Google Analytics Column Hack-Pivot Tables

One of our clients requested a method to export more data from the Google Analytics pivot tables. The purpose of the export was to tie together Google Analytics with specific URL variables; however, Google Analytics displays a limited number of items on the pivot table. We did some research and we came across this Google Analytics Hack.

What You Will Need:
- Firefox
- Live HTTP header (http://livehttpheaders.mozdev.org/)

What are we hacking?
We’ll make possible for the analyst in you to download more than 5 columns from Google Analytics’ Pivot Table reports.

Below are the steps to the hack:
1. Go to any report that has the pivot table option and segment the data the way you want to analyze it (for testing purposes you can use the example above: go on Traffic Sources report à then Referring Sites and then pivot by Landing Page and choose Showing Visits)
2. Start Live HTTP header (in Firefox, under Tools) – do not load any other pages between step 2 and 3
3. Make sure you checked the Capture box on live HTTP header
4. Go back to your Google Analytics window and select a new number of page rows on, under Show rows (the footer of the pivot table). At this moment, the table should reload.
5. Open the Live HTTP header window
6. The first line there should be the request sent to Google Analytics in order to reload the pivot table. You should see something similar to Live HTTP Header
7. Copy the link (should be the first if you didn’t load any other page or made other HTTP request – music or video streams) and load it in another tab. You should have something similar to: Pure html table
8. Now look for the &tcols=5 parameter. Change it to &tcols=50 and load the new URL

Here’s a bonus hack for Google Analytics
The URL that exports Google Analytics reports in CSV for Excel (&fmt=5) is:
https://www.google.com/analytics/reporting/export?fmt=5 and some parameters after.
You will have to copy everything starting and including &id=…. from the URL you previously modified (the one with &tcols=50) and append it to Google’s export URL. The export URL will look like:
https://www.google.com/analytics/reporting/export?fmt=5&id=1234567&esig=4&seg0=-8&pdr=20091016-20091115&cmp=visit_segments&trows=25&rpt=ReferringSourcesReport&seg=1&view=4&tchcol=0&tst=0

We have used this several times to export additional pivot table information. A word of caution when using a hack, do it at your own risk. We highly recommend that you use this on a duplicate profile and on a secure network.

Source: You Should Test That!

DaBrian Marketing Group Update

DaBrian Marketing Group has officially changed its name to DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC. In addition to this change, DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC will be opening a new office in Reading, PA. We are also expanding our team of search engine marketing professionals. As we move forward, we will continue to provide our followers and friends with information to help them achieve a greater impact on their internet marketing campaigns. Furthermore, we will begin to provide bi-monthly blogs, quarterly articles, and regular YouTube submissions. We will inform all of friends, followers, and colleagues via Twitter, Facebook, and the monthly newsletter. If you are not already “connected”, please subscribe to our newsletter at www.dabrianmarketing.com or follow us on twitter (DaBrianMarket).

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to send us a note or make suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you and answering your search engine marketing & web analytics questions.

The Changing Search Engine Environment

The world of search engine marketing is continuously changing and most businesses fail to keep up with these changes. Over the past year, we have seen changes to Microsoft Live (now Bing). This year, we have already seen changes in Google. Google’s latest changes come with the implementation of Google Caffeine. This update will have a dramatic impact on search engine optimization and search engine marketing for businesses in 2010.

Google Caffeine is the latest change to the Google search engine algorithm. According to Matt Cutts (Google Software Engineer Extraordinaire), said that Caffeine is the new technology that improves indexing infrastructure. It deliveries faster results, more accurate search results, larger index size, and better at capturing news. This improvement means a better user search experience. Hopefully, this will translate into more searcher using Google and more advertiser using Google AdWords to attract customers.

Remember that not everything has changed with Google. The content is still key to search results and meta titles/tags are still very important. You will need to update your content more frequently and improve the quality of links to relevant content.

Benefits of Web Analytics for Businesses

Online marketing has become a massive industry over the past decade or so. Its importance for the future growth of companies cannot be overstated. As web traffic continues to increase, web analytics becomes an invaluable tool for business and marketing managers. Web analytics allows companies to gather useful data about the impact their websites and products have on their customers.

With some marketing strategies, it can take time to see relevant results that come directly from a specific promotion. As web analytics continues to grow and change, this problem begins to disappear. With different metrics and analytical methods, it is possible to quickly see what strategies are effective and which ones may need some tweaking. For example, it is very beneficial for improving one’s marketing strategy to see which pages have a high bounce rate or which have high average time-on-page measurements.

It is undoubtedly becoming necessary to have an online presence in the current business world. Through the use of web analytics, businesses can manage their websites effectively and with the highest profit from their investment. The bottom line is that web analytics can help any business grow rapidly, robustly and in a way that ensures they stay relevant into the future.

Web Analytics Trends for 2010

It is becoming increasingly important for companies to employ web analytics in their online marketing strategies. Web analytics is a continuously growing industry despite the recent tough times that many businesses are currently facing. This has made it obvious that web analytics is here to stay and can help companies to reinvent their brand in a changing business environment.

As analytical metrics become more advanced, the basic numbers behind web usage begin to say less than advanced information on the consumers that represent these numbers. A common trend in web analytics is an overall increasingly personalized content of the measurements. Through this approach, companies can have a useful idea of their target and actual audiences and this information is useful in that it can be incorporated into new and improved marketing campaigns!

Social media will play a growing role in the future of marketing, as well. Web analytics will track how successful different social networking sites are at sending buyers to a site; also, mobile devices are being used more and more to access the web, so the necessary web content formatting is critical. Web analytics has a growing impact on the way everyday business is done and the current trends show that it is a necessary component to successful business on the web!

Our Search Engine Optimization Trends & Vision for Businesses

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will continue to increase in awareness throughout 2009-2010. According to Small Business Trends, businesses will begin to move SEO in-house; however, Search Engine Optimization agencies will also continue to be busier than ever. Let’s not exclude the increasing volume of SEO scams that will continue to frustrate our customers.

The most critical information still reaffirms that relevant content is key. The trend should also include videos, blogs, images, and tweets. The search functionality will evolve due to additional role-over functionality on Bing. Local search and mobile search engine optimization will generate additional changes in the search engine landscape. The evolution of mobile device will have marketers focusing on mobile search and mobile search functionality.

The bottom line is that businesses should start to incorporate search engine optimization into their marketing plans. We don’t recommend that every businesses jump into SEO and hire an agency but we do recommend that every business have the basics covered. Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing will continue to become more challenging for organizations that don’t understand the basics. New wrinkles will continue to appear in mobile search, search engine, and local search. Once you have the basics covered, you can start to tackle the larger challenges!

Search Engine Optimization Basics for Small Business

Search Engine Optimization can be difficult for organizations that do not have the skill set or knowledge to achieve better positioning. The best resource for small businesses would be Google’s Starter Guide for Search Engine Optimization. In addition, Google offers a number of free tools to help track the performance of your website & keywords.

Google is not the only search engine on the block. You should also visit Bing & Yahoo for their webmaster/explorer tools. These search engines can provide valuable insight on your search position. They provide information on inbound links, crawlers, and more.

Small businesses should track the progress of their Search Engine Optimization. In most cases, the search engine optimization should focus on the local markets. You will need to do the keyword/phrase research for your product or services. Remember to think like your customers and keep it simple. If you do not have analytics (Google Analytics) on your website, you should set-up an account to get valuable information on which keywords and sources are sending visitors.

Let us know if you’ve discovered any useful tools.