tracking posts

Google adds mobile tracking and intelligent alerts to Analytics

by Jay Hathaway Oct 23rd 2009

Google has announced some major improvements to its Google Analytics traffic tracking package, mostly focusing on improving the way it tracks mobile devices. Adding a new snippet of code to the mobile version of your site will get you traffic analysis from mobile devices, and it works regardless of whether a visitor's mobile browser supports Javascript. Google has also added features for iPhone and Android developers to track how users are engaging with their apps. Aside from these mobile features, users will also be able to customize which variables Analytics will track.

The other big news is something called Analytics Intelligence. Analytics Intelligence watches the traffic patterns on your sites and alerts you if anything changes. It handles huge spikes or drops in traffic, but it can also drill down to look at changes by location and other factors. Alerts are customizable, so you'll only get email about changes you actually care about.

[via CNET]

Tags: analytics, google, statistics, tracking, Traffic

Filed under: Business, Adobe

Adobe devours analytics firm, is your data the dessert?

by Jay Hathaway Sep 15th 2009

Adobe announced it's buying Omniture, the web analytics firm it's been using to track usage stats on its products for years. Omniture is one of the largest analytics companies out there, serving a roster of customers including America Online (this blog's parent company), British Telecom, Disney, eBay, and Ford. Adobe's using thick corporate-speak in its press announcements about this acquisition so far, but the upshot is that they can target content to users with the help of Omniture's behavior-tracking capabilities. That means Adobe is now well-positioned to get into the advertising business.

While Adobe sees Omniture as a business opportunity, some privacy-conscious web users see it as a spyware peddler. You may remember Omniture as the company behind the slightly shady 2o7.net domain, which looked to many users like an IP address, but was actually a domain that Omniture used to track stats. Omniture eventually (sort of) explained 2o7.net, but hasn't stopped using it. They also still offer an option to opt out of the domain's tracking cookies. I haven't heard much of an uproar about 2o7.net in the past few months, but Omniture's privacy policies still say that "the 2o7.net domain is the primary domain our corporate customers use to measure visitor behavior on their website(s)."

Tags: adobe, analytics, business, omniture, spyware, tracking

Filed under: Finance, Productivity, Web services, Mobile, Web

Track your spending online with TextHog

by Jay Hathaway Jun 25th 2009

There's a lot of great financial tracking software out there now. Sites like Mint and Rudder that link up to your bank account and track your spending automatically are great, but what if you don't want to give your account information to a finance site? Texthog is a lot like old-school DIY checkbook balancing, except replacing pen and paper with SMS, email and Twitter.

You can send a transaction to Texthog through one of the aforementioned mobile methods, or just log into the site and add one later. Logging in is also good for changing dates and such if you text a transaction to Texthog after the fact. You can also tag and organize your expenses, and generate spending reports. It might be more work than letting some automated service track your account, but it's also more accurate, because you're recording expenses as you charge them, rather than when they eventually clear your account.

Tags: banking, finance, money, texthog, tracking

Filed under: Web services, Social Software, Mobile, Web

Get Twitter tracking and free international SMS with Twe2

by Jay Hathaway Feb 20th 2009

Remember when Twitter let you track your @replies and search terms, and when SMS alerts were free around the world? Well, I do, and I miss it.

Fortunately, Twe2 has come along to fill the void. The service lets you customize which Twitter alerts you want to get on your phone, when you want to get them, and how many you want per hour.

So far Twe2 has worked as promised for me, although it can be slow at times due to the volume of signups. This isn't a serious drawback, since Twitter alerts could also be slow, back when you could still get them. Twe2 is ad-supported so it can stay free, but a short text ad isn't that distracting and it doesn't keep you from getting complete messages.

The service could improve by switching to oauth instead of requiring a Twitter password, but for right now, I'm just happy to get @replies to my phone again.

