After five great years at EpikOne I’ve decided to move on and seek new challenges. I haven’t shared this news with a lot of people until now. Let me try to answer what I think will be the most asked questions :)

Why are you leaving?

Every year I take stock of where I am professionally and what I have planned for the next year or 18 months. At the end of 2009 I decided that I needed a new challenge. If I’m not challenged at work I get bored pretty fast. I decided to start looking and was pleased to find that there is a lot of opportunity in the web analytics industry :)

What are you going to do next? Are you going to keep doing web analytics?

I am absolutely going to keep doing web analytics! I love this field. I love the people and I love the close knit community. I’m currently looking for a job and hope to have something lined up in coming weeks.

Are you going to keep working with Google Analytics?

HELL YES. I still think that Google has a lot of gas left in the tank and will continue to revolutionize the web analytics industry. I’m going to continue to do GA Seminars for Success and am working on a new GA book with some friends. I’m even going to update my first book GA Shortcut (seriously!). I am absolutely going to remain a GA Fanboy.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to work with other tools. I’ve been playing with CoreMetrics and a few other and hope to use more tools in my next role.

Why don’t you start your own company?

I thought about this a lot. But I don’t want all the crap of running a company. I want to focus on doing web analytics, not sending invoices, tracking down payment, etc.

What will happen to Analytics Talk?

You’ve probably noticed that Analytics Talk has been moved to my personal domain. I’ll continue to blog, hopefully more often! I’m also going to clean out the backlog of comments and slap a new design on the blog.

So there you have it. If you’re trying to connect with me you you can always email me via the blog or feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter.

I want to say thank you to everyone that I’ve worked with at EpikOne. It was incredible to see you all grow and develop new skills during our time together. I’ll miss working with you all.

And a big thank you to all of the clients that I’ve worked with over the years. Thanks for pushing me to learn and grow.

Here’s to the unknown and new challenges!

Big Changes for Justin is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. Headed to EMetrics

One challenge that many people face when trying to use custom reports for analysis is determining what data relationships they should create in order to do segmentation.

An easy way to get started is to consider what you have control over. I like to segment by advertising parameters that I can change, like time of day. Why? I can make immediate improvements based on the data in these reports. Let’s take a look.

Google Analytics Custom Reports

You’ve all probably seen the custom reports interface. You can drag metrics and dimensions to create your own report. The columns are different metrics (counts, ratios, etc) and the rows are dimensions, which are the attributes of our visitors and the visits they create.

We can also create a drill down functionality by nesting multiple dimensions in the interface.

Creating the Report

Getting back to our example, let’s segment marketing campaigns by the time of day. Remember, I can run my ads at different times during the day using almost all online advertising tools. Nothing new here, this is called day parting.

Here are the settings for the custom report. Nothing crazy, just a column for visits and a column for conversion rate (in this case a conversion is a sale).

The Data

So this custom report will show all our campaigns and if I click on a campaign we’ll see data for the selected campaign at all hours of the day:

Here we can see the traffic and conversion rate for our chosen campaign at different hours of the day. 6.25% conversion rate at 16:00, not bad! [Website conversion rate is 2.1%]

Now check out this data:

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like paying for traffic that does not convert. Here we can see that traffic sucks from 02:00 – 06:00. We may want to curb our spending at these hours and move the spend to a different part of the day.

[I know, some of the traffic may be 'upper funnel' traffic that is just starting the buying process. But we could easily modify this report to drill down to the individual keywords driving to make that determination.]

I could also create a different visualization that starts with the medium/source dimension, then shows the hour of day, and finally campaign name. This report would be useful if we wanted to look ‘across’ all paid traffic, regardless of campaign, but still retain the ability to drill down to the campaign level.

So here we have some really actionable info. If you’re looking to save some money you may want to see how well your time-based advertising performing at different times of the day.

Find Out When Your Campaigns Suck with GA Custom Reports is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. Make GA Data Quality Suck Less!
2. Google Analytics Campaign Tracking Pt. 3: Reports and Analysis
3. Custom Segmentation with Google Analytics

A is for Atlanta

We’re kicking off our 2009 Google Analytics Seminars for Success program with a session in Atlanta on February 17 & 18 at Emory University. Seminars for Success is a two day training event that focus on how to configure and use Google Analytics.

I am convinced that this is the most Google Analytics training that you can get for $499. Learn more and register here.

Please feel free to post any questions. We’ve had every size organization attend these events and they all find something useful.

A is for Amsterdam

On March 2 & 3, we’re taking Seminars for Success on the road to Amsterdam! I was hoping for someplace a little bit warmer, but I’m looking forward to visiting some friends in the Frozen North :)

You can read more about the Amsterdam training, and register, here.

