loading, which can count visitors that may click away before the page is fully loaded.  This can be particularly helpful on large, media-intensive web pages and/or tracking visitors with slow internet speeds.

We ran speed tests on our own home page, averaged over 5 tests and found using the asynchronous tracking code reduced page loading speed by about 1/4 second (246 milliseconds).  This is beneficial for both site visitors and search engine optimization since Google considers page loading speed as a factor in search rankings.

Installing the asynchronous tracking code can be as easy as copying & pasting, but accurate implementation is a must.  These basic instructions assume you have a Google Analytics account; if not, you can set up a free account here.

Remove the existing traditional Google Analytics tracking code, if applicable. If your GA tracking code has been customized, save a copy of your code to migrate customizations into the new version.Add your Google Analytics web property ID number to the asynchronous tracking code snippet. Customize the new tracking code snippet, if applicable.Place the prepared Google Analytics asynchronous tracking code in the TOP of your web page source code, after the appearance of any other JavaScript code and before the closing  tag.  (See this Google Analytics help page for detailed instructions.)Load the updated page and check your HTML code to ensure the new tracking code is placed properly.Check your Google Analytics reports the next day to verify site visitors are being reported as expected.

Below are two screen capture images showing the traditional vs. asynchronous tracking code.  In practice you would replace the “xxxxx-x” with your web property ID number provided by Google Analytics.

 

Are you interested in Google Analytics consultation, setup guidance and reporting?  We have experienced, full-time Google Analytics certified staff ready to help!  Contact us today to discuss your web marketing needs and receive a free proposal.

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Pragmatic, professional advice with no hidden agenda. 

-Mark Brownlow
Internet Business Forum

 

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Are You Afraid to Pull Over and Ask Your Web Analytics for Directions?

Posted By WebAdvantage.net on Jul 14th, 2010

Lewis Carroll once said, “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”  For this reason I think web analytics programs get underused and abused.  With so much data at your fingertips it is easy to get distracted from your overall strategy and go chasing down referring site and filter rabbit holes.  You run from your office flush with ideas and exciting trends only to find they have little relevance to your marketing goals.  Suddenly you are lost in the ghetto in the Griswold family Truckster looking for directions back to the interstate.  “Roll ‘em up!”

Marketers love data.  We can spin it any which way to tell a story that reflects positive ROI on the horizon.  Web analytics tools love to give us more data than we can possibly use and this can result in a killer loop.  It is not really the overabundance of data but the lack of resources to interpret and derive meaning from the analytics.  At Web Ad.vantage, we are constantly urging our customers to set measurable goals and expected outcomes from their marketing efforts, and if you have those in place then a web analytics program can be your best friend—as long as you can crystallize actionable data from the fire hose.  A good web analytics program can be had for free or you can pay for a service.  The difference is not so much the quality and quantity of data, but the analysis and support that goes on behind the scenes.  Paid solutions like Omniture and Urchin are fantastic because they deliver quality data and a story of what that data means for your business.  The most popular free solution, Google Analytics, is really just as powerful, but you get buckets of data and pretty graphs but no story.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the free solutions and research shows that even the people who have a paid solution often have a “second opinion” coming from a free solution.  But if you are going to have a web analytics tool working for you, you need to be culling the data and telling a story about your business.  So do me a favor, log in to your analytics tool.  (You do have one right?  If not then click on that big purple tab above that says “internet marketing services” and submit an RFP for consulting services because we need to talk!)  Now that you are staring at your dashboard let’s see what we can glean just from this first page.

The above is a screenshot for a personal blog site of mine.  So the first thing to consider is what the goal of this site is.  In this case it is a blog:  I’m all about the traffic and interaction with the visitors.  I want to know what my readers like so I can produce more of it.  I want to know where they are coming from and how they got here in the first place so I can make sure that pipeline stays open.

The first thing you see is the line graph across the top.  Notice the peaks and valleys.  What happened on those peak days?  Simply puts, figure out what happened and do more of that.  In this case, these peaks coincide with a new blog post.  A blog may be more obvious as to what generates this traffic, but take a close look at the differences in numbers from one post to another.  Did one post strike a chord and drive more traffic?  Again, figure that out and do more of it.  Even more telling is when you are not looking at a blog and looking at your business site.  Regular blogs posts may not be the cause of spikes in traffic and if you figure out what is causing it then you have even more ammunition to entice more of the same spikes in your traffic.  Maybe you launched a new product, maybe you were mentioned in a press release.  Maybe you said something particularly profound on Twitter.

