Google Analytics Beta
It looks like Google has started rolling out a new beta version of Google Analytics, which up until not long ago was beta itself. The new version is much more up to date in terms of gearing the data displays to be in line with competitive solutions like Coremetrics and Omniture. There is a customizable "Dashboards" view that lets you drag and drop positions and create new widgets based on your own needs. It is still a bit buggy though, when I tried to create a new dashboard view it just reset back to the default. Changing the existing boxes seemed to work however. Overall it looks nice, and has some enhanced filtering by segments.
SEO Tip – Build User Engagement
SEO Tip:
Is there a way to secure more business from you current traffic?
Build User Engagement
Remember the Web has multi-media potential to offer. Have you ever thought about enhancing your content with a video tutorial or something to get visitors engaged with you?
IE9 & Browser Wars
Now that IE9 is out, the battle of the browsers has begun for the next generation. We have IE9-32bit, IE9-64bit, Chrome 10, Firefox 4RC, Safari 5, and Opera 11.01 to choose from. From the tests run by ZDnet, IE has definitely improved (except for the 64-bit version), but overall Chrome still seems to be the speed dog. I think what it is going to come down to is the compatibility with new web technologies that will affect the long term standing of these browsers, such as HTML 5 compatiability. I think Adrian pulled out the key factor in maintaining the performance trophy in that Google has the more aggressive update cycle and will be better able to keep up with the advanced web development being utilized today and tomorrow.
One of the biggest issues I see with IE9 is that it requires you to run Windows 7. I love Windows 7, but not everyone has the ability to upgrade their OS just to get a better version of IE.
Here is the conclusion to the ZDnet article IE9 vs Chrome 10 vs Firefox 4 RC vs Opera 11.01 vs Safari 5 - The BIG browser benchmark! by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Conclusion
OK, so what conclusions can we draw? Well, let’s begin with the obvious and say that Internet Explorer 8 64-bit is an absolute dog when it comes to JavaScript performance. This is to be expected given that IE 9 64-bit is using an older, slower JavaScript engine, while IE 9 32-bit was using the newer, more efficient Chakra JIT.
OK, with the loser out of the way, what’s the winning browser? Well, out of the four benchmarks, Chrome 10 won two, IE9 32-bit won one and Firefox 4 RC won one, so in the strictest sense, Chrome 10 is the winner. But in the SunSpider test there is so little separating the four fastest browsers (a shade over 40 milliseconds) that you could almost say it is a tie. Then there’s the V8 test, which Chrome 10 aces, but then that’s to be expected given that Google, by its own admission, use that benchmark to tune the V8 JavaScript engine.
So, what’s the conclusion? Simple, IE9 64-bit is shockingly bad, and all the other browsers are, on the whole, pretty evenly matched. I’m pleasantly surprised that IE9 32-bit actually aces the SunSpider test, but I expect that over the coming weeks Google will manage to catch up and take the lead once again (Microsoft’s painfully slow update cycle for IE (especially compared with Google’s aggressive update cycle) works against it in the long run. Microsoft has worked hard on IE, taking it from being the slowest in the pack to one of the fastest. That itself is worthy of recognition.
Note: The 64-bit version of IE is only available to those with a 64-bit OS, and even then you’ve got to go searching for it. My advice, don’t bother.
Bottom line, I really don’t think that JavaScript performance is an issue any more, and certainly in real-world testing it’s hard to see a difference between the browsers (some HTML 5 sites not withstanding, given that many are optimized for a particular browser). In fact, unless one of the players managed to boost JavaScript performance by an order of magnitude, shaving a few milliseconds off here and there hardly matters any more.
Internet Explorer 9 Released
Today Microsoft releases its latest version of Internet Explorer - 9. Key updates in this new version are aimed at performance improvements like speed and a more streamlined user interface reminiscent of the other mainstream browsers already available like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
Download the latest version of Internet Explorer 9 from Microsoft.