A is for AnalyticsView

And the final A for today is AnalyticsView. I’m not sure how many of you know that we launched a product called AnalyticsView last year. It was originally intended to be a customizable GA reporting tool but, with the launch of Custom Reports, we needed to change the focus a bit ;)

AV does some neat reporting things that GA can’t do, like white-labeled reports, but we’re moving away from the reporting feature and starting to make it more of a toolbox. To start, we’ve incorporated SiteScan our tool that scans your site for the standard GA tags. We’ve also created a resource list of other tools, like GA Notes, that we’ve rolled out over the last 4 years.

Here’s just a few of AV’s features:

• Preloaded report templates
• Ability to cusotmize reports
• Report white labeling
• Emailed delivery of reports
• SiteScan
• Other tools and GA resources we’ve created

The basic version of AV is free and and the premium version is just $25/month.

We had a team meeting today and mapped out the features we’re going to add in the next few months. Our goal is to add features that let you manage your GA setup, facilitate reporting (especially for agencies and enterprises) and provide an easy way to mash up your GA data with other sources. We’d love your feedback.

A is for Atlanta, Amsterdam and Analytics View is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. Google Analytics Training in Montreal
2. I’m Back. Finally.
3. Heading West

We’ve been putting on these training events for almost a year now, and, to be honest, I think they are an amazing value. The cost is $249 US per day and our goal is to dump everything we know into your brain. Seriously.

Day 1 focuses on the data in GA and how to find actionable information. We cover almost every report and the insights you can draw from each. Also during day 1 we’ll cover many of the new GA analysis tools including Advanced Segmentation, Custom Reports and Motion Charts. Here’s a taste of day 1 topics:

• Introduction to Web Analytics
• Website testing with the Google Website Optimizer
• Google Analytics Reporting Features
• Sharing GA Data
• Custom Dashboards
• Understanding Site Visitors
• Tracking online marketing campaigns
• Evaluating site content and user navigation
• Understanding Goals and Conversion Funnels

On day 2 we really dig into how GA works and how to get it configured correctly. Ever wonder how all that great day gets into GA? We cover that in the morning. Have you been curious about how to use filters and profiles? Yup, we cover that too. We even cover event tracking in the hopes that it will be released from beta soon! :) Treats for day 2 include:

• GA architecture overview
• Learning about Regular Expressions
• Improving your data with filters
• Setting up Goals and Funnels
• Implementing E-Commerce Tracking
• Configuring Custom Segmentation
• Introduction to Event Tracking
• Tracking websites with multiple domains/subdomains
• Code customization

But I think the best part of Seminars for Success is the interaction. We usually have groups of 60 which is big, but we’re able to have lively discussions about data and its uses.

You can learn more and sign up for Seminars for Success here. Got questions? Leave a comment below.

And don’t worry if you can’t make it to Montreal, we’ll be doing more of these next year in different cities around the US and hopefully Canada.

Google Analytics Training in Montreal is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. Join Us For Analytics & Usability Training
2. Google Training Update
3. 2008 Google Analytics Resolutions

Specifically I’ve been working on Google Analytics Seminars for Success. This is a two day training session held in different cities. We had one in San Francisco in March and another in Boston in May. Both went really well and we’ll be holding our third session in Portland, OR on July 23 and 24. Checkout out the Seminars for Success website for more information. I think these seminars are a tremendous value, $498 for 2 days of GA training.

So what happens to blog traffic when you don’t post for 5 months? Does it completely tank? Nope, in fact traffic has been flat over the last few months.

Note the small drop off in June, but that’s due to the display of the data.

The driver of my traffic is primarily Google organic search, so things have been chugging along even though I have not posted any new content. I’m no SEO expert, but the Google bot loves my writing!

While traffic has been flat, subscribers, one of my success metrics subscribers has increased. Sure, it’s been a slow increase, but it’s headed up and to the right.

Another metrics that I monitor closely (as does every blogger I know) is my Technorati rank. Surprisingly my rank has remained fairly consistent with a value of (about) 32,000 and an authority of 162 (sorry, no graph for Technorati rank).

Finally…

I want to thank everyone that emailed me asking if everything was OK. I really appreciate the concern and well wishes. I also want to apologize to everyone that posted a comment and received no response. I’m in the process of catching up on the 900 pending comments.

Blog to you soon.

Justin

I’m Back. Finally. is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. Join Us For Analytics & Usability Training
2. Google Training Update
3. More Urchin Reports for Daypart Tracking

Google knows of these issues and will be pushing a solution soon. I’m not sure when, but soon. In the meantime, here is a copy of the new code that you should use on your site.

<script type="text/javascript">
 var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ?
"https://ssl." : "http://www.");
 document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost +
"google-analytics.com/ga.js'
type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
 var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-xxxxx-x");

 pageTracker._initData();
 pageTracker._trackPageview();
</script>

Remember, you need to replace “UA-xxxxx-x” with the appropriate information for your profile.

Sorry for the short post… I’m pretty tied up at work but wanted to post this information.

Props to Eivind Savio for sending me a nice email about the problem and a number of solutions.