Now don’t get too excited about traffic numbers.  This should be a quality and not quantity game.  So let’s take a look at bounce rate.  This is the percentage of people who view only one page and then “bounce” off your site to parts unknown.  For a blog this may be pretty high because a lot of time you may be promoting a specific post or your regular readers just stop by to get the latest news.  What is particularly telling are the pages or posts that have lower bounce rate numbers.  What is it about that content that provoked your visitor to dig deeper into your site?  Where did they go when they left the page?  If you can recognize a trend here then you gain some valuable insight into what your visitors like and how they are thinking.  Simple business action: do more of that.

Let’s look at my blog as an example.  In the number 8 spot is a glaring example.  23.08% bounce is substantially lower than the other posts.  When I look I see that this is a listing of my posts sorted by a particular category.  Maybe I should write more under that category, what do you think?

This just skims the surface but you can see just from the main page that I can derive some action items to improve the performance (AKA reach my marketing goals).  Make this part of your routine and as you get more savvy you can drill down deeper and add some more to knowledge to your analytics know-how.  You could also take a look at your traffic sources and figure out what event precipitated an influx of traffic from that source.  What is the quality of that traffic (time on page, bounce, etc).  Maybe you can submit some news to that source, or just write them an old fashioned thank you letter for their excellent promotional work.  Take a close look at your unique visits and figure out where the new blood is coming from.  It would probably be a good idea to keep that pipeline open and figure out how to find more like it.  What about customer/visitor loyalty?  Once you get a visitor you want them to keep coming back right.  Take a look at your recurring visitors and make sure you know why they are coming back.  Leverage those readers for further promotion and ideas for new content.  This is where you are truly engaging and having fun with your visitors.

What I am saying here is nothing groundbreaking, but I urge you to think in terms of “what can I do to hit my goals?”  What tangible action items can you do to reach those goals?  Numbers are great and can be a wonderful affirmation of a job well done, but let’s get real and make a list of things we can do to increase revenue (or readership).

Of course, Web Ad.vantage can help you learn more about how your analytics data can shape your day to day business actions or how you can learn to glean more insights from your analytics.  We have several consulting options that will do just that.  Better yet, why not register to attend our upcoming webinar on web analytics on July 28th?  If you are brave enough, why not call or email  me and volunteer access to your analytics data and we will perform a live demo using your data during the webinar.  Think of it as a little free consulting that could change the way you use this tool.

Now go forth and analyze!

This week’s blog post was contributed by Shannon Rogers, an avid blogger and Sr. New Business Expert at Web Ad.vantage. Connect with Shannon online or send him an email.

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Pragmatic, professional advice with no hidden agenda. 

-Mark Brownlow
Internet Business Forum

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More Twitter Advertising Opportunities | ClickZ Rewind

Posted By WebAdvantage.net on Jul 16th, 2010

This article by Hollis originally appeared in ClickZ on September 8, 2009.

Several weeks ago, I wrote about “Integrating Twitter into Ad Campaigns.” Twitter marketing is a subject near to my heart, as I’m writing a book on the topic. Suffice it to say, I’m tuned into Twitter goings-on.

According to a recently LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll that evaluates advertisers’ impressions of Twitter, just under half of advertisers (45 percent) say that Twitter is in its infancy and its use will grow exponentially over the next few years. This differs from the consumer audience’s impression: over two-thirds (69 percent) say they don’t know enough about Twitter to have an opinion.

Other survey results reveal that, among those who have an opinion regarding Twitter, advertisers and consumers have moderate opinions about Twitter’s effectiveness for promoting products and ideas. Of advertisers surveyed, only 8 percent say Twitter is very effective for promoting products and ideas, while 50 percent believe it’s somewhat effective. Consumer figures are similar:

Twitter Effectiveness
Q. When it comes to promoting products and ideas, how effective do think Twitter is?Note: Percentages might not add up to 100 due to rounding. Source: Harris Interactive Poll, 2009

If this is the belief, why do so many new Twitter ad solutions keep cropping up? Is it the case of an ambitious few, trying to make a quick buck by riding the wave of temporary Twitter popularity? Or are these providers really pioneers in a space that hasn’t even matured to demonstrate its staying power yet?