What's new, according to the Windows Internet Explorer 9 Fact Sheet:
• Fast. Internet Explorer 9 is all-around fast. Part of reimagining the role of the browser to deliver immersive, compelling Web experiences is rethinking the concept of fast. Today, fast is too often narrowly defined as page load time. Tomorrow, a browser will not be able to call itself fast unless it lets people interact with graphically rich sites and applications with lightning speed. Fully hardware-accelerated graphics, text, video and audio through Windows 7 means that the same markup not only works across the Web, but also runs faster and delivers a richer experience. Designed to take full advantage of the power of your computer’s hardware through Windows 7, Internet Explorer 9 delivers dynamic experiences that are as fast and responsive as native applications installed on your computer.
• Clean. Internet Explorer 9 puts the focus on the websites you love, with a clean experience for your Web that meets you where you are. With Internet Explorer 9 and Windows 7, we rethought the role of the browser and how people interact with websites and Web applications. While other browsers focus on the browser itself, Internet Explorer 9 is site-centric, as opposed to browser-centric. You have the websites you love with a clean look that makes your websites shine.
Hardware Acceleration
Web browsing is the No. 1 thing people do on their Windows-based PC, and as such, they increasingly expect the same experience they associate with their PC applications from their favorite Web-based e-mail service, photo site or social network site. This kind of immersive experience does not occur on the Web today, and using a browser is often associated with limited performance and interactivity. Microsoft developed Windows Internet Explorer 9 to help change this.
Goodbye FBML Pages
Back on Feb 11, 2011 Facebook announced on its Developer Blog that as of March 10, 2011 you will no longer be able to create new FBML (not to be confused with XFBML) pages on Facebook. All new pages will be required to utilize iframes, which has been around for a while now.
Who does this affect: A lot of people. Static FBML has previously been one of the most utilized apps for Facebook page developers to publish a quick tab on their pages. The functionality wasn't great, but it was pretty easy and a lot of people took advantage of that.
While the change will not 'turn off' existing FBML tabs, Facebook does "strongly recommend that these apps transition to iframes as soon as possible." With the recent updates giving the axe to a lot of previous FB functionality, it is a distinct possibility that the existing FBML pages will get phased out as well sooner or later.
FBML Roadmap
With our recent launch of Requests and the support for iframe on Pages Tabs, we are now ready to move forward with our previously announced plans to deprecate FBML and FBJS as a primary technology for building apps on Facebook. On March 11, 2011, you will no longer be able to create new FBML apps and Pages will no longer be able to add the Static FBML app. While all existing apps on Pages using FBML or the Static FBML app will continue to work, we strongly recommend that these apps transition to iframes as soon as possible. Lastly, we want to be clear that our deprecation of FBML does not impact XFBML, such as the tags that support social plugins.
Google Analytics API
Google has opened up the Google Analytics API (export) for general use!
http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/1.0/gdataProtocol.html
Alex C wrote a quick PHP script to pull pageviews from all available accounts. Read the setup here: http://www.alexc.me/using-the-google-analytics-api-getting-total-number-of-page-views/74/
OtherPage Merchant Beta
My friends over at the OtherPage have announced the launch of the OtherPage Merchant Beta where merchants can join for free and list their products similar to other comparison shopping engines.
As a special note, the first 25 merchants who sign up for OtherPage will receive preferential treatment for life!
Join the OtherPage merchant beta!
OtherPage is launching a consumer facing website in April, 2009, through which we hope to drive tremendous end user product demand. We have some very unique marketing strategies we will be deploying, and invite merchant participation at no risk.
A Revenue Share Business Model
Unlike the vast majority of merchant aggregation systems, OtherPage will work off a percentage of sales that we drive. Our pricing is determined by the category in which you sell. Check out our prices, and then sign up for free.
Unexpected Downtime
Hello Everyone,
I apologize for the downtime over the last two days. I was down with the flu and our hosting decided to do some updates which broke pretty much everything. Bad timing.
Everything should be resolved now (I had to fix it naturally) and we should be back on track.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
ChannelAdvisor Lays off 19%
ChannelAdvisor Lays off 19% of its Workforce
Sad to say, I was one of them. Apparently there were 32 Employees let go in the US offices.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y09/m01/i23/s04
http://onlinesaleschannels.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/my-liquid-lunch-with-ex-ca-employees/
I look at this as a good thing though as I was the only member of the Seattle office left on staff after they vacated the office building in Oct 2008. (Yes, no more west coast office). I have had to work out of my home office since then. It will be nice to be able to get back into traveling to work and getting to talk to other people, sharing and learning new things.