Updated GA.JS Tracking Code is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. GA.JS: New Google Analytics Tracking Code
2. Tracking Sub Domains with Google Analytics
3. Event Tracking Pt. 2: Implementations

New Multi-Line Graph

Google has added a new features to help with analysis. It’s called multi-line graphing. We now have the ability to graph multiple lines of data in the data-over-time graph that appears at the top of each page. There are two ways to use this feature.

First, you can compare two metrics in the graph. This is a great way to determine if there is a correlation between the two numbers. For example, let’s say you want to see if conversion rate stays the same if visits increase. Now you can do that.

The second way to use the multi-line graph is to compare a specific segment of data to the overall site data. This helps you analyze how much the segment of data affected the larger set of data.

The graph below shows AdWords visits (blue) and the total site visits (gray). We can clearly see that there was a big bump in traffic but it was not caused by AdWords.

I’ll have a more in-depth post on this tomorrow.

New ga.js Tracking Code

The new ga.js tracking code is now live. For those of you that don’t know, Google created a new version of the tracking code that supports many new features, primarily event tracking.

The new tracking code is very different. Many of the functions that exist in urchin.js do not exist in ga.js. Things like urchinTracker() and __utmSetVar() are gone. Don’t worry, they’ve been replaced with new methods like _trackPageview() and _setVar().

You don’t need to migrate to the new ga.js, you can continue to use the old urchin.js. However, Google will not update urchin.js in the future. If you want to take advantage of new features you must upgrade.

Check out GA.JS: New Google Analytics Tracking Code for more information about why the basic page tag has changed, how it has changed and if you should upgrade to the new tracking code.

To help facilitate the transition, Google has published a migration guide to help you transition from urchin.js to ga.js. It’s a great resource that does a good job of mapping old tracking code settings to new tracking code settings.

How do you get the new tracking code for your site? For existing websites, there is a new tabbed interface that provides the urchin.js tracking code or the ga.js tracking code. Just click on the “Check Status” link for a profile and you’ll see the tabs. Google will automatically supply the new ga.js tracking code when you create a new profile.

Caution: do not use the new tracking code and old tracking code on the same page. However, you can use the new tracking code on some parts of your site and the old tracking code on other parts of the site.

Surprise! New Google Analytics Features is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. New Google Analytics Features & Announcements
2. GA.JS: New Google Analytics Tracking Code
3. Content Optimization With Google Analytics, Part 1

Dani will share the techniques she uses to improve user experiences including:

• Lead form and shopping cart enhancements that lift conversions
• Key usability metrics in Google Analytics
• Examples of three websites with different business models and how they could benefit from usability analysis

I’ll be talking about how to effectively use Google Analytic to track and analyze online marketing activities. My topics include:

• Critical and often overlooked marketing campaign tracking techniques
• Effective campaign reporting and analysis
• Tips and best practices for success

The session cost $297 US and you can signup online. If you have any questions please email info -at- epikone -dot- com or call 1-877-273-9921. We look forward to seeing you next week!

Join Us For Analytics & Usability Training is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. Google Training Update
2. Urchin Report for Daypart Tracking
3. Visit Vermont for Online Marketing BootCamp

For example, you can’t use filters to change the data in the reports. That’s a HUGE problem because we have no easy way to manipulate the data in the reports. Also, if you configure on site search to strip the on site search query string parameter you could artificially inflate pageviews for some pages. Now that’s trouble! You can read the complete post here:

GA On Site Search Pt. 1: Overview & Setup

If there’s anything I missed, or if you have any questions, please leave a comment.

UPDATED: GA On Site Search Setup is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. GA On Site Search Pt. 1: Overview & Setup
2. GA On Site Search Pt. 2: Reporting & Usage
3. Measuring Internal Site Search with Google Analytics

First, I’m sorry I have not gotten to all of your comments. I think there are over 50 in my moderation queue. I’m usually very prompt at responding but I needed to back-burner comments for the past few weeks. I should have the queue cleared out by Monday. If you’ve asked a question I will get to it.

Second, I wanted to remind everyone that Eric T. Peterson is conducting his bi-annual survey of web analytics practitioners, consultants, and vendors. This year’s survey focuses on tools.

The survey can be found here:

http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/survey/

As a thank you, Eric is offering a discount coupon good for $10.00 OFF of the “Big Book of Key Performance Indicators”. If you don’t have this book this is a great opportunity to pick it up for a fantastic price.

And Finally….

I’m working on the next version of Google Analytics Short Cut. I thought I would have it done and published by now, but I wanted to wait for all the new GA features announced last month to go live. I’ve also been incorporating the feedback that everyone has provided.

If you’ve already purchased GA Short Cut you will automatically receive an update when it is done. Not bad fora $10 investment.

This, That and a Web Analytics Survey is a post from: Analytics Talk by Justin Cutroni

Related posts:

1. Writing More than Blog Posts
2. Google Analytics Short Cut
3. Introducing Urchin 6