I wanted to share an email that I received from Google recently:
Hello Hugo,Thank you for your email. Please note that it is currently not possible to
differentiate between visits from news.google.com and google.com. We
apologize for any inconvenience.
For additional questions, please visit the Analytics Help Center at
http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/?utm_id=tf. You can also
find helpful tips and information by visiting the Google Analytics Help
Forum at http://groups.google.com/group/analytics-help?utm_id=tr.
Sincerely,
XXXXX (name has been x’ed out to protect the innocent)
Analytics Support
I’ve sort of known this for years, but it’s nice to get official confirmation from the source. Also, it’s important to note that if Google Analytics is truly to become the Analytics powerhouse it aims to be, someone at big “G” needs to allocate the resources needed to add this functionality to the platform.
I understand that this little glitch in the system doesn’t affect the majority of GA users, it’s a key piece of data for folks in the publishing sector, and it’s a feature that most analytics platforms provide.
So Google, if you’re out there, and you’re listening, give us our Google News referral data!
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I saw this email too. It seems like a no-brainer in terms of visit tracking. This is a common theme that runs throughout Google’s web properties. Little or no integration between it’s products. Lots of great niche products (gmail, docs, reader, etc.) with no way to pull them together. Many missed opportunities.
Thanks for the comment, Chance! Don’t get me wrong. I think that Google Analytics is great. I just wish that they would take the time to fix this glitch. I guess it’s a low priority since so few web publishers are actually on Google News.
P.S. Talking about great Google web properties, what are your thoughts on their new “Chrome” browser?
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