The Success Is In The Web Analytics

Not sure how I missed this (probably cause I’m really that special), but ClickZ’s Zachary Rodgers tell us that Google is now offering customized Placement Performance reports to tell advertisers where they ads were displayed, giving them site performance metrics by domain, URL, impression, click, conversion and cost. This is very huzzah-worthy news.

With the release of these new reports, search marketers are offered considerably more control over the success of their campaigns. Now, on top of the other Web analytics information Google provides, search marketers are able to see which sites their ads performed well on, as well as identify the sites where the interest isn’t so great. They’re then able to use Google’s site exclusion tool to direct Google to only show ads on the high-performing sites. Even savvy search marketers can’t really ask for more than that.

Director of Product Management for AdSense Brian Axe believes the new report will be beneficial to publishers, advertisers and users alike. We completely agree.

Besides just the increased Web analytics information, advertisers will be excited about the new Placement Performance reports because it ensures they’re getting what they paid for. You may remember a little over a year ago when Ben Edelman outed Yahoo for its click fraud troubles. One of the issues Ben pointed to was Yahoo’s alleged habit of placing ads on known spyware sites, not the high-quality sites users were promised and paid for. This new report from Google increases transparency and helps advertisers to make sure their ads are running on the appropriate sites. In the end, it gives them more control over their pay per click campaigns.

While we’re on the subject of Google Analytics, it’s worth mentioning that the service is now officially out of beta (rejoice!) and has been upgraded with new features, including:

• Hourly reporting
• Clickable URLs
• Cross segmentation by network location
• Easier AdWords integration
• Bounce Rate Increase/Decrease
• More countries and the ability to recognize more search engines

The old Google Analytics interface will be no more as of July 18th.

Wilson Web published 10 Tips for Getting Better Data from Google Analytics that may also be worth a read. If you’re behind the curve on Web analytics, you want to make this one of those weekends where you work from home. Order a pizza if it helps.

Lisa Barone is a writer, content marketer & VP of strategy at Overit Media. She's also a very active Twitterer, much to the dismay of the rest of the world.

See Lisa's author page for links to connect on social media.