Kevin Webster says, “It’s fairly simple to come up with a list of “goals” that describe a website’s success. These typically include lead generation, downloads (i.e., coupons, menus, or whitepapers), and ecommerce transactions. Noted web analytics writer and practitioner Avinash Kaushikdescribes these as “macro goals” that are clear and easy to define. But these end points aren’t the only actions a user can take on your website that have value. Enter the concept of a “micro goal.” A micro goal may well be a step in the conversion funnel, such as adding a product to a shopping... [...]

This is a reminder for the Website Magazine webinar scheduled on July 31. Website Magazine is hosting a webinar on Thursday, July 31 at 2.00 pm EDT. The topic of the webinar is “Did Google just penalize me?”. The WM team says, “That’s the first question everyone asks when their traffic drops. The mystique of search engines, and how they do what they do, lends itself to sensationalism. Mainstream media fans the flames with reporting about websites violating terms of service, with results ranging from penalties to page rank downgrades. The truth is, today few businesses... [...]

Christina Warren says, “Google on Thursday finally released a version of Google Analytics for the iPhone. The iPhone app [iTunes link] comes more than two years after Google released Google Analytics for Android. Like the Android app, Google Analytics for iPhone lets users check in on their website analytics — including real-time visitor reports — from the comfort of their smartphone. In addition to real-time and time-based reports, the app can be used to view behaviors, conversions and more”. Finally, Google Analytics App Arrives on iPhone Mashable  [...]

Isia McKetta says, “Write it and they will come. That’s the drum we’ve been beating for a long time now. We optimize our pages and our content to please search engines and cross our fingers and hope that customers will convert. We can do better. But to do it, we have to think beyond Google. Yes, you still need to check all your standard SEO boxes to make your site crawl friendly. Then it’s time to stop catering to the bots and start catering to the users instead. That means we have to—no, we get to—think bigger when we think of SEO. As Rand said in his Whiteboard Fridaylast... [...]

Adam de Jong says, “Everyone seems to know that quality content is the foundation of a strong organic online presence, but everyone can’t always agree on iswhat “quality content” actually means. The mystery is understandable, considering that the search landscape is in the midst of tremendous change and volatility. So what does it mean to produce quality content? More and more, it means creating content that answers specific questions your users have. In the last three years, there have been 45 Google Search algorithm updates, all of which have enhanced the search engine’s ability... [...]

Seth Fiegerman says, “Google‘s venture capital arm is turning its attention to Europe. Google announced on Thursday that Google Ventures will launch a $100 million fund to invest in European startups. The operation will be based out of London. “We believe Europe’s startup scene has enormous potential,” Bill Maris, a managing partner at Google Ventures, said in a statement. “We’ve seen compelling new companies emerge from places like London, Paris, Berlin, the Nordic region and beyond — SoundCloud, Spotify, Supercell and many others.” Google Ventures started... [...]

Mark Traphagen says, “On June 25, 2014, Google’s John Mueller made a shocking announcement: Google would be removing all author photos from Google search results. According to the MozCast Feature Graph, that task was fully accomplished by June 29. In this post I will: Give a brief overview of how Google Authorship got to where it is today. Cover how Google Authorship now works and appears in search. Offer my take on why Author photos were removed Investigate the oft-repeated claims of higher CTR from author photos”. Author Photos are Gone: Does Google Authorship Still Have Value? MOZ... [...]

Website Magazine is hosting a webinar on Thursday, July 31 at 2.00 pm EDT. The topic of the webinar is “Did Google just penalize me?”. The WM team says, “That’s the first question everyone asks when their traffic drops. The mystique of search engines, and how they do what they do, lends itself to sensationalism. Mainstream media fans the flames with reporting about websites violating terms of service, with results ranging from penalties to page rank downgrades. The truth is, today few businesses are immune to traffic drops spurred by Google’s seemingly continuous algorithm... [...]

David Skerrett says, “This year’s Google I/O conference, held weeks after Apple’s WWDC, showed the world that Google really is taking over every aspect of our lives, and challenging its fiercest rivals. As Android users have increased from 530m last year to more than 1bn this year, Google announced its ‘biggest ever overhaul’ with a completely new set of Android products. Read on for my top five developments (plus a dose of healthy rivalry)”. Five key trends and takeouts from Google I/O 2014 ‘Econsultancy’ Blog  [...]

Robert Miller says, “Google Analytics is always updating and adding new features. Here are four methods to help you get the most out of your analytics tool. As a part of the consulting services I provide to clients, I often do trainings of Google Analytics. Sometimes it’s one-on-one or to a small group, and other times it’s to multiple teams at once. As such, there is usually a broad range in the knowledge base of training participants. Here are four resources that I find are helpful for clients to get started with Google Analytics. A number of them would actually be helpful with... [...]