November 21, 2005

Google Analytics: Another Google Dud?

by Piers Fawkes

Chk3_10Back in September I wrote about how Google’s determination to spit out an endless kaleidoscope of product concepts ignored the basic need to build brands that connect with consumers at an emotional level. Today, I feel that their continual delivery of products that are in ‘Beta’ - and buggy - damages the little emotional attachment users have with brands.

Last week Google launched a free online stat package called Google Analytics - it sounds like a great idea especially with the billions of bloggers keen to check their site traffic in more detail. The problem is, it doesn’t work. 5 days after we joined, Google still hasn’t gathered our data from spidering PSFK. In fact, we hear that Google has had to stop taking applications for the package because the system can’t handle it.

Meanwhile, our older stats package, Statcounter, worked from the day we signed on. OK, it’s a little basic. But it worked! And always has.

Google’s Head Of Innovation, Marissa Meyer, told Business Week in September that consumer’s don’t remember their less successful products. But she’s wrong: we do. We remember Orkut, we remember Google Blog search and now we’re beginning to feel that Google’s new products don’t tend to work properly.

Google Analytics

Related PSFK Articles
More Google Goo
Google’s Betas : The Emperor’s New Clothes

Article categories: Web & Technology

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9 Responses to “Google Analytics: Another Google Dud?”

  1. Alan
    Posted from: 149.39.208.10

    November 21st, 2005 at 3:13 pm

    I guess the “beta” tag on their products isn’t having the once desired effect.

  2. Piers Fawkes
    Posted from: 66.151.115.66

    November 21st, 2005 at 3:21 pm

    In fact, they’ve made the whole term ‘Beta’ a bit of a joke. If you’re live, you’re live. There’s nothing beta about this anymore. Beta comes fromt he land of software, and the web isn’t about software at all.

  3. news trends
    Posted from: 66.236.56.5

    November 21st, 2005 at 6:48 pm

    It looks like Google Analytics is now working for our sites. There was a delay for a while, but I think they just had to catch up with all the data pouring in. It’s mind-boggling to think how much data is coming in with so many websites feeding stats to Google. Google Analytics uses Urchin which is a far better product than most out there — webtrends, etc.

    Combine it with Adwords and other ROI tracking tools and Urchin is very powerful. The google analytics package is offered by google for free — and it’s no lightwedight stats package — rather it’s one that you could expect to pay several hundred dollars per month for. The new Google Analytics is revolutionary in terms of the services it can provide for free — services that otherwise may not have been available for the little guy.

  4. Hardik
    Posted from: 60.254.2.101

    November 21st, 2005 at 11:12 pm

    HI..
    Just the you should know, StatCounter installs spyware into the visitors machines.

  5. Piers Fawkes
    Posted from: 68.161.32.103

    November 21st, 2005 at 11:31 pm

    Does it? Are you sure?

  6. robhyndman.com
    Posted from: 205.196.210.21

    November 22nd, 2005 at 5:05 am

    World, Beta 1.0

    PSFK grimaces at the dead-man-walking entrance of Google Analytics into the blogosphere. I agree, and like them have found the trusty Statcounter to be, well, trusty. But this is just another manifestation of the beta-ness of so much of what we use…

  7. Anonymous
    Posted from: 216.99.2.9

    November 22nd, 2005 at 10:51 am

    No one remembers Orkut or Google Blog search.

    Shame on you for trying to make google act like a corporation concerned with the “emotional impact” of their products. They’re not making baby diapers here. They’re innovating.

  8. Piers Fawkes
    Posted from: 66.151.115.66

    November 22nd, 2005 at 2:45 pm

    There’s no shame, dear reader from Atlanta. If you had read the older post about the Emperor’s New Clothes you would see that my arguement is that a company cannot defend itself on clever products alone. A company needs to create a valuable emotional bond between itself and the customer - something you fail to do if you are product focused not brand focused.

  9. Tom Foremski
    Posted from: 69.107.152.3

    November 23rd, 2005 at 6:14 pm

    People will complain but, they will still go for value if they see a lot of value. The Google analytics tool they acquired was very well respected and cost several hundred dollars, so people will still see a lot of value despite the slow rollout.

    But, why would you install Google “spyware” on your site? Yes, GOOG will give yo your analystics, but, it can aggregate incredibly detailed stats across a huge number of sites and keep that info for itself. Huge competitive advantage for an internet company, I would think.

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