As someone who’s been in online advertising for more than 11 years (when advertisers similarly questioned the staying power of the Internet), I believe the answer is more of the latter. Please note that while I present the latest Twitter ad solutions, as a personal user of Twitter I don’t necessarily endorse these tactics. I’m just trying to report the facts.

TweetROI

TweetROI is the latest sponsored tweet product. Creator Brian Carter, an agency director of PPC (define), envisioned a bid-for-placement marketplace among Twitter users, similar to PPC but in which users have editorial control over their tweets.

Carter said media planners should think about TweetROI’s Twitterers as a publishing network, where tweets are the equivalent of real-time media and where the widespread reach of distribution works much like Google AdWords’ Content Network. The system only discloses a paid tweet when the marketer requires it (via the use of a #ROI hashtag), but a soon-to-be-released update will provide further disclosures:

“AD” for direct marketing if the ad is used verbatim from an advertiser. “SP” if the ad has been written in the Twitterer’s own words. “PR” for a public relations-purchased link. No disclosure for nonprofits because those won’t be paid campaigns.

Paid TweetROI tweets will also be identified as coming from “TweetROI Live” (as opposed to sources like “Web,” “TweetDeck,” or “Tweetie”).

AdCause

Launched as a grassroots, noble concept in 2008, adCause has struggled to find its stride. Working much like an ad exchange with a twist, publishers (normal Twitter users) name their price and have selection power over ads posted by advertisers. These paid tweets’ sources are labeled “adCause,” but otherwise there are no identifiers.

AdCause’s unique hook is the ability for publishers to specify what percentage of their ad revenue they want to go to what charity.

Featured Users

Not a paid tweet solution at all, Featured Users leverages a network of independently built third-party Twitter applications to provide a means for Twitter accounts to gain visibility and grow their followers through banner ads. The ads are displayed on participating application Web sites, which then receive a portion of the revenue per ad impression it serves.

The network inventories more than 2 million impressions and can geotarget ad serving by cross-referencing the advertiser’s self-indicated Twitter profile location with the surfer’s IP address. Frequency capping is also available.

Featured users might be an inventive way for new brands joining Twitter to help attract followers. Because ads are generated on the fly by pulling from the user account’s most current Twitter profile, the advertiser could also include some brand messaging in its bio that would resonate with viewers.

Final Words

It’s worth noting that many of these early-stage Twitter advertising solutions lack sophistication expected by media planners. Standard media kits don’t exist, payment methods are limited, and Web sites tend to be deficient in the advertiser-side information commonly required by planners. If you plan on experimenting here, it’s a bit of the old Wild West.

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Pragmatic, professional advice with no hidden agenda. 

-Mark Brownlow
Internet Business Forum

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Online Video Advertising FAQ | ClickZ Rewind

Posted By WebAdvantage.net on Jul 16th, 2010

his article by Hollis originally appeared in ClickZ on September 22, 2009.

What’s the state of online video advertising as we enter Q4 2009? Last year around this time, some bemoaned that, as a consequence of the economic crisis, experimental budgets for online video advertising were gone. Ad rates all over, including those for online video, fell as much as 25 percent and many of us held our breath to see how our clients’ budgets would be affected.

Suddenly, though, a slew of good news about online video advertising came out last month:

EMarketer forecasted growth, albeit small, for online video advertising, predicting that by 2013 it will account for 11 percent of all online ad spending. BrightRoll, one of the largest online video ad networks, reported Q2 revenue up 217 percent over Q1, and both request for proposals (RFPs) and RFP dollar volume are up (74 percent and 45 percent, respectively). ComScore reported that the U.S. online video market “soared” in July, with 81 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewing online video (with TV on summer hiatus, did viewers turn to the Internet for fresh content?). Premium online video content site, Hulu, reached an all-time high with 457 million video views.

Even our intrepid executive editor, Anna Maria Virzi, wrote recently about this resurgence, so perhaps it’s time to gear up your online video advertising know-how and determine the right questions to ask.

What are the online video ad standards, and have publishers accepted them? How can I avoid needing to have multiple versions of the same video ad just to accommodate different specifications?

