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Portland Google Analytics User Group First Meetup

Published May 16th, 2012 Analytics 1 Comment

We are excited to help Ryan Summers and the iSITE folks launch a new Google Analytics User Group in Portland. The city has plenty of Google Analytics expertise, and now we hope to be able to share that with each other, and users that may not be as advanced. iSITE is the other Google Analytics Certified Partner in Portland, and is generously hosting the inaugural event. The objective of the group is to share some mid-level to advanced tactics, techniques and ideas, that attendees can immediately use themselves. Sessions will be hands-on with examples and instructions. I’ll be presenting at the first session on attribution, and specifically on using Google Analytics’ Multi-Channel Attribution reports to get a better idea of how your marketing channels are performing at different phases of the customer life-cycle.

Here are the details and RSVP for the first meetup of the Portland Google Analytics User Group. We really hope to see you there!

Web Analytics Wednesday at eROI – 2012 Version

Published April 10th, 2012 Analytics, Events 1 Comment

It’s like 2010 all over again: our friends at eROI are graciously hosting the first Portland Web Analytics Wednesday of 2012 on May 23rd. We will be on the 3rd floor at eROI, which is located at 505 Northwest Couch Street. As always, everyone is welcome, from existing Web Analytics practitioners to those with even a passing interest in the field.

The expected schedule is as follows:

5:30 – 6:15: Networking/Drinks/Snacks

6:15 – 7:00: Short Presentation (Topic TBD) & Discussion

7:00 – 8:00: More Discussion and Networking

More information on the WAW website. Please sign up there  also, so we have a good idea of how many are coming.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

UPDATE: Here’s the preso topic.

Tackling Attribution in the Era of Instagrams, Pinterests, and Tablets

A quick presentation covering some different types of multi-channel attribution, standard industry approaches to attribution modeling, and pros and cons of each. Then a question-and-answer/roundtable type discussion to hopefully hear some tactics and practices that have worked for attendees. Topics will probably include, but not be limited to:
  • modeling ideas and successful cases
  • technical challenges with tracking attribution
  • incorporating new channels into models, and evolving models in general
  • gaining acceptance of attribution models in your organization

Do you Foos? 1st Annual PDX Foosball Open

Published April 10th, 2012 Events 3 Comments

Get ready local foosball enthusiasts: we’re hosting the first annual PDX Foosball Open at SwellPath on May 3rd, 2012. The winning team is taking home a pair of Timbers tickets and a $50 gift certificate at Deschutes Public House. The losers get to play foosball, drink our beer, and eat our food. It is First Thursday, so even if you’re not playing you still should stop by and see the action.

If you have some foos skills, or just like fun, you should enter the tournament. We’ve already got over a dozen teams, and we expect to have about 20 by the event. We’ll cap it at 32. We’re borrowing ShopIgniter’s table, so we’ll have two games going at all times. Show us what you’ve got!

Out with the Old, In with the New

Published January 13th, 2012 SwellPath 6 Comments

SwellPath Loves YouHappy New Year everyone! Hope that 2011 ended well for all our friends, and that 2012 is off to a great start. 2011 was our third year of operation, and it was another one of fantastic growth, and plenty of learning. But we’re really excited about 2012 and where SwellPath is headed.

In 2012 we’re going to continue to focus on what we’ve done exceptionally well for 3 years – making marketing decision making as easy as possible for our clients. John and I launched the company with 3 clients at the beginning of 2009. All three of those clients are still with us – our attrition has been virtually non-existent! That’s because our clients lean on SwellPath for their most important marketing decisions. We inform, support, and facilitate those decisions in ways none of their tools or partners can. We’re going to keep doing that in 2012, and we’re going to find ways to make it better, faster, and ultimately easier for our clients.

Charts and graphs and numbers are great – data should drive decisions. But behind all those things, there ultimately had to be human design. We’ve got an outstanding team here at SwellPath. We added some awesome folks in 2011 (Charles, Dan, Christian, and Danish), and we plan on adding more in 2012. What makes startups fun is the tightness of the relationships that are developed – everything is small and close together. We’re psyched to add more people to the SwellPath team, and develop those relationships. We’re also excited to develop relationships with more clients and partners, and we think we’ll have a lot more of those by the end of 2012.

