Companies are reliant on their Web sites more than at any time in the past, yet once a Web site is up and running, companies-particularly smaller companies with fewer resources than large organizations-may not take the time or know how to investigate how well their Web site is working for them. Google has sought to address this problem by developing suite of tools that help marketing professionals analyze how Web sites are being accessed and used. This suite of tools, called Google Analytics, is available at no cost.
The challenge for Web site owners is determining which types of information to collect, and how to use that information. There is, for example, the challenge of determining how many "hits" a Web site receives; that is, how many times is the Web site visited. This is sometimes displayed on the site itself through a counter that indicates, "you are the XXXth visitor to this site" or a similar message. The problem with this metric is that it does not necessarily differentiate between visitors who have visited the same site multiple times, and distinct/unique visitors. Similarly, this metric does not indicate what the visitor did once they were at the site-did they explore different pages, make a purchase, and leave after the initial page? These are metrics that Google Analytics can address (Clifton, 2010).
Google Analytics makes it possible to track visits, unique visitors, page views and abandonment rates (those who leave without making a purchase, for example) to provide basic metrics. More importantly for the Web site owner, the suite also tracks outcomes of different visits so that Web site owners can make intelligent marketing decisions based on how the site is being used. This can include tracking visitors based on their geographic location, or some other user-defined dimension. Companies can thus track the effectiveness of a particular marketing campaign, or th
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