Tags: free-sms, international, oauth, sms, text, tracking, Twe2, twitter

Filed under: Social Software, web 2.0

Qwitter: get notified when you're unfollowed on Twitter

by Jay Hathaway Oct 17th 2008

Sometimes you're just better off not knowing. Maybe one of those times is when someone unfollows you on the microblogging service Twitter, but now there's a service for the morbidly curious. It's called Qwitter, and it'll send you an email notification whenever your account loses a follower.

Qwitter doesn't need a password or a confirmation. Just put in your twitter name and your email address, and you're all set. You'll start getting messages when people unfollow you, including the latest tweet you'd posted before they pulled the plug. It doesn't work retroactively, so if you were hoping to figure out who's already unfollowed you, you'll still have to do that by hand. In case you have second thoughts about signing up for bad news, there's an unsubscribe link in each Qwitter email.

Tags: Qwitter, tracking, Twitter, unfollow

Filed under: Design, Developer, Internet, Blogging, Productivity, Web services

Google Analytics adds more tracking features

by Chris Gilmer Oct 17th 2007

Google has quietly announced some new features for Analytics, its web tracking tool. They seem small, but these additional tracking features will provide much greater insight into what is going on your website since you can't always peer over visitors' shoulders to watch.

The updates include:

Site Search Tracking - Users will now be able to tell exactly what keywords visitors searched for on your site, and where these searches end up.
Event Tracking - Currently in a limited beta test, these website reports will show how users interact with various multimedia aspects on your site, including flash and Ajax without messing with pageview metrics.
Outbound link Tracking - Also in a limited beta test rolling out in the next few weeks, reports will show what links website visitors click on that direct them to an outside site.

If you have a website, and don't already have the free Google Analytics code installed, you are missing out on understanding how your visitors move around, how they interact with your content and how they got there in the first place. Google Analytics not only provides insight on how people navigate, but it also aids in targeting site content towards what people enjoy. It's easy to set up, free and Analytics reports are super simple to understand.

Tags: analytics, code, design, developer, google, keywords, links, search, tracking, urchin

Filed under: Business, Finance, Internet, Web services, web 2.0

Spendview lets you track your spending in a beautiful way

by Chris Gilmer Oct 16th 2007

The key to saving money is knowing what you're spending it on. If you can keep track of every cent, you can discover exactly where your money is going and act accordingly.

Spendview is an online application that enables users to track and visualize balances and expense data in one place. This is done through an engine that tags and categorizes spending in order to make your finances somewhat exciting. Spendview also uses tag clouds and a dynamic chart instead of old fashioned pie charts and bar graphs. This way you can see all of your data at a quick glance instead of mulling over numerous columns and categories.

Users start out by registering for a free account and adding bank, credit card information and tagging transactions with keywords. How secure is the data you enter? Spendview says that its 'secure', and they do use 128 bit SSL Security. However, you should always be cautious when entering private financial data online.

Other comparable online financial tracking software options include Mint, Quicken, Freshbooks and Gastus.

Tags: banking, finance, money, spendview, tracking

Filed under: Internet, Blogging, Web services, Search

Track your browsing history with hooeey

by Chris Gilmer Oct 16th 2007

Have your ever been randomly searching for something online, only to realize you closed a window and cannot for the life of you remember what website you were on? You might be able to check your browser history or use a bookmarking tool. But what if you want to share your browsing records and let other users see where you've been?

Hooeey lets you record eveyr site you visit. You need a hooey account and a browser toolbar in order for hooey to do its thing. The toolbar then tracks the sites you have visited in online folders allowing you to check out analytical reports and share links.

So if you are up for letting friends know where you have been, hooeey will gladly share your browsing patterns with them.

Tags: analytical, bookmarking, delicious, google-history, hooeey, search, toolbar, tracking, website

Filed under: Business, Finance, Office, Productivity, Beta

Keeping track of daily expenses with Gastus

by Chris Gilmer Aug 13th 2007

Spend, spend, spend.... track, spend. Spending is easy, but tracking expenses and spends is not only time consuming, but tends to slip the mind every once and a while. Once you have a proper tool to aid in daily expenses you are on your way to some healthy financial data.

