The new interface of Google Analytics has been live for a few months now and we have discovered some great features that weren’t heavily promoted in the initial excitement.

These “hidden gems” have been right under your nose, providing brand new information on your data or perhaps just a new way of looking at the same old numbers. Here are some of our favorite innovations.

Each month, we'll be interviewing one of our fab employees here at Whereoware.  For February, we're happy to introduce Dan Caro, a web marketing manager!

 By now, it should be a well-established practice to design for mobile. We’ve said before that mobile web traffic is growing at an alarming rate – almost 160% in 2010! But is all mobile the same? Or do you need to pay a bit more attention to tablet shoppers?

Each month, we'll be interviewing one of our fab employees here at Whereoware.  First up is Faith Albers, one of our hard-working marketing managers. Enjoy!

"What is the best time to send emails?"

"How do you know?"

The internet is peppered with blog posts all attempting to answer these same questions. One company may think the prime time for email sends is 8 am, while another may say it’s 11 pm.

So which is it?

The problem is that all of these companies have different types of audiences, so it is difficult to nail down the optimal time based upon another company’s successes.

By now, you know that Google Analytics can be used for many types of analyses, from pinpointing referral sources to uncovering which keywords your customers are looking for. But if you’re an ecommerce site, you may be missing out on one of the most important features – Google Analytics’ ability to take stock of revenue stats using ecommerce tracking.

Sounds great, but how?

Even with highly organized categories and an easy-to-understand nav bar, customers may still have trouble finding products on your site. Help shoppers find what they want with internal site search…

Why?

In 2010, 90% of companies said that search was the number one means of navigation on their site and that 82% of visitors use site search to find the information they need (Google Enterprise, 2010). Perhaps the most telling testament to the importance of search, however, is the fact that 80% of visitors will abandon a site if search functionality is poor. Transform your site abandonment rates by creating an intuitive site search.

With the new year approaching, now is a great time to brush up your email creative. Try out our top five creative tweaks to get your email ready for 2012.

We’ve talked about the benefits of working social media into both your website and email campaigns. With any luck, the two efforts will play off of each other, encouraging site visitors to sign up for emails and driving email recipients to your site. But how do you know if your social media efforts are having any effect?

Some important social metrics can’t be measured by Google Analytics, such as the number of comments on your blog posts, number of followers who are sharing your content or the number of followers who like your content. The Google Analytics platform, however, is a great place to look for information on the effects of social on your website.

Your inbox is likely awash with holiday emails, but as 2012 approaches, marketers are already gearing up for their next targeted campaigns. Don’t fall behind the pack - here are some trends to watch that’ll keep you in the game.