Hiya kids... thought yesterdays post (on the trail) might be helpful
Google Analytics for use in SEO programs

I had been playing with the new advanced segmentation as and custom reporting last week. There are some interesting approaches available now and I have a few more posts (3 likely) on this topic... so keep an eye out.

It is soooooo important in SEO to have some type of benchmarks to know if what you are doing is working.

As we learned from the recent research on Google ranking flux, rankings aren't going to necessarily give us as strong a signal as they once did. This makes understanding the search traffic you're getting more important. As the series goes along we'll be tightening it right down to the individual KW/Phrase to see which ones perform best as well... all top rankings were not created equal dontcha know...

... I'd love to talk more about this topic as in my research, it doesn't seem to happen a lot (analytics and SEO)

I love the new Custom Reports and Segmentation too. I have been using Filters in profiles before, and I like the new features better.

Anyway... I'll be looking forward to your follow-up posts on this matter Dave. And I'll try to compare notes, AND learn more from you... AGAIN! hehehe

Glad yer having fun with it Jun... cause here's - Google Analytics for SEO Part II
...more fun... 1 more to go ;0)

wohooo! deserves another thank you Dave

Glad at least someone is having a go at 'em. It was strange that when I researched the topic (Analyitcs for SEO) that there wasn't much out there. And after writing a few posts, only the geekier SEOs seem to be getting into it.

It all makes me wonder; what exactly are SEOs measuring campaigns with?

Anyway, there are at least 2 more;

1. Content engagement analysis (from search campaigns)
2. Understanding what the data means and what to do with it (might be 2 on it's own)

THEN... huff puff... I am going to do a series on the SR IM blog about metrics for social and blogging activities.... weeeee hooooo.... analytics geek!!!

Be sure to fire away any questions as we roam along though bro - as U can tell it's a topic I am into at the moment... he he

makes me wonder either. coz when i saw the links in my GA account, i immediately did a quick search on who's using it already... nothing, so i have to do it myself . was glad when i saw this post here.

i'm still playing with it right now with a client's account. they have a big site and good traffic, so i have the luxury of creating segments

I am happy with the new segmentation/reporting and it's making things easier as far as deriving value from SEO efforts. Obviously it goes well beyond SEO and as noted I am playing with some social media/blogging metrics that might just begin to put a face on that end of things.

Also, some clients have PPC campaigns and the segments are also great for that area.... hell, I even have some Google custom search engines on Search SEO Pros and the GA on that also shows the searches, refinements and more... handy there as well.

Now, on the flip side... my research also turned up some articles about some of the data problems still inherent with GA... but most data collectors do as they often use different parameters .... GA is pretty good I must say...

Ultimately I want to also write about how to analyze the data, what it means and how to improve things... see how it goes...

My latest obsession

As far as the data problems/inconsistencies(?), seems very minor to me.

yep, my client also has PPC, and so far GA has been a very great help. seeing which search partners and network partners are contributing to the PPC campaign saves the company a lot of money.

the addition of the advanced segmentation to the filters i have been using made my SEO and Analytics life way easier.

I would be very interested to see the results of the social media/blogging metrics you're playing with. looking forward to another comprehensive post from you on that matter Dave.

ha ha ha... there's the thing, they aren't really comprehensive. I start passing along a few ideas and before I know it - a huge post sits there. Hell, the TIPs alone are taking up 3 posts... and I haven't had time to talk about actually using the data ie; analysis/KPIs and so on... sigh...

By the time I get to the end of the TIPs... it'll be time to move along and write about something else.. I will ultimately get around to making sense of the numbers and finding actionable answers... which really is the meat and potatoes.

As for the social stuff, taking what I have now and looking around for others ideas on measuring engagement and 'potential' ROI metrics. The Social Media Marketing world does have some huge problems there. To me it is often about 'soft targets' that may not be as directly related to ROI per se... In analytics you often have primary and secondary conversion points and I believe setting these in a blog, or social setting, are important to the perception of the data as a whole.

I really don't mind writing about all this as it has pushed my own KPIs and reporting to new heights and makes a good base to refer clients too when discussing them... saves having to write it over and over ;0)

the usual thing with new toys we get carried away with how they work. so play play play... after a while though, things would get more serious. time for deeper analysis and yes KPI.

tried some variations on your visitor engagement segmentation earlier today... and I loved the result

Ok part II is up and that's it for a little while;

GA for SEO part III

.... and feelin merry... breakin out the winter/holidays avatar now!!

Well.. Gypsy even i would like to thank you for the links that you provided regarding Google Analytics for SEO. True there was not much out, but you have cleared many things with your post. Many of them are really not much aware about this. Good Job..