Gastus is a free online tool that helps people track daily expenses. Expenses can be categorized each month by type and concept, and display charts and graphs for a quick analyzation.

Will Gastus help generate more money or help you to spend less? No. But it will give you a breakdown of where all of your expenses are.

Tags: expenses, finance, gastus, tracking, web2, web2.0

Filed under: Business, Finance, Internet, Web services, Google

Why is Google really buying DoubleClick?

by Chris Gilmer Jun 27th 2007

Do we care why Google bought DoubleClick? Well, it could be nice to know a little background history on the deal in progress.

Alex Kinnier, Google's Group Product Manager made a blog post yesterday as to why they decided to buy Doubleclick. Basically, DoubleClick has been a leader in the online advertising game from the beginning, helping advertisers get onto large sites such as AOL, Yahoo, MSN, CNET and ESPN.com.

Google's display advertising was seen as a little speck compared to the giants of online display advertising, AOL, Yahoo and MSN, and they wanted to change that. Google feels that DoubleClicks products and technology complement their own quite nicely, that paired with DoubleClicks delivery mechanisms can help current AdWords customers obtain more precise metrics enabling them to get a better idea how their advertising campaigns are fairing out. DoubleClicks superior knowledge in the industry will also be able to help Google's initiatives out by communicating with agencies and publishers to create more innovative ad serving technologies. Through the DoubleClick deal Google will also be able to help out with unsold media using DART, a hosted enterprise-class advertising management and serving solution for publishers.

So there you have it. It's all about helping the advertisers out. And maybe a little about lining Google's pockets with some extra R&D and Engineering dollars, judging from all of the new releases lately.

Tags: advertising, deal, doubleclick, google, stats, tracking

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Finance, Internet, Utilities, Web services

Easily tracking invoices with Invotrak

by Chris Gilmer Jun 27th 2007

If you're a small business looking for an easy way to store and manage invoices online, Invotrak could be the solution you are after. This simple online solution lets users input, track and issue invoices to clients. Its simple and straightforward navigational structures and tracking features make this an effective way to track past due invoices, and incoming revenue without using complicated software.

There aren't many steps involved in setting up a profile and getting up and running:

Create a login
Add client information - client name, contact name, address, email, and notes.
Record invoice - select client from dropdown, set date, amount, term, and upload an invoice from your standard application like word or excel.
Enter any invoice comments
Email to client

Through the user interface, companies can then track what invoices are out and waiting to receive payment on. When payment comes in, a simple click drops the payments to the received category, and adjusts balances in the right column.

The service was created by Draconis Software using Ruby on Rails to manage and keep track of their own invoices. Draconis says that they make every precaution to ensure information that is stored under your profile is secure. That's always great to know, but what happens if something goes wrong? Or, knock on wood worse case scenario, Draconis goes out of business? What happens to our information then? That's the main concern I always have when storing my data online. You can't get much simpler than Invotrak though, however, we would like to see a way to export information to a spreadsheet application for desktop storage purposes.

Mac users, check out the Dashboard widget so you can easily catch a glimpse of your invoices.

For another simple invoice option look at Freshbooks.

The Invotrak service is free, and super easy to use. Check out some screenshots of the interface.

Gallery: invotrak

Tags: clients, draconis, finance, freshbooks, invoice, invotrak, ruby on rails, RubyOnRails, tracking

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Internet, Web services

Crazy Egg throws Confetti on analytics

by Chris Gilmer Jun 19th 2007

Understanding where your traffic is coming from is one of the major components to being able to optimize content for a better experience for users. Having a good analytics package is key, whether its Google's free Analytics or a visually stimulating package like CrazyEgg. Throw some confetti on it, and what do you get?

