Tom's Analytics

• Confession: I used to get paid to write spam. http://bit.ly/dBh386 via @marketingprofs <- Write better mass email text. #

• RT @akinarikan: Since when does #SEM no longer include #SEO http://bit.ly/brAnLa <- Great call! #
• Just saw an ad on Discovery (Shark Week FTW!) prompting me to pre-order Halo:Reach at xbox.com/halo. Link doesn't work. Ad #fail #
• RT @marthabush: Rx for your web analytics http://bit.ly/ap4XeM <- Talent is always key! #measure #
• Via @lunametrics – “Absolute Unique” and “Unique” Visitors in Google Analytics http://bit.ly/bdyWJo <- Great explanation of a GA quirk. #
• #eMetrics haiku contest begins! http://bit.ly/d4tKBM – As a winner, I know that a small effort can = a big payoff! #
• RT @andressilvaa: EXPERTS: Pareto Was Right http://bit.ly/aIe2O3 [ClickZ] #measure #
• @Al3x4nd3rR: Re: Ent WA not incl bounce rate <- Fundamentally flawed metric for many sites AND it is a derived metric to calculate. #measure #
• RT @StefanW: Facebook Launches Vastly Improved Page Analytics @simplyzesty http://bit.ly/96VW7j <- Been around a while, but sweet! #measure #
• RT @getelastic 5 Common A/B & Multivariate Testing Mistakes http://bit.ly/9F8CxT <- 6. Running a test too long! #measure #
• @Al3x4nd3rR Good question – feature inertia? got bumped to a later release? You are right – doesn't make sense to calculate site-wide only. in reply to Al3x4nd3rR #
• RT @andybeal 29% of You Will Retweet This Interesting Blog Post Without Reading It! http://gri.ms/KSqc <- Critique of twitter usage survey. #
• 1995 Newsweek article referenced on /.: The Internet? Bah!
  Hype alert: Why cyberspace isn't, and will never be, nirvana http://bit.ly/axzqPN #
• Twitter to the Rescue: Lost, Injured Triathlete Saved by Tweet: http://bit.ly/bKpWXd via @addthis #
• RT @followCM: We're gaga over @skype. Just set ourselves up to video conference with colleagues http://twitpic.com/2c4oyl #
• @anilbatra Chartbeat is like a Porsche – heck of a lot of fun, but not usually the most practical or useful tool. in reply to anilbatra #
• Thanks @relevance: #FF Interesting new Friends @aptimize @your_marketing @EchelonExhibits @smospyder @mwmullin @ProfessorGary @tomsanalytics in reply to relevance #
• Measuring the Number of Keywords that Send Traffic to Your Site http://bit.ly/ayJQkl via @lunametrics <- Great tip. #

• RT @iCrossing Infographic: The Anatomy of Web Analytics – http://icrsng.com/8ZEVHu – Fun! #measure #
• RT @followCM Help Wanted: Digital Agency Seeking Account Executive http://bit.ly/d6yXMR – A fantastic place to work! @ or DM me for info. #
• Digital: Study Says Most Marketers Should Forgo Foursquare http://bit.ly/cqSflM – Remind anyone of early twitter press? #
• RT @RRS_ATL: http://ow.ly/2iupN Web Analytics World – Web Intelligence Tips & Tricks eBook #measure -> Nice! #
• RT @Irregulars Optimizing the Wrong Metric may be the root of All Evil in Marketing http://bit.ly/9lEYDS -> !!! #
• XKCD: University Website http://bit.ly/b6UBEk Lesson: Win the content promotion debate with data! #measure #
• @judahp They intersect in the subtle interactions of incoming traffic channels. Holistic attribution modeling will always be a "best guess". in reply to judahp #
• RT @AnnaOBrien: The Social Measurement Trifecta: Basic, Database, & Language Analysis http://ow.ly/2iM6K <- Follow @AnnaOBrien! #

• From @jimsterne: Stick With Your Story http://bit.ly/cXk1NE – Present with narrative, back up with data. #measure #
• Via @sixrevisions The 960 Grid System Made Easy http://bit.ly/dCMlXO <- The 960 Grid System is cool! #webdesign #

• Targeted Ads Will Let You Spy on Them for a Change | Epicenter| Wired.com http://bit.ly/aK4Prt #
• Google Analytics for WordPress version 4 – Yoast http://bit.ly/boSLsc – Async support and custom variables FTW #
• RT @jaybaer: Social Media Monitoring Tools – How to Pick The Right One http://bit.ly/9tRoLv – EXCELLENT snapshot of what is out there now. #