So that’s a bunch of high-level talk – besides what we’ve always done, anything different? Yes! We’ll have some big announcements this year, so keep your eyes and ears open. We’ve found ways to help way more marketers – we think the “old” way of tackling digital marketing analysis is out – we’re the new.

Finally, what’s with the baby picture? For the first 3 months of 2012, our rockstar Katie Sachse won’t be in the office. Baby Olive was born on 12/31 just before we started 2012. Katie was employee #1 at SwellPath 3 years ago; I still am not used to her not being around. The picture of baby Olive personally reminds me of some things that are important to keep in mind when running a startup. Enjoy it.

ACCELERATE 2011 in San Francisco

Published November 5th, 2011 Analytics, Events 1 Comment

Eric Peterson and the crew at Web Analytics Demystified have yet another project that benefits the analytics community. The first ACCELERATE conference will go down in San Francisco on November 18th. Web Analytics Demystified already is planning for more of these in other cities, but undoubtedly San Francisco will not disappoint for the inaugural event. Best of all, the event is FREE! As a result, it is also sold out. Hopefully you landed yourself a ticket, but if not, keep up on the next ACCELERATE announcement via the Web Analytics Demystified blog.

The conference is ending with an Ignite-like Super Accelerator session. I’ve thrown my hat in the ring and have a few words of wisdom of my own to impart on the crowd. If are making it to ACCELERATE, make sure you stay through the end and see the Super Accelerator session. The list of presenters is great, and it’s sure to be an entertaining hour. Hope to see you there!

For Real this Time: Google Analytics Real Time

Published September 29th, 2011 Analytics 4 Comments

In spring of 2010 I made the call that Google would (probably) have real-time reporting by fall of 2010. I did this publicly at a Web Analytics Wednesday here in Portland. I was off by 1…year. Today Google publicly announced real-time reports for Google Analytics.

Now everyone with Google Analytics can geek out on their real-time data like those of us with Chartbeat have been doing for the last couple years. In all seriousness, real-time reporting is an exciting new feature, and does provide some fantastic insight when there are “momentous” events driving traffic to one’s site. An example might be a rush of traffic from a blog post getting picked up on Digg Reddit. There is a lot of debate in the web analytics community about the value of real-time analytics, with many practitioners saying it is simply monitoring, and not analytics. But with the speed of change these days, and the quickness with which a swell (see what I did there?) can form and move, some type of real-time reporting is necessary.

So will Google put Chartbeat out of business? Hardly; Google has a ways to go before the features are as robust as Chartbeat’s offering. But most sites don’t need most of those features; those that do are already paying the $10/month that Chartbeat starts at. As Google did to the paid analytics platforms when it started to gobble up market share, this will simply force Chartbeat to continue to improve and enhance it’s offering. A challenge Chartbeat is up to, and has proven it is capable of doing for two years. Again Google is pushing the industry, and improving the conditions for all of us.

Finding out about the real-time rollout was one of the more exciting moments at the Google Analytics Partner Summit earlier this month. I am excited for our clients using Google Analytics, and look forward to playing around with it myself. It should roll out to all users over the next couple weeks. Kudos to Google for an impressive enhancement; real-time reporting with the volume of sites Google Analytics is on is no small technical achievement.

Google Analytics Premium – Validation for the Enterprise

Published September 29th, 2011 Analytics No Comments

Google Analytics today announced the release of Google Analytics Premium, a paid version of the platform targeted at the enterprise. For those that still doubted Google Analytics ability to handle enterprise level web analytics, this certainly should provide validation. We’re excited that our clients will now have the ability to implement an even more robust version of Google Analytics, and that Google is so dedicated to raising the caliber of the product.