CrazyEgg is well known for their visual approach to analytics. Their free offering makes its easy for website owners to get a quick look at where visitors are clicking and how they are navigating through a website with the use of heatmaps, overlays, and now with some confetti. With the analytical Confetti view, users get a better understanding how visitors interact with their website. Visitor interaction can be sorted based on referrers, search terms, operating systems, browser, time before clicks and window size in a colorful easy to understand view.

Crazy Egg is a free analytics service, with an upgrade package available. Installation is through a simple javascript line added to webpages that you want to track.

Tags: analytics, analyze, browser, clicks, crazyegg, operating systems, OperatingSystems, search, tracking, visitors, web, web tracking, website, WebTracking

Filed under: Business, Developer, Internet, Utilities, Productivity, Web services, Social Software

I haven't used basecamp, until now

by Ryan Carter Apr 27th 2007

Okay, confession time. Despite being an early adopter for most things, I hadn't caught the basecamp train and got on board. Why you ask? I had no good use for it, though it is an excellently crafted application. I love software, and thus I checked it out, but for some reason I didn't see how its use would fit into my busy life, until now.

Becoming a self-employed web developer threw my daily routine out the window in a big way, and my preciously corporate sanctioned work-flow as well, giving me a new set of problems. One new problem I've had is process tracking, central information storage and updating, and project management. If this sounds like three problems, you're right, but they are tightly connected.

Having many projects and lots of information to track, share, and modify, basecamp handles with ease and makes me work less and takes care of these problems without taking too much of my time. I am finally "with it" when it comes to project management.

Developing software is no picnic (as you know), but now at least I know where the utensils are. Try eating potato salad without a fork, and you'll get the idea. If you haven't checked out basecamp (by 37 signals) it is worth it, there is a free account, awesome simple tutorial videos, and a great application to help you track life and work.

If you are with it, and use basecamp religiously (or casually), do you have tips for a basecamp beginner like me, or ideas to get more out of basecamp? We're all ears.

Tags: 37signals, basecamp, information, organization, process, project management, ProjectManagement, sharing, tracking, web 2.0, Web2.0

Filed under: Internet, Web services

Track the most popular sites you visit with REKO

by Chris Gilmer Apr 3rd 2007

REKO is a Firefox extension that tracks the most popular sites that you visit and uses the information to find similar users who will have relevant links for you. How does it work? REKO gets sent the domains of the websites you visit, then adds them to your profile and compares them with similar browsers that match your profile. This can also include OPML feeds for RSS subscriptions. From there you can view the sites of closely related individuals, checking out their profiles and seeing what they are visiting.

Sounds like a great option if you are on the lookout for more sites to add on to your daily list. However, there is the privacy issue. Now, if there was a way to turn it on and off, or erase certain sites from your online profile, we could be talking about a great way to check out some additional sites we might like.

The site is still relatively small, with 25 registered users who've decided to trade privacy for shiny magic beans, tracking 4,382 domains.

UPDATE - weirdguy in the comments has let us know that you can indeed exclude certain URLS from being tracked. Thanks for the tip!

Tags: extension, firefox, reko, tracking, websites

Filed under: Business, Web services, Google

Flight info care of Google

by Chris Gilmer Mar 27th 2007

Flying with Google has never been this easy. Your favorite search engine is now offering everyone a way to easily check the status of flights through SMS while running down the halls of the airport.

Users can simply text flight numbers to 466453 (GOOGLE), and the status information, provided by flightstats.com, will be relayed back to you. If you want the want to get in touch with a specific airline by phone, text the airline name to the same number, and Google will shoot you back the main telephone number you can call for inquiries.

Even though the Google flight info service is currently only available for departing or arriving flights in the US, flightstats.com the supplier does offer international stats, so Google could be releasing this service worldwide.

The Google Flight Status gadget can also be added to your personalized homepage.

Tags: flight, flightstats, google, sms, status, tracking

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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