Check out Internet Retailer this week. There's a slew of stories on web analytics. Check out a few of the headlines: Web analytics the leading source for merchandising plans, study says Web analytics tops customer-experience spending priority list for 2008 CableOrganizer.com boosts conversion rates by 10% with web analytics Omniture and Baidu.com bring web analytics to China Data shows Google Analytics emerging as widely used tool Analytics helps Bluefly with top secret sale It's a virtual web analytics bonanza. Good coverage. Be sure to check it out.

Google Audio Ads advertisers can now see how their campaign metrics for impressions, ad plays, markets, and CPM correlate with their website traffic data provided by Google Analytics, such as conversions, revenue, and transactions. Customers can see if their audio campaigns resulted in greater amounts of traffic and conversions on a regional basis. A pretty cool notion for folks that have tapped into the power of audio ads. Radio ads can be a major factor in driving conversions on your website. Consider these stats: radio reaches 94% of all Americans over the age of twelve every week. Almost half the US population listens to the ...

I was talking on the phone last week with a consultant who understands the power of words. He also understood the power of analytics, but admitted he was clueless as to how to really make web analytics work for him. This is the disconnect that's still prevalent in the web world. While web analytics is only a first step -- Conversion Design and Conversion Content principles are vital toward optimization -- it's an important first step. So when I saw the post over at iSnare this morning, I thought it was worth reviewing. Kathryn Dawson writes: "If you use Analytics on your web site ...

e-Consultancy asked Richard Foley, president of the Web Analytics Association, a few questions about where that cash is likely to go at a time when companies are struggling to recruit experienced analytics staff. He draws from the WAA's recent global survey to respond, and it's a good discussion. Click here to check it out. It's short and sweet, but there are some good nuggets in there we can glean from.

Megan Burns over at Forrester put out a new survey of vendor-neutral Web analytics consultants uncovered 91 firms across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The market is dominated by small firms that average fewer than five full-time consultants. However, she explains, these vendors are fairly experienced, reporting an average of four years in the Web analytics field and expertise with a wide range of platforms and industries. Firms looking to improve their use of Web analytics data to boost Web site performance should assign dedicated staff to the effort, then hire an experienced professional services firm to jump-start the learning process and establish ...