I won’t go into detail on specific features, as most of that is still confidential. But here are some basic elements of premium:

  • The ability to handle larger sets of data, from collection through analysis.
  • The ability to gather more customized information about visitors and visits.
  • Deeper integration with Google’s advertising networks, providing richer information and more actionable data for advertisers.
  • A more holistic approach to digital analytics.
Ultimately Google has done a great job of making the offerring a win-win for those that can justify the cost. For those that aren’t quite at that level, Google Analytics “Regular” still will continue to improve, and there are some VERY exciting things coming in the near future. But for those that continue to doubt the ability of GA to handle enterprise level web analytics collection and reporting, this should be more than enough validation.

SwellPath is a Google Analytics Certified Partner

Published September 7th, 2011 Analytics, Featured, SwellPath 3 Comments

I’m very excited to announce that SwellPath is now an official Google Analytics Certified Partner! First, big thanks to Greg for helping put the application materials together, and Charles and John for weathering the interview with Google. Thanks to our clients for giving us the opportunity to really push Google Analytics to the enterprise level. Particular thanks to InFocus and Jive Software, who we used for the Partner application case studies.

Finally, thanks to Google for recognizing our expertise. Although we could have applied for the program last year, we chose to wait until we felt like our technical and analytical expertise truly matched or surpassed the other Partners. As our clients on Google Analytics know, we are huge fans of the platform, and we look forward to having a closer relationship with Google and more insight into the future of GA.

Here is a link to our official press release in a PDF format, and here is the copy:

SwellPath approved to become a Google Analytics™ Certified Partner (GACP)
September 7, 2011

SwellPath, a web analytics services provider based in Portland, Oregon, today announced it is entering into a strategic agreement with Google to become a Google Analytics Certified Partner.

Clients working with SwellPath receive professional analytics implementation and consulting services for Google Analytics, a free, enterprise-class online measurement tool. Businesses of all sizes can work with a Certified Partner to receive professional, Google authorized training, implementation, and consulting services to make their websites and ad campaigns more effective. For more information, visit http://www.google.com/analytics/authorized_consultants.html

SwellPath offers custom, advanced and strategic measurement services to clients looking to increase their digital marketing and website performance. Whether you have an established in-house team or are just getting started, SwellPath’s experienced team applies a proven approach to web analytics for a variety of businesses.

“We are excited to become part of the GACP program. Since day 1 we’ve been helping our clients get the maximum value out of their digital efforts with Google Analytics,” said Adam Ware, SwellPath CEO, “ it is great to have Google validate our expertise and bring us into the program.”

“Google is really pushing the product by introducing features like multi-channel attribution, social sharing measurement, and custom variables,” said John Koenig, VP of Marketing & Strategy at SwellPath, “our clients are really able to understand and improve their ROI through the use of our web analytics offering and Google Analytics.

About Google Analytics
Google Analytics tells you exactly how visitors got to your site and how they use it. It can help you identify bottlenecks and gives you ideas for improvements, leaving you to concentrate on your marketing campaigns and increase your returns. Google Analytics is an advanced, easy-to-use tool. The software has all the functions that you’d expect from an advanced web analysis package. For more information, visit www.google.com/analytics

About SwellPath
SwellPath is a digital measurement and marketing agency founded in 2009. The company provides analytics and search services. SwellPath clients include Jive Software, InFocus, KEEN, and Nike Golf. SwellPath is a results-driven organization, focused on helping clients get better measurement and a better return on their digital marketing activities. For more information email info@swellpath.com, or call 503.224.9204.

 

 

Adam Speaking at SMX East in September

Published August 1st, 2011 Events No Comments

For our friends on the East Coast, SMX East in New York is a great opportunity to see the best-of-the-best in search speak and impart their wisdom. I’m excited to be speaking on a panel focused on uncovering “hidden treasures” in Google Analytics – relatively unknown ways to get more advanced data on search visitors and other segments. All this goes down September 13th through the 15th. Please come say hi if you’re going to be there.

Representing at WebVisions 2011

Published May 11th, 2011 Analytics, Events, News No Comments

Quick note to let folks know Adam Ware will be speaking at WebVisions later this month, and we’ll have some other folks at the event. The “pod” He will be leading is all about dealing with the onslaught of data that digital marketers have been presented with in the last few years: Less is the New More.  So come by if you have a chance, or say hello if you see us there.

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Portland, OR 97209
(503) 224-9204
info@swellpath.com