Remarketing now available through Google AdWords

AdWords advertiser can use Remarketing to reach users as they’re browsing the web on sites within the Google Content Network. Remarketing is a simple way to connect with users, based on their past interactions with your website.

Google launched its own display re-targeting program this week, enabling advertisers to serve ads through the Google content network to visitors that had previously interacted with their site. Remarketing had been part of Google’s internet-based advertising beta since last March, and includes a variety of customization and targeting features to serve ads based on the specific actions customers have taken. For example, if you’re a search advertiser, you can use remarketing to create an integrated campaign strategy. After driving traffic to your site with search ads, you can then remarket to those users who reach your site by showing them tailored ads on sites throughout the Google Content Network.

You can easily set up and create a remarketing campaign through the new “Audiences” tab in AdWords. A remarketing campaign allows you to take advantage of the same features and reports you can use today in AdWords - it’s just a new way to reach the best audience for your ad.

Remarketing is a great way for businesses to reach users who are likely to be highly receptive to their ads and special offers. It helps advertisers and websites get higher returns.

Get more information on how to Get started with Remarketing

Google Introduces Starred Search

Google introduced a new feature this week called Starred Search that allows users to select sites from Google’s results page. The service then automatically archives the links into the user’s Google account bookmarks.

Google is introducing a new way of personalizing search results, which should really come in handy for those who usually do a search instead of typing a URL to get to a site. With the new search 'stars,' users will be able to save the results they preferred for future reference, in a way bookmarking them so that they show up at the top of the results whenever they make the same search.

The starred results are synced with the Google Toolbar and with Google Bookmarks so you can review and manage them in one place. If you have the Google Toolbar installed, you can star any web page you are visiting and it will show up when a related search is performed. With the introduction of the star feature, Google is retiring Search Wiki, the feature that enabled you to customize the search-result ranking and make annotations.

Google Analytics Ecommerce Tracking Not Working?

When it comes to tracking ecommerce transaction in Google Analytics, people usually have complaint that they have problem in tracking ecommerce transactions or data is not tracked properly. In this post I have tried to answer the following.

1. How to track e-commerce transactions?
2. How to track a 3rd-party shopping cart?

First step for tracking ecommerce transactions is generating Ecommerce tracking pixel in the prescribed format and placing it at the right place.

The actual ecommerce code to be placed on the thank you page of the website would be.

<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-xxxxxx-x");
pageTracker._trackPageview();
pageTracker._addTrans(“”,””,””,””,””,””,””,””);
pageTracker._addItem(“”,””,””,””,””,””);
pageTracker._trackTrans();
} catch(err) {}
</script>

Below is the brief explanation of generating the above code.

For the normal analytics code, you will have call 2 functions “_addTrans() and _addItem()” after pageTracker._trackPageview(); We need to call the _addTrans() functions. (details are explained below)

<script type="text/javascript">


var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-XXXXX-1");
pageTracker._trackPageview();
pageTracker._addTrans(
"1234", // Order ID
"Mountain View", // Affiliation
"18.28", // Total

"1.29", // Tax
"5", // Shipping
"San Jose", // City
"California", // State
"USA" // Country
);

pageTracker._addItem(

"1234", // Order ID
"DD44", // SKU
"T-Shirt", // Product Name
"Green Medium", // Category
"11.99", // Price
"1" // Quantity
);
pageTracker._trackTrans();
} catch(err) {}</script>

If your website initiates a purchase checkout process on a different subdomain (for example, if you send customers from www.bangaluru.com to shoppingcart.bangaluru.com):

Add the following line (in bold) to your tracking code on both your store site and your shopping cart pages:

Google Analytics can track data from a shopping cart on your own domain, or even on other domains, with the addition of some code. If your store site is on a different subdomain or domain than your main site, follow the instructions below to configure your pages.

If your website initiates a purchase checkout process on a different subdomain (for example, if you send customers from

www.mystore.com to shoppingcart.mystore.com):

Add the following line (in bold) to your tracking code on both your store site and your shopping cart pages:

<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-xxxxxx-x");
pageTracker._setDomainName("mystore.com");
pageTracker._setAllowLinker(true);
pageTracker._trackPageview();
</script>

If your website initiates a purchase checkout process on a separate store site (for example, if you send customers from http://www.mystore.com/ to www.securecart.com):


1. Add the following lines to your tracking code on both your store site and your shopping cart pages. This code must occur above the code in Step 2.
   

   
<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-xxxxxx-x");
pageTracker._setDomainName("none");
pageTracker._setAllowLinker(true);
pageTracker._trackPageview();
</script>

2. Change the links from the main site to the secure site to use_link as follows. Please note that your analytics tracking
   code and calls to _gat._getTracker (shown in Step 1) must be placed on the page above the call to_link. If your current links look like:
   

<a href="https://www.securecart.com/?store=parameters"> Purchase Now </a>

change them to:

<a href=" https://www.securecart.com/?store=parameters" onclick="pageTracker._link(this.href); return false;">Purchase Now</a>