Oh snap! Could it be true? Two of the biggest web analytics programs merge into some sort of mega-company? According to some press releases, that very scenario could be true. It appears that Omniture has asked Visual Sciences to be it lawfully wedded spouse by offering $394 million in stock and cash.

So what does all this mean to you and your analytics needs? Right now, not a whole heck of a lot. Uncle Sam still has to review the buyout and make sure all will be good in the world. Until then, the two companies are still operating separately and the packages are still technically competing.

The future of the web analytics world has just been radically shifted by this merger. While we're not sure of the future of either product, we do know that we have lost a major competitor. Is that good or bad? I'm not sure yet. Bringing together the minds of both companies could be a great thing for the market. The combined talent might lead to some great new functionality that we never thought of. It could also mean that since the competition isn't pushing quite as hard as it used to that the urgency to develop new and better technology might not as strong as it used to. This space (and the newly merged company) will be exciting to watch as this drama continues to unfold.

Labels: General, News

Hello and welcome to AnalyticalNews.org!

My name is Joe Abraham and I work for SageRock.com a web marketing firm in Akron, Ohio. I'm a Vice President of Web Marketing there; that means that I'm involved in our clients programs at varying levels. From doing research, to doing the work, to looking for new opportunities; I'm there to look at our clients' web marketing holistically and look for ways to increase performance.

During my early days at SageRock.com, I fell in love with statistics. I was amazed by the power they offered us. The granular level of the detail was like nothing I had ever seen in case studies in school. It was eye opening. We had several clients on what was then NetTracker (now Unica's NetInsite). The custom reports, the ability to track conversion to an extent, this all meant that I could make changes and measure the result! What a great concept.

Unfortunately, not all of our clients would spring for a statistics package. I find that incredibly unfortunate. The web is made for tracking so you should take advantage of it. I started this blog not only because I am in love with stats, but also to a stats evangelist. I want to help demystify stats and help people find a good fit for them.

I also did this because as a web marketer, I often feel like I'm pressured to push the high-cost statistics programs that many site owners will never look at. I hate this. I don't think it is always wise to push for top-tier analytics when they are neither required nor desired. I am a very firm believer that the best statistics program for a website is the one that people will actually be engaged in.

Over the coming months, I hope to explore these issues, dive into some analytics tools that are out there, show some fun features in the packages that are out there and hopefully answer some questions that arise (both my questions and your questions).

So thanks for stopping by AnalyticalNews.org. I hope you'll come back and read what I hope will be weekly posts. If you’d like, there are all sorts of RSS chicklets on the right side of the site, please feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed to make getting updates even easier.

Labels: AnalyticalNews, General