On May 8, Google released a new version of Google Analytics. According to Jeff Gillis, member of the Google Analytics team,
"We've redesigned the reporting interface for greater customization and collaboration. This should make it easier for businesses and website owners to find and share the data you need to make informed decisions. The new version presents data more clearly and in context, so you can look at a single report to gain insights rather than having to pull up several reports to understand what action to take."
Jeff goes on to explain that this simpler, more intuitive version of Google Analytics is a response to growing demand for analytics tools from technical and non-technical users. He says,
"Today there are hundreds of thousands of Google Analytics customers, and web analytics has moved from being a niche function to becoming a mainstream aspect of the business for companies of all sizes."
This is good news, because it means B2B and B2C firms across all industries are learning how to take advantage of the Web's data power to hone their search marketing strategies and programs.
Does the new Google Analytics release live up to expectations? Josh Katinger of Accession Media says, "yes!" Josh points out that Google Analytics, which is free, is closing the functionality gap with pricey, high-end analytics tools such as Omniture. Like Omniture, Google Analytics can now segment customer traffic to help advertisers better understand customer behavior and develop more targeted--and thus more effective--campaigns.
Thanks to Google, not only is the SEM playing field becoming more level, the level is rising at the same time--a major reason why companies of all sizes keep shifting advertising and marketing dollars to search marketing.
Further reading--
Barry Schwartz at SearchEngineLand surveys the new territory.
From Timothy Seward at the Google Analytics Blog, a more detailed survey with many useful links.
Adam Ostrow at Mashable gives us an awesome list of 27 features that make Google Analytics is best of breed.
