Google Analytics

Anyone using this yet?

[timchuma]

I just signed up for this last week and it looks interesting so far. It even does some things I have not been able to do by analysing the log files manually.

Do you have to be using AdWords/AdSense to use it or can you sign up to use it on a normal site?

Thanks.

[tedster]

Google Analytics is one way we invest in our advertisers and
everyone else who wants to create quality content on the web.

[google.com...]
(emphasis added)

[Tearabite]

I finally got my account after requesting it months ago.
Up unitl last week i was using web-stats, but analytics BLOWS Webstats away..

It tells me everything i need to know, plus a whole lot more.. i'm still trying to figger out what a bunch of the data even means and how to make use of it.

[PanUK]

I signed up shortly after it started but heard nothing for months.

Finally heard last week but found out you need an active adwords account if you get over 5 million pageviews, doh!

[mattg3]

I had it on but took it off twice as the urchin server slowed the site down. :(

[rden17]

Not true about needing an adwords account with 5 million pageviews. I just recently got sent an invitation and signed up. I only have a few sites with some adsense I started only 1.5 months ago (and making practically no money yet). Only 1 of my sites even has PR yet.

So, not really sure what the criteria is to get this google anylitics.

[PanUK]

Not true about needing an adwords account with 5 million pageviews.

You need an active adwords account if you get over 5 million pageviews.

If not with...

[rden17]

Sorry Pan, my bad. I gotta learn to read one of these days

[arnarn]

Slightly OT, and mostly directed at moderator(s), but I think there needs to be a special Forum for Analytics.. There's one for AdWords and one for AdSense, so why not Analytics?

I've had lots of problems with Analytics and learned by the hard-knocks and hands-on how to deal with issues as they came up with no Forum to go to. Maybe now's the time?

[Kufu]

I signed up for the G Analytics the first they it was released. For me personally it is a bit of an overkill, as it has too much information, and if I wanted to study every bit of it, I'd have to spend most of my day doing just that.

[texasville]

I have resisted using analytics as I have heard so many complaints about it slowing a pageload way down. As I have a site with many jpegs for products, I already have to really streamline for loading time.
My demographics also show that many users are dialup so that compounds the problem.
So, what is the news. Has google fixed the slowdown problem? Anyone?

[JudgeJeffries]

Someone in another thread suggested that there may be other benefits apart from stats. Has anyone found any improvement anywhere since using it?

[mistah]

I've been using it September and have been very pleased with it. It's much better than the cookie-based tracking that I used to use and pay $15 a month for.

I like to be able to see how my Adwords campaign compares with the "organic" Google results and look forward to the promised improvement that will allow me to do this with Yahoo and MSN.

The only improvement that I would like to see is better tracking of PDFs. My site uses these extensively to provide detailed information and when people download a PDF it doesn't count as a page view. For that reeason it is difficult to tell if people are leaving my site (indicating a poorly performing page) or just downloading a PDF (indicating a successful page). There's probably a way of doing it, but I haven't worked it out yet. As other posters have said, it's a complicated package and could well do with its own forum on WebmasterWorld.

The only concern I have is the way that Google will use the information - particularly the feature that allows you to track return on investment for Adwords campaigns - I'm not sure I'm happy with the idea of Google knowing the value of a successful transaction. FOr this reason I've avoided using the feature.

[timchuma]

There has been some strange behaviour on a couple of the pages on my site, so I had to remove the tracking code. The rest of the site seems to work fine though.

I am still going to do some other analysis of my company's site visitors as I have to track downloads.

[Tearabite]

{mod, please delete)

[FrogOfPower]

I've just started using google analytics and it seems quite good. I was using awstats before (and still have it) and the difference in stats is quite significant. Google shows me getting about 25% less visitors and about a sixth of the pageviews. I always thought awstats was inflated and included things like spiders, but does anyone know how accurate Google Analytics actually is? Are the stats I am seeing now to be completely trusted?

[ScottD]

We're using it and I think the information coming through is really impressive. Don't know about speed effects, but it has made us reconsider our business plan a bit because of what we have learned, which has to be good.