If you hate useless page loads as much as I do, or if you're a GWO power user, I think you will like this userscript automation.

The userscript is very simple, in the image below the checkbox circled is automatically checked (if it wasn't already because your faster than code), and then the create button (circled below) is pressed. It works for both A/B test setup process and the MVT test setup process.

To install this script:

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Goals: Funnel Visualization - to optimize your conversion funnels

Next up in the Google Analytics Power User series we will review path analysis using Google Analytics' Funnel Visualization Report. When you went through the process of configuring the goals for your website you had the option of setting up or defining a funnel for your goals. Funnels are most applicable to goals that have a well defined path that a visitor will follow prior to completing the goal. Examples of this would be the shopping cart of an ecommerce site, or the steps in a web form prior to submitting it, or an online reservation system... Not all goals can or should have a funnel.

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Shopping for a coffee grinder recently, I visited my favorite coffee site, www.greenbeanery.ca. After finding a model I liked and navigating to its product page, I noted a link to reviews at the bottom:

Naturally, I wanted to see the product reviews. So I clicked the link and was frustrated. Instead of reviews, I got a page telling me there weren't any:

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In writing today's murderous post on Google Analytics Cookies I happened to plug the value 1234567890 into my "Unix time stamp" converter, and what did I find?

Try it:

Timestamp converter

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I'm so important, Google is watching my every move!

Today, we look at paranoia, hi-tech policing and the forensic cookie-crumb trail to conviction for murder.

The facts in this article (other than the technical explanations) are based on truth, obfuscated liberally to protect the potentially guilty from a miss-trial. They may also have been stretched and strained just a bit to facilitate the technical explanations but they are based in truth.

Mr. X is planning to murder his wife. How would you go about that exactly? What would you need? I guess that depends on the method. Say, strangulation with an Ethernet cable.

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Firefox + Google Analytics = Power

One of the best reasons to use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer is that Firefox has a vast array of useful browser extensions. Some of these Firefox extensions were made for Google Analytics, which has made Firefox vital to GA power users. The extensions that I am referring to are:

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ok, so that's not technically a roundup

Quite a week for me in the blog world. Three articles talking about major points of interest for me, including Huo Mah on what marketing can teach SEO, Nettuts on web optimization, talk about how users dont read, and a call for persuasive design. Good stuff.

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It's really not that hard

Next up in the Google Analytics Power User series is not a report, but instructions on how to identify and setup goals in Google Analytics.

Step one, identify your site's goals. Whether you are an ecommerce site, lead generation site, or a publishing site (even a blog), identifying your goals is one of the most important steps in the process of setting up your Google Analytics profile. You have invested time and money into the creation and maintenance of your site for a reason. What is that reason? The answers to this question should be reflected in your analytics as goals.

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One of the most overlooked and most important elements of any PPC account are the campaign settings.

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