[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #262: Google Analytics changes

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #262: Google Analytics changes
December 28th, 2011

<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/google-analytics-data.png>If 
your library maintains a website (and we really, /really/ hope you 
actually work on maintaining your website!), it's often handy to know 
how that site is being used. Web analytics programs can not only help 
you measure website traffic, they can also provide you with tools for 
massaging raw traffic data to spot trends or problems with your website. 
One of the more popular web analytics programs among libraries is Google 
Analytics <http://www.google.com/analytics/>; for one thing, it's free, 
but it also is constantly being improved by Google. This year saw quite 
a few nifty changes to Google Analytics that you may have missed, so 
here is a list of four of our favorites, in chronological order:

    * Google Analytics adds Real-Time traffic data
      <http://mashable.com/2011/09/29/real-time-analytics-google/>
      (Mashable/Todd Wasserman) "For users trying to gauge how a
      campaign or post is performing, Real-Time will track the immediate
      impact to site traffic. If a user posts something and then tweets
      about it, for instance, Real-Time will track when traffic from the
      tweet stops driving visits."
    * Path analysis in Google Analytics with Flow Visualization
      <http://cutroni.com/blog/2011/10/19/path-analysis-in-google-analytics-with-flow-visualization/>
      (Analytics Talk/Justin Cutroni) "The reason why click path
      reporting has sucked for SO LONG was the vast amount of data
      stuffed into a really crappy display. Google is trying to solve
      that using this new visualization[...]. Using this interface you
      can identify where people come from, follow them to various pages
      and evaluate the bounce rate, and then see what they look at after
      the landing page."
    * Check your site speed with Google Analytics
      <http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2011/12/check-your-site-speed-with-goo.php>
      (ReadWriteWeb/Joe Brockmeier) "You'll find the average redirection
      time for the site, assuming you have any redirects, as well as the
      average DNS lookup time (if any). You'll also see the average TCP
      connection time, the response time, and download time. So you can
      get a sense how much of the time is being spent getting the page
      and how long is being spent actually loading the page. In other
      words, you can see if there are things that need to be addressed
      with site design or with backend processing time or DNS issues."
    * Google Analytics preparing for social reports next year
      <http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2132098/Google-Analytics-Preparing-for-Social-Reports-Next-Year>
      (Search Engine Watch/Thom Craver) "The intent, says Google, is to
      allow site owners the ability to know what kind of engagement
      their content gets through social media and measure it by social
      network for the purpose of being able to optimize content for
      additional engagement across social networks. Google social
      products like Google+, Blogger, and Google Groups are already
      involved in the process. Other partner networks have also signed
      on, including Delicious, Digg, ReadItLater, Reddit, TypePad and more."

*/Shameless plug:/*

All OPLIN Dynamic Website Kits <http://oplin.org/webkit> include Google 
Analytics.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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