Google analytics is one of the sweetest web analytics "software" packages out there. After using Web Trends, Web Side Story and AWS Stats(?) they just don't compare. Recently GA released a major update. I was fortunate to get on the beta list (thanks to Avinash Kaushik) and I am extremely impressed with some of the new features they've added.
Segmentation in Google Analytics...Yes!
With segmentation I can virtually transform an entire GA profile into a specific scenario. Want to see what users from Milwaukee, Wisconsin are doing? Easy. Want to see what users from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the UWM campus are doing? Easy. Want to see what users from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the UWM campus that use a Macintosh, have a 1600x1200 Screen Resolution and use Firefox are doing? Easy. Seeing a pattern here? Yes, with segmentation you can take a few 'known variables' and turn it into a uniquely identifiable person (such as a friend).
Google Analytics Segmentation Example
In the above screen shot you can see how easy it is to drill down to your stalkers' hearts content. In this example I'm looking for users at UWGB that use a Macintosh. My target? Eric Lightbody, a prior co-worker of mine (sorry Eric!). Depending on how much traffic you site gets, this may be really easy for you to do or really hard. My site gets a pretty small amount of visitors from Wisconsin (where I live) so I can easily deduce the segments down to the point of identifying individuals.
I'm Weirdo Stalker, How Does This Benefit Me?
Well weirdo stalker, this works out great for you. With the segmentation feature you can apply these rules to your entire profile and essentially 'filter out' everything but your segment. Here I can see exactly what my victim did for the entire month of November. Every web page visited, times and dates that those pages were viewed and for how long. Everything I could do before with those 'anonymous visitors'.
Final Thoughts?
Segmentation is really cool! Even better is you can take these same rules and create a custom report and add that custom report to your main pages dashboard. Now you'll always know when that special someone (or friend in my case) visits your website. Stalkers unite!
