shepherdweb.com

Urchin Software, recently obtained by Google, has been rebranded as Google Analytics. I’ve been told Urchin offered this service for upwards of $200 to $500; Google is now offering it for free. It is tightly integrated with AdWords, but an AdWords account is not required.

Google Analytics shows you which keywords perform and which ones you should cut. Whether you use AdWords or not.

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If you want to try it out, you’ll need an account. If you already have a gmail account, that will will get you in the door. You then need to set up your account. You enter your websites URI and site name. You will be provided with a code segment consisting of some javascript which you must include in the head of every page you would like to track. After adding the script to your site, Google Analytics confirms that it is “Waiting for Data” and “Your first reports will be ready within twelve hours”. After digging a little, I found this:

How long does it take to see report data after adding the tracking code?

After you first install the tracking code, it may take several hours for report data to appear in your account. Google Analytics generally updates your reports every hour, but data can take up to 6 hours to appear in your account.

I’ll be interested to see what results it returns. Has anyone else tried Google Analytics or Urchin? Is it evil?