• RT @clickz The 'Hit by a Bus' Rule – ClickZ http://bit.ly/9xr2Qg #
• Can the Reputation of the Public Relations Industry Be Saved? http://bit.ly/a6iefG Provocative headline! Good thoughts from an insider. #
• Google wants to dominate display http://bit.ly/b5lfL8 via @econsultancy – In display, administrative cost = 28%. In TV, 1%. #
• Great discussion on the #influencer hashtag. My piece: understanding the CONTEXT of the conversation is just as important as its CONTENT. #

• Omniture: Why you need to test advertising on Facebook http://bit.ly/cbkkpN Test?!? You need to *do* advertising on FB! #
• RT @ThisIsSethsBlog Seth's Blog: Don't snowglobe me, bro http://bit.ly/cNNoRB #
• RT @JonahSeiger "If print publications are going to keep committing suicide, they really ought to stop blaming the web" http://bit.ly/9bwBt2 #
• ROI Revolution: Want Higher Landing Page Quality Scores in Google? Here's How: http://bit.ly/cNT4vs Simple, yet so important. #
• @copia We work in the public affairs space, so FB's targeting + CPC model + conversion track = value for our clients. http://bit.ly/c52G5E #
• RT @theopeninternet Support an Open Internet and WIN: America's Got Net Video Contest http://bit.ly/9hlESm #
• From @PPCHero: 10 Tips for Advertising on Facebook http://bit.ly/bxC9Ug – Who doesn't love a list on Twitter? #
• From @PPCHero: 10 Tips for Advertising on Facebook http://bit.ly/bxC9Ug – #11 USE THE CONVERSION TRACKING TOOL. #
• @copia FB allows you to apply the same rationalized ad spending to people as keywords on search. Size of brand irrelevant – $1M or $500M. in reply to copia #
• Cool new tool from Yahoo!: Boomerang, a JS app that measures site performance (load times, etc.) http://bit.ly/dmxjWL #measure #

• We just launched a new site for our company: http://www.connectionsmedia.com/. My inaugural post about the GA opt-out: http://bit.ly/dyl7mK #
• RT @webpronews Can You Put a Dollar Amount on a Facebook Fan? | WebProNews http://bit.ly/bjt55j #
• Secret Truth Series #18 Effective Text Ad Testing http://bit.ly/dnjWWN #
• SEOmoz | How To Make Awesome Ranking Charts With Excel Pivot Tables: http://bit.ly/cRfmzw via @addthis #
• From RKG: Efficiency Targets: Don’t Short-Change Your Marketing http://bit.ly/9Uqtg8 <- More people are "getting" paid search thx to RKG. #
• Weighted Average in Excel (using SUMPRODUCT): http://bit.ly/95VEWj via @addthis – Great tip from an awesome blogger. #
• Comscore: NYT still #1 online newspaper http://bit.ly/bhO6TR 33MM visitors/700MM PV's, not too shabby! #
• The scatter-plot matrix: a great tool http://shar.es/mzIPW – cool application of a rarely-used visualization technique. #
• REPOST/BROKEN LINK: The scatter-plot matrix: a great tool http://bit.ly/dyXxLD – cool application of a rarely-used visualization technique. #
• By @IdeaSandbox "Why Newspaper Ads Beat Social Media" http://tinyurl.com/28dsqfo – Confused thesis, should be newspaper vs 10k Adwords/Fbook #

• From @Scobleizer – Why Mark Zuckerberg should have a Carol Bartz moment http://bit.ly/as2hDF – Great piece! #
• RT @sengineland How Google’s Time Dimension Will Disrupt Your SEO http://selnd.com/awcxyx <- I don't think it will be a big deal. #
• RKG: 20% of your #PPC will soon be Bing, so clean up those accounts! http://bit.ly/cZKF8E #
• RT @philkemelor Google Analytics opt-out — another blow to web analysts? http://bit.ly/9DJlvS + comment from me #measure #
• Don’t Freak Out about Google Analytics Opt-Outs http://bit.ly/ckXBtp #measure #
• Internet Trends 2010 by Morgan Stanley Research http://slidesha.re/b7f3KO from #CMS #
• Webinars need to have integrated audio 100% of the time. It is 2010! I refuse to dial in for audio! #
• RT @scobleizer Nasty trend: apps that write to Twitter without user approval http://bit.ly/cAcFuL #
• From E-Nor: Segment Blog Commenters in Google Analytics http://shar.es/mACR4 – Great tip for bloggers! #
• RT @sengineland – 29 Worst Practices & Most Common Failures: #SEO Checklist Part I http://selnd.com/c4MYts #

On May 25th, Google announced the availability of a browser add-on for Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox that prevents a user’s browser from reporting site usage data to Google Analytics.  This plug-in has the effect of preventing visit and visitor information from being reported to any site using Google Analytics to collect clickstream data to their site.

