Nickname: Simon

Review: I am curious: didn't Microsoft get into trouble for bundling Internet Explorer with Windows and damaging Netscape? Is Google not using a dominant ad revenue position to loss- lead a Web analytics package and possibly stifle competition in this space? Regardless, we are trying it out and are interested to see how it works.

Date reviewed: Nov 16, 2005 12:57 PM

Nickname: jackw

Review: While Google may put some the smallest Web analytics companies out of business I don't think it affects the bigger ones that much. This is because Google is going after the small- to medium-sized Internet businesses. Usually this is a huge market, but due to its decentralization (no one main buyer, but lots of individual business owners) it's not a market that can be easily targeted. This is the great power of the Internet. Dell, for example, went after small- to medium- sized businesses and has done extremely well. Google is doing the same thing in services.

Date reviewed: Nov 16, 2005 7:46 AM

Nickname: sophos

Review: With the advent of video on demand & Tivo, traditional TV advertising will need to reinvent (probably subliminal advertisements). Similary, the popularity of free online ad forums like Craig's List are cannibalizing the city newspaper market. The Internet on the other hand is proliferating our lives. Therefore, online advertising will become crucial. Fortunately, the Web is immense, so Google, MS -- all of them are essentially big fish in an ocean. In an effort to dominate this market they will make several predatory moves in times to come.

Date reviewed: Nov 16, 2005 4:02 AM

Nickname: Mike

Review: Something that must be considered with regard to Google Analytics is whether large online advertisers will want Google to possess sensitive analytics information about the performance of their wWb sites and ad campaigns-- particularly if the information includes competing ad networks. Access to such sensitive information could set the stage for differential pricing models where advertisers ultimately pay what they can afford rather than standardized rates set across all advertisers. Any business that willingly gives sensitive internal information to a supplier would seem to be asking for trouble down the line. Google may look all cute and cuddly today, but at some point it will need to justify its enormous P/E ratio. Something that will surely come out of the hides of the advertisers.

Date reviewed: Nov 16, 2005 12:00 AM

Nickname: CB

Review: Unfortunately, this article starts off with an amazingly inaccurate statement: "Some define their work as analytics. Others call themselves search engine optimization companies. Whatever the name..." This statement is inaccurate because you are comparing apples to oranges. Web analytics companies are the ones that may be in trouble since they provide a paid service that competes with Urchin/Google. Search engine optimization companies, on the other hand, provide consultation regarding the adjustment of on and off-site factors such as content and linking, in order to help a site rank better in organic (or "free") search engine listings. Properly performed optimization leads to higher rankings, which in turn leads to more traffic if the terms optimized-for are popular. Analytics can measure the traffic and determine where it came from. Essentially helping SEO companies justify their work.

Date reviewed: Nov 15, 2005 9:51 PM

Nickname: smeyler

Review: Anyone that thinks this will hurt the major Web site analytics companies is mistaken. Show me a mission critical multi-million dollar operation that wants Google prying in its conversion data (they wouldn't use this to impact keyword pricing of course). For the middle market? Great. Web Trends is toast, but one unforeseen circumstance which could hurt Google (and others) if this gets used widely is the realization that a lot of search buying is uninformed and overbid. Companies paying $4 and $5 a click for $300 vacaction packages will realize they are losing a bunch of money, and a rationalization of the price of search might be the result. Since 83% of people, according to the article, don't track their spend to an ROAS metric, what would happen if they knew what was working and what wasn't? Some bids would go up, but many would go down.

Date reviewed: Nov 15, 2005 8:47 PM

Nickname: LPM Consulting

Review: As I read all the other comments on this new offering from Google, one slightly different point of view came to me. While this might seem to be a threat to other providers of OLAP tools, I suggest that ultimately this is the same as ESPN starting a viewership rating system of their own, selling avails, and then helping clients evaluate the quality of their buy. The analogy is a bit of a stretch I know, but even the hint of the possibility of a self-serving system would not be a very appealing process for major advertisers. So while all the other concerns are valid, this seems to me to be the biggest issue for Google. To the best of my knowledge AC Neilsen, Arbitron, and ABC don't own a single media outlet.

Date reviewed: Nov 15, 2005 7:14 PM

Nickname: mmarketing

Review: I'm a search engine marketing consultant and I think making Urchin free is the best thing that can happen for me. My work depends on knowing what terms produce, and without a cookie-based tracking system you do not have that info, at least readily available. Smaller clients have not had the budget to invest in cookie-based sales tracking services like Urchin. This helps me. Now I will automatically sign up any new clients who don't have a cookie tracking system to Urchin. I think Google's goal is to be able to show Google can deliver sales, not just traffic. From my experience, I think they are getting better at relevant ad targeting every day. This allows me to pay more per click because I can see through analysis, like Urchin, that the sales are there. By offering Urchin for free, they are putting their Adwords system on the line. This, in turn, puts pressure on others to do the same. Yahoo bought a small analytics firm, too, but they still charge for the service.

Date reviewed: Nov 15, 2005 7:08 PM

Nickname: TheContender

Review: I agree 1000% with Carl (a few posts above this). Google is going to attempt to Wal-Martize Internet advertising. Their next move will be to offer free ad serving at the expense of 2Click, Atlas, et al. Then, once they have acess to almost all information and distribution, they will make the whole thing bid-based and commoditized. The scary part is that of all of the large players who could potentially stop them, none are fast enough to move in time.

Date reviewed: Nov 15, 2005 5:43 PM

Nickname: chickenwing

Review: I couldn't disagree with this article more. This will not take away from search engine optimization/marketing firms but will open up an enormous opportunity to provide services to the SME marketplace. Now, a smart search engine firm can provide free analytics to their customers in conjunction with value added services making recommendations on how to optimize their site and their marketing campaigns. Now customers don't have to split their money between vendors and experts, but can put all the money into paying experts that can bring analysis and results to the table.

Date reviewed: Nov 15, 2005 5:11 PM