The IAB has laid out Digital Video Guidance standards, though reformatting, recoding, or resizing of video ads is still a common and problematic occurrence due to lack of adopted standards. Brands used to television advertising yearn for widespread adoption like the 30-second commercial.

How will the viewer see my ad?

Though standard video ads exist, some solutions still provide custom ad deliveries, like ad-sponsored player skins or display ads embedded around or within the player.

What kind of targeting is available?

Much like with other online ad buying, targeting capabilities vary among networks and publishers, but they do exist. Find out how the targeting is determined and delivered, however.

How much control and transparency do I have over where my ad will appear?

If you’re planning on using a network or large publisher or portal, this question is even more important, particularly for advertisers who have restrictions around what kind of content their ads can appear.

How can I limit competition?

Just because I can buy, for example, the pre-roll ad placement, how do I know I’m not exposing my advertiser to a competitor’s ad around, nearby, within, or after it?

Can I see past performance metrics?

Recognizing that ad creative has a lot to do with performance, it’s still helpful to see performance metrics for your site or network when comparing it to others.

What kind of rates should I expect to pay? How much do they vary among those providing online advertising opportunities? What kinds of cost structures will I encounter?

I won’t speak to rates, but in addition to CPM (define) pricing, increasingly more providers have rolled out or are rolling out performance-based pricing, like cost per engagement or cost per completed view.

How will our online ad reporting have to change to accommodate online video metrics? How do we show ad effectiveness as compared to our other online ad buys?

It’s true that online video metrics will be different than other typical online ad buys. To some extent, online video engagement is closer to measuring social media marketing than typical online advertising. You may want to segment your reporting accordingly, rather than trying to draw direct comparisons.

Besides YouTube, where else can I go to locate online video advertising opportunities?

Most of the major publishers and ad networks now have online video ad offerings. Based on potential reach of unique U.S. viewers, comScore ranked the following as top video ad networks:

Along the way, you might want to check out these companies also providing online video advertising solutions:

With talk of the recession lifting, more advertisers will likely be asking about online video ad placements. The time to get educated on the topic is now.

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Pragmatic, professional advice with no hidden agenda. 

-Mark Brownlow
Internet Business Forum

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[POLL] Your Favorite Re-tweet Tactics

Posted By WebAdvantage.net on Aug 6th, 2010

In today’s poll we would like to know your favorite tweet/re-tweet tactics.  What do you prefer or what works best for you? [P.S. Poll RTs very welcome, thanks!]

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Pragmatic, professional advice with no hidden agenda. 

-Mark Brownlow
Internet Business Forum

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Our Top 10 Blog Posts of 2010 (So Far!)

Posted By WebAdvantage.net on Jul 27th, 2010

Here in the Web Ad.vantage blog we like to discuss the latest trends and developments in internet marketing, and we post new articles regularly.  In fact, today marks #690 published since 1999!  Our most popular blog posts often relate to our biggest strengths:  SEO, PPC, Online Media Buying, and Social Media.

This week we’re gearing up for our upcoming webinar, Part 2 of the “The 7 Deadly Sins of Online Marketing“, which is all about web analytics, and how to use the data to develop online marketing goals and objectives.  (The webinar is tomorrow, but there’s still time to register—click here!)

To prep for the webinar, we used Google Analytics to examine our site content and discovered that our blog pages rank among our top content.  So today we thought we’d revisit our Top 10 Blog Posts of 2010 (so far!) and share them with you—enjoy!

How To Set Up Event Tracking in Google Analytics (And Why You Should!)The Rise of Mobile Social NetworksThe Senior Side of Social MediaInternet to Replace Newspapers As Largest Ad Medium in 2011Hey Health Care Industry…Social Media is Here to Stay!FDA Hits Pharmaceuticals Where it Hurts: OnlineA How-To Guide to Creating Facebook (Fan) PagesSocial Media is Not the Silver BulletWhat Can Web Widgets Do for You?Kid & Family-Friendly Social Media Sites

We post new blogs every week.  Please subscribe to our blog to receive the latest updates via RSS, or use the handy buttons below to share it on your favorite website.  We hope you find the information here useful, and that you come back to read us often!

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Pragmatic, professional advice with no hidden agenda. 

-Mark Brownlow
Internet Business Forum

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