Although I have years’ of experience implementing and using other web analytics tools, today I use Google Analytics on nearly every site that I manage.  It has become the de-facto standard web analytics tool for content and small e-commerce sites for a reason: it is easy to implement, has enterprise-grade features and a large user base, and it is FREE.  Here are the reasons why I’m not freaking out about a potential loss of visitor data from this tool:

It Isn’t about the Individual Visit

The power of clickstream analytics tools, like Google Analytics, comes from deriving actionable insights by exploring aggregate site traffic across discrete time periods and specific traffic segments.  You simply aren’t going to get very much actionable insight delivered by looking at one person’s visit to your site or even by tracking one person’s visits over a longer time period. In fact, Google Analytics’ terms of service explicitly forbids implementing it in a way that can uniquely identify individual visitors.

Aggregate Data is More about Precision than Accuracy

Here is a thought exercise: what if Google Analytics or some other clickstream analytics tool is delivering actionable insights that boost your site’s conversion rate but is only collecting data from about 95-99% of your site’s visitors?  That extra 1-5% isn’t a big deal as you can safely assume that the missing 1-5% is acting like the other 95-99% of your visitors.

Due to Javascript not loading, the mechanics of the Javascript not triggering the call back to Google fast enough, or visitors’ current use of ad-blocking and privacy tools, I generally assume that I am CURRENTLY missing about 1-5% of my sites’ pageviews.  Moreover, if you have a site with a large amount of traffic (millions of pageviews per month), Google Analytics suggests that you estimate traffic data based on sampling your site’s traffic to speed up the processing of your reports.

Back to the thought exercise: I expect adoption of this plug-in to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-5% of all users.  Is your traffic data fatally flawed if you are missing 2-10% of your pageviews? What about 20%?

Unless the people who install the plug-in are going to behave differently (as a group) than those that do not, Google Analytics will become somewhat less accurate with no loss in precision.  In the context of most sites’ objectives, there is not going to be a reason to question the validity of the conclusions that are drawn from Google Analytics unless there is widespread adoption of the plug-in.  This is because actionable site optimization metrics are based on rates (conversion rate, funnel exit rate), rather than on absolute numbers.

Clickstream is Only Part of the Puzzle

There is an ever-increasing amount of information that is being generated by people interacting with your brand online.  On your site, there is the potential to collect transactional data, direct voice-of-customer data, site testing data, contact us form data, etc., that is typically integrated with, but discrete from, Google Analytics.  Off site, there are interactions with your brand on social media, email marketing activities, and any offline interactions that may also be generating data.  It isn’t that your clickstream data isn’t important – it is just that there are other sources of data that may prompt action on the part of the analyst.

Allowing the Opt-out Is the Right Thing to Do

As site owners, we should never lose sight of our objectives.  There is a reason why our sites exist (sell something, provide information, display advertising) that is fundamentally more important than how we measure and improve our sites’ ability to achieve those goals.  Perhaps unfairly, some peoples’ concerns over privacy will cause them to block a tool that is likely being used to understand and improve their experiences, but we should respect their wishes and accept this as a new browsing paradigm in an environment with many other evolving browsing paradigms.

There Are Alternatives to Google Analytics

Of course, there are other web analytics packages out there if Google Analytics is no longer getting the job done.  It is pretty standard for “enterprise-level” web analytics solutions to include a clickstream tool, a CRM tool, a data warehousing tool, a testing and optimization tool, a social media monitoring and engagement tool, etc., along with their “enterprise level” cost and implementation difficulty.  There are other free tools out there with the features that you would expect with a free tool.  Google also sells Urchin, which doesn’t rely on Javascript to collect data, but instead uses server data logs as its primary data source.

In summary, I don’t think that there will be widespread adoption of the Google Analytics opt-out.  Even if there is, it won’t totally strip away the value of the tool and there are other clickstream analytics tools out there (as well as other sources of web analytics data).