If anyone knows a company looking for a Search Marketing guru feel free to contact me at steve @ ironvine.com!
My condolences to all the other employees that were let go this week I wish you all the best, and to my former co-workers it was a great 2 years. Take care!
Amazon Webinar – September 10, 2008
Amazon Webinar - September 10, 2008
ChannelAdvisor will be hosting a webinar this Wednesday, September 10, 2008, at 2 p.m. EST on how to build and grow your Amazon business.
Listen to Scot Wingo and Sam Wheeler, Director of Merchant Services at Amazon Services, as they discuss the various Amazon programs and best practices for succeeding on this channel. Better yet, they’re available for Q+A after the main act to answer questions that you may have.
Click here to register for the event.
ChannelAdvisor Gets New Funding ($20m)
Below is the latest press release from ChannelAdvisor about the securing of a new round of venture capital funding.
CHANNELADVISOR SECURES $20 MILLION IN FUNDING
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Leader in E-commerce Channel Management Accelerates Path to Profitability
Research Triangle Park, NC – September 04, 2008 – ChannelAdvisor, the leading provider of e-commerce channel management solutions, today announced it has received an additional $20 million in funding to accelerate its growth. The funding round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) with participation from current ChannelAdvisor investors Advanced Technology Ventures, Kodiak Venture Partners, eBay and Southern Capitol Ventures.
Additionally the company plans on implementing a restructuring plan that will both streamline operations and accelerate the company’s path to profitability.
“We continue to be increasingly impressed with ChannelAdvisor’s superior technology, significant traction in the retail sector, and leadership in the software as a service e-commerce industry,” says Patrick Kerins, General Partner of NEA. “We’re not only excited that the company continues to grow rapidly, but will also be able to do so profitably.”
During the past year, ChannelAdvisor’s revenues have grown over 55% and gross merchandise value (GMV) has grown over 45%. Additionally, the company has experienced significant customer growth, now boasting more than 100 top internet retailers from the prestigious Internet Retailer magazine’s Top 500 list.
With several acquisitions over the past two years, ChannelAdvisor has expanded its paid search offerings, distanced its leadership in the online marketplace space and most recently entered into the rich media segment with the acquisition of RichFX.
“ChannelAdvisor has grown rapidly over the last two years, both organically and via two material acquisitions, and has strengthened its leadership position in the e-commerce channel management space,” says Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor. “With the additional financing and restructuring of the company, we are excited about accelerating our path to profitability. We have reached not only a revenue scale that very few Software-as-a-Service companies have achieved, but also outstanding growth and profitability metrics.”
The following ChannelAdvisor leaders will take on expanded roles as part of the restructuring:
David Spitz, Vice President of Operations, is responsible for global products, services, and finance operations.
Michael Jones, Vice President of Business Development, Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, currently leads ChannelAdvisor’s global marketing, business development, corporate development and acquisition strategies. Jones will be expanding his role to include global sales and revenue responsibilities.
Scott Alridge, Vice President and General Counsel, will be expanding his role to include human resources operations.
About ChannelAdvisor Corporation
ChannelAdvisor Corporation provides technology and services that enable leading online retailers to maximize their products across multiple ecommerce marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon.com and Overstock.com, comparison shopping engines such as Shopping.com, Shopzilla, Nextag and Google Product Search and search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN. In 2007, ChannelAdvisor managed over $2.1 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) on behalf of its customers. ChannelAdvisor solutions combine best practices, on-demand software and integration technology to help retailers sell more products, faster, by automating labor-intensive, manual functions so they spend less time optimizing campaigns and more time solving marketing and business issues. ChannelAdvisor has expanded its retail technology and services by acquiring Rich FX media solutions. MyRichFX™, RichImage™, RichCatalog™, and RichCircular™ are now part of the ChannelAdvisor rich media technology and service solutions that ChannelAdvisor offers. ChannelAdvisor's customers include Wal-Mart, GSI Commerce, Brookstone, Abebooks and Motorola. ChannelAdvisor Corporation is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC with offices in Atlanta, Seattle, New York, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and Germany. For more information, visit http://www.channeladvisor.com/.
Contact:
Ashley Jones
ChannelAdvisor Corporation
Ph: 919.349.4177
ashley.jones@channeladvisor.com