Setting Up Asynchronous Google Analytics Tracking

Posted on January 26, 2010
Filed Under Google Analytics, Google Updates, Web Analytics | Leave a Comment

Google launches asynchronous tracking as an alternative google analysis tracking tool to help website owners track their site visitors. The Google Analytics Asynchronous Tracking Code snippet is a small piece of JavaScript code that website owners paste into their web pages. It activates Google Analytics tracking by inserting ga.js into the page which then provides an API for customizing how the page is tracked.

Google explains that there are a number of advantages to using Asynchronous tracking that include: ‘allows for much quicker tracking code load times as a result of the improved browser execution, optimizes how browsers load ga.js, eliminates tracking errors from dependencies when the JavaScript hasn’t fully loaded, and improves data collection and accuracy.’

The below snippet displays the minimum configuration required to track a page asynchronously. It denotes the page’s web property ID and then calls ’trackPageview’ to send the tracking data back to the Google Analytics servers.  The best location for the google analytics tracking snippet is at the top of the <body> section. To set up asynchronous tracking, you just have to copy and paste the following snippet replacing UA-XXXXX-X with your web property ID:

<script type=”text/javascript”>

var _gaq = _gaq || [];

_gaq.push([’_setAccount’, ‘UA-XXXXX-X’]);

_gaq.push([’_trackPageview’]);

(function() {

var ga = document.createElement(’script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true;

ga.src = (’https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’;

(document.getElementsByTagName(’head’)[0] || document.getElementsByTagName(’body’)[0]).appendChild(ga);

})();

</script>

If you want to add the asynchronous snippet on pages that do not use Google Analytics or are currently using traditional tracking with ga.js, Google shows how you can convert your pages to use the asynchronous snippet by doing the following:

1. If the page already uses Analytics, remove your existing tracking code snippet and any customizations you have made.

2. Insert the asynchronous snippet at the top of the <body> section of your pages.

3. Modify the _setAccount method with your web property ID.

4. Add your customizations back in using the asynchronous syntax.

If you would rather place the Analytics snippet at the bottom of the page, you can still keep most of the benefits of asynchronous loading by splitting the snippet in half. You have to keep the first half at the top of the page and the other half at the bottom of the page. You will have to place the snippet that inserts ga.js at the bottom of the page. For more detailed information about setting up asynchronous analytics tracking and answers to common installation questions, Google Analytics provides a helpful guide on their Google code web pages.

Breadcrumbs in Google Gain More Links

Posted on January 22, 2010
Filed Under Link Tactics, Search Engine Optimization, Toronto SEO | Leave a Comment

 Understanding Breadcrumb Links In Google

One important goal of every website owner, no matter what type of site they have, is to attract and keep visitors by making the site easy to navigate. Recently, Google began including the use of breadcrumbs in their search results. The advantage to website owners is they have the ability to not only make site navigation much easier, but they will get their breadcrumbs into Google’s search results with the outcome being a gain of more links and improved search engine visibility.

Breadcrumb navigation is a way of viewing the trail a visitor has taken through a website. They are normally placed above the main page heading and show where visitors are in relation to the site’s homepage. Each page that a user visits is displayed as a text link and there is a separate link for each page in the breadcrumb trail.  Breadcrumbs are normally a horizontal line that advances from the highest level to the lowest, begins with the homepage and finishes with the current page, has a straightforward text link for each level, and has a one character separator between the levels which is normally “>”. For example:

Home Page>About Us Page>Product Page

There are many benefits to using breadcrumb trail. First, it helps visitors understand the structure and hierarchy of the website. As well, they show users where they are, how they got to the current webpage, and how they can backtrack to a previous page in the hierarchy. It also mirrors the correct hierarchy of the website.  Because of these benefits, Google has now changed the way they display search engine results.  To make search result links more user friendly, Google will now list the name of the actual page a user will view. For example, it will show a page as http://www.example.com./about-us/new-products/.  It makes the link easier to read and provides information that is categorized by the search engine. The ‘location’ breadcrumbs are the breadcrumbs that Google uses. The ‘location’ breadcrumbs show where the page is located in the website hierarchy. Basically, what the website breadcrumb navigation actually provides is a row of internal links that are each indexed by Google.

Since Google is now using breadcrumb navigation, it is important for website owners to create a breadcrumb trail in their navigation. It will be a valuable tool used to increasing search engine ranking and is now being implemented in the services of most SEO Companies.

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Search Engine Optimization Proposals

Posted on January 21, 2010
Filed Under Search Engine Optimization, Toronto SEO Consulting | Leave a Comment

Website optimization is an essential component to ensuring your targeted visitors find your business website. Because there are so many Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies out there offering a wide range of services, it can often be difficult finding the best company for your business website needs. Expert SEO professionals will provide a search engine optimization proposal so that potential clients can assess their services. When reviewing a SEO proposal, it is important to be aware of what should be included in the proposal so that you know that you are getting the best SEO service for your money.

The following outlines what a quality SEO proposal should include:

SEO Objectives: In this section, the SEO Company will explain that they will increase your site’s search engine rankings and the number of visitors to your site with the goal of boosting sales.

Site Analysis: The SEO Company will analyze the site to determine what is required to make it search engine friendly. This includes: layout and design, background, colors, navigation, graphics and images, fonts, meta tags, site content, html validation, search engine rankings, loading times, site statistics, broken links, creating error pages, browser compatibility, and resolution compatibility. A SEO expert will check how fast the site loads and repair any problems causing a slow load time such as html errors and coding problems.

Keyword Analysis: The Company will research the keywords to see what words and phrases are best for your site. That is, what words are relevant and will result in increased conversions. A competitive analysis will be done with other similar sites that rank high in search engines. The meta tag will then be modified to include the best keywords.

SEO Copywriting: They will rewrite the site’s text to make it more search engine friendly. This will include adding the appropriate keywords and retooling the layout, design, headings…etc. When the search engines can easily crawl your site, you will achieve higher search engine rankings. Search engine robots will index the web pages much more easily and more accurately. The meta tag information will be written to fit the content. Each webpage will have a customized meta tag that includes a relevant meta tag description.

Create a Site Map: This allows the search engine robots and spiders to better index the website.

As well, visitors see everything that is contained within the site. The site map page is then added to the main navigation menu.

Browser Search Engine and Directory Submissions: The company will submit the site to the major search engines, directories, and relevant specialized directories. It will be done manually to ensure the website gets submitted properly.

Building Link Popularity: The SEO company will build links pointing back to the site from other websites. The more links you have, the higher the search engine ranking. Links include inbound links and outbound links. This can be done through link exchanges, submitting to business directories and article directories, and sending out press releases.

When you get a Search Engine Optimization Proposal, it important that the proposal is detailed and includes a wide range of services so that you get the best SEO service that meets your website’s needs.

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