Web Analytics in China

Google Analytics in China

    Among the Analytics tool we are using, Google Analytics is certainly the most popular in China (Based on the noise in the local blogosphere and my own random test with Stephane Hamel's great WASP tool) It is certainly the only company with a presence in the online market with the world's largest internet population (Isn't it ironic, considering how much money is invested in acquisitions these days?).
So I took the opportunity late December to drop by the GooglePlex here in Beijing to say hello to the team. Currently Yang Zhou is handing all the Google Analytics support for Greater China. While she is doing a great job, it seems the priority allocated to GAnalytics in China is still very low. With a reporting line to the AdWords team, only one dediated resource and no budget for outreach efforts at all, this is a very low profile presence. It seems noone at Google read my post Why Google (and Baidu) needs a Web Analytics evangelist in China. While I cannot blame them for not being a this particular club, they miss a large opportunity to trump Baidu in a market that they clearly have a long way to go in. I understand that that AdSense and AdWords are the revenue drivers, but showing advertisers the ROI of their search investment is clearly the best way to get more money out of their pocket. Our data clearly shows higher conversion, more engagement and great ROI for Search Advertising in general and Google in particular. Analytics is the key to these insights, and education and evangelism are sorely need. So Avinash, how about coming out here and sharing some of that Google Analytics goodness?

P.S.: Google's Yang Zhou promised to join as many Web Analytics Wednesdays as she can. So why don't you drop by and join us next Thursday if you want to meet her?

P.P.S.: You can find a version of this post on longmarch.chinalytics.com. Please leave your comments there, since I plan to move this blog.

Google Conversion University

Google is doing a great job in making Analytics accessible for everyone with Google Analytics. Now the key challenge  is how to use this new wealth of data effectively to drive change and increase the ROI. An interesting resource I recently came across is the "Google Conversion University" playlist at Youtube. Take a look at all these videos, but if you short on time, get the quick fix and watch Avinash talking about "Bounce Rate" my most favorite metric of them all. (note to self: find a topic to disagree with Avinash). For Chinese users, make sure you fire up your proxy before enjoying the wealth of learning available there.
And if you really want to do me a favor, share your experience with bounce rates for campaign landing pages with me in the comments or by mail florian-dot-pihs-at-ap-dot-mccann-dot-com.

Google Analytics and the WuZong city problem

In one of my earliest post I mentioned that we are currently testing GA for some our sites. I am still impressed by the tool and what it allows web analyst to do free of charge. Some of they key benefits I see is so far

• Easy & quick to implement (especially when you track many sites, or third party coop partners this is critical)
• User friendly interface in English but also in Chinese (e.g. localization)
• Easy access to segmentation and comparisons, which allows quick on the spot analysis
• Great geo visualization. Each country and city within the country is displayed on clear map. This allows great segmentation based in city tier and provide. ( Other tool do that as well, but I have never seen it visualized as well)

So far my only gripe is with the geo segmentation. We have run 2 campaign with large partners, and implemented GA in their site. In both campaigns (Among the several million visitors), the most popular location is WuZhong city. "a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia autonomous region of the People's Republic of China." according to Wikipedia. This just plain makes no sense. Beijing I can understand, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen? Maybe. But Wuzhong? It seems some 3rd party data vendor has messed up, or its just all the unknowns that are put into the Wuzhong bucket. Ningxia jokes anyone?
Anyway, GA is a great product, and wider acceptance (with smart analysis) in China will certainly drive the ecosystem to become more effective and rational.

Why Google (and Baidu) need a Web Analytics Evangelist in China

In my last post I mentioned that we are currently using GA Analytics for one of our projects. So far I have to say, it is one sweet tool. It is easy to implement, has a very intuitive, easy to use interface and all the key metrics are there.

Some of my fellow analytics bloggers seems to believe that making such a great tool available free of charge is Google's bid to monopolize the Web Analytics Tool market place (ala Microsoft and Internet Explorer). I believe nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, I am sure Google loves any kind of Web Analytics Tool, from Omniture to Webtrends, from Clicktracks even to Microsoft's Gatineau. That is because any Web Analytics tool, used well, will tell you that Search is the most effective driver of high quality traffic. And search, after all, is where Google is raking in the money.

Now, how to let EVERYBODY know that? You can tell them, again and again (and again). Some may believe you, other will think it's just a sales pitch. So how about giving them the tools, to find out themselves and improve their whole online marketing process along the way? And giving them these tools for FREE?? This is what Google Analytics is all about.

But here is the problem: Now everyone has a great free tool on their hands. But do marketers in China don't know how to use it effectively? The answer is in China is certainly no! And there is noone around in China to tell them! (especially in Chinese) You will find a couple of Chinese Blog telling you how to use Google Analytics. But there is noone telling you how to do comprehensive web analytics. The kind that gives you actionable business insights. That is what Google (Baidu) need an Analytics Evangelist for. Any takers for the job?