Google Analytics has several types of segmentation options that can all be used to splice data and determine the behavior of specific, high value segments.  Understanding the uses and limitations of each of these segmentation options is a crucial step to ensure you are getting the most of your Google Analytics implementation.There are multiple segmentation options in Google Analytics:-    Profile Level Segmentation-    Advanced Segments-    Advanced FiltersProfile Level Segmentation Profile level segmentation is available if you click on the "Edit" link next to your profiles in GA. Profile-level segments allow you to create persistent categorizations of data and allow you to create... Read More

As part of the process of search engine optimization, duplicate content is a fundamental issue that needs to be dealt with, similar to 404 errors. In a nutshell, duplicate content is a situation where the same content can be found on multiple URL's within the same website or even on different websites on different domains.The problem this causes for SEO is that search engines robots will see multiple versions of the same content but will only index one copy, or may stop indexing a website if the search engine robot finds too many copies of the same content on a single website. There are several ways in which one can end up with duplicate content. Creating copies of the same page with different URL's- This often happens with e-co... Read More

(Not the kinds of goals you kick, but the kinds of goals you set).  You know what you want out of your website, you have determined what success means to you, but you are not sure how to track it.  The answer is goal setting in Google Analytics.Follow these steps to setup your goal:1.  Determine a name for each of your goalsa. site registrationb. lead formc. request a quoted. sale2. Determine the value of each goal.  This is really a simple math question. For example, if your goal is to get people to register for your site.  You know that on average you get 3 registrations a day worth 30 dollars.  Figure out how much one registration is worth, in this case it is 10 dollars.  So the value of site... Read More

Conversion optimization is a topic that almost everyone can get excited about. Who doesn't want to share in the glory when you've doubled or tripled the conversion rate? Few people would say "no" given the opportunity to increase a website's revenue exponentially. But you can't just rush to redesign your website and expect miracles to happen. What you need is data. Or rather, actionable insights obtained from data.One common complaint I hear over and over is "Our conversion rate is too low!".  It sounds like you've rolled up your sleeves and are ready to get to work. But wait a minute - How do you KNOW your conversion rate is low? Did you compare your conversion rates to industry norms? Do you have historical context to... Read More

Designing emails is kind of like watching the food channel, everything is spelled out for you, but you actually have to taste it to make sure you get it right and serve it to make sure others agree.  Same thing goes for email, you can follow the process, but until you test everything across browsers yourself, you may not get it right.Recently, Yahoo and Hotmail made changes to their coding, changes that modified the way the emails appeared to recipients (now with blue links and left aligned instead of centered).  This wasn't announced so the only way to know this was to be an insider or a good email marketer, one who tests repeatedly before deploying any emails.  These changes do happen every so often and are... Read More

Oracle has filed suit against Google alleging patent infringement on it's new asset, Java. If you didn't know, the Android mobile OS is run in part on a Google modified version of Java. Oracle says this is a no-no.As we regularly see now in online marketing data through Google Analytics, mobile usage of B2C and B2B sites alike are on the steep incline. Even more so when sites are designed in a manner that renders on mobile browsers (no Adobe Flash for starters). As a free OS alternative for phone manufacturers and carriers, we'd have to assume it will continue to grow, the outcome could be important.See the rest of the story here --we'll keep you posted at the Endai Blog. Read More

"404" is the status code that is returned to a web browser when a page cannot be found, often referred to as a "Not Found" error. This is bad not only from an end user standpoint (it makes it look like the website is broken or does not exist), it is also bad from a search engine optimization standpoint. When a search engine robot encounters a page that returns a 404 error page, the search engine could penalize the website, which would hurt the website's rank.  Also, if the site that is linking to that missing page provides high SEO value, you are missing out on the opportunity to take advantage of that SEO value. 1) Use a tool such as Google Webmaster Tools to identify 4... Read More

You desperately want to play the role of alluring song siren to the leads...but just as in the Homeric world, the online world is as elusive with many distractions and obstacles that make qualified leads hard to come by. You are starting off from scratch; the only people that are currently interested in receiving the product that is your email marketing initiative are you and your secretary... so the question becomes where to start and how to get more people into the database?The more people you send to, the bigger the chance of success = a common misconception of email marketing.  You could be sending emails promoting cars to an audience only interested in planes of which 1/1000 will convert, or you could send it to 20... Read More

If you own a website or a blog you should be tracking visitors on your website. Even if you do not plan to use this data for business purposes, it will provide visibility on your audience and allow you to monitor traffic on your website.You may use several tools to track visitors on your website, but the most popular, free tool is Google Analytics.Follow the below steps to get your feet wet in Web Analytics:1. Go to http://www.google.com/analytics and click  on the underlined "Sign Up Now" link. To signup, you may use an existing Gmail account or create a unique Google account for this purpose.2. Click on the Signup Button on the next screen.3. Enter your website information on the general screen. 4. Enter your contact... Read More

The art and science of asking effective questions is critical to helping companies succeed.  The questions that your online marketing company asks of you and themselves largely determines the quality and results of a client/agency engagement.Effective questions are ones that lead to a desired outcome or result, which should always be to help a client succeed.  To evaluate the effectiveness of the questions being asked of you by your online marketing company, you can ask yourself:Will this question or set of questions elicit answers that:- Define what success means to you (the client).- Share specific information or data that go to the heart of your issues and needs.- Clarify what matters most to you.- Reveal who/what is... Read More

Let's say that you have just redesigned your website and installed GA.  Now, you are brain storming of ways to drive traffic to your site and gain leads.  You have considered various marketing vehicles and your mind has locked in on email marketing.  Now you face the dilemma of how to send emails and how to track their performance in order to determine whether email marketing is a worthwhile investment for your business or not.Google Analytics tracks campaigns through links and it looks for certain values in those links to differentiate one campaign from another.  If you do not have campaign tracking, you won't be able to attribute visits to particular campaigns, your visitors will show up as direct visits to... Read More