San Francisco — In an attempt to start cross-breeding its Analytics and Webmaster Tools applications more tightly together, Google has rolled-out a limited pilot program in Google Analytics, which offers Web publishers a combined view of internal site traffic and search engine optimization (SEO) data under one roof.
The program, which is unleashed in “limited pilot” stage, will deliver Search Engine Optimization reports to Google Analytics, using the Search Queries data available in the Webmaster Tool.
“Webmasters have long been suggesting for better integration between Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics,” Google says on the Webmaster Central Blog.
At times, many webmasters have had to keep Google Analytics functioning in one browser window and Webmaster Tools open in another, said Kevin Lee, CEO of Didit, a search engine marketing firm.
“It is great to see that Google will combine data across the platforms with an integration,” he said via e-mail.
Web publishers can apply to participate in a test run of the linked tools.
Apart from the Search Queries data, the Search Engine Optimization reports will also make use of advanced filtering and visualization capabilities that come with the Google Analytics tools.
Moreover, Web publishers will be able to slice-and-dice the SEO data and create graphs using Analytics tools. “For instance, you can filter for queries that had more than 100 clicks and see a chart for how much each of those queries contributed to your overall clicks from top queries,” wrote Christina Chen and Torrey Hoffman from Google’s Webmaster Tools group in a blog post on Tuesday.
The cross-service tools for the pilot program, beyond empowering you the chance to see more data in one place, the reports will allow Webmaster data (such as clicks, queries, impressions, average position, etc.) to be seen in the dynamic Analytics charts. Many other Analytics features, such as filtering and visualizations, will be available.
For instance, organic search impressions, clicks average organic position and clickthrough rate (CTR) are part of the main application in this Google Analytics pilot. This is just the beginning for cross-integration, however, it seems that Google is mostly intends at rolling Webmaster data into Analytics.
This feature could significantly help webmasters perform deeper data analysis. While Webmaster Tools data focuses on how a site’s pages perform in Google search results, Analytics tracks users’ activities within the site. Having a combined view of both sets of data has been a popular request.
“We have heard from many of you that an integration between Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics is at the top of your wish-lists,” wrote Trevor Claiborne, from the Google Analytics group in another blog post.
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Moreover, Webmasters can use the search queries data to analyze the query list for expected keywords and compare impressions and clickthrough rates. It can also be helpful for keyword ideas for paid search campaigns.
“We hope this will be the first of many ways to display Webmaster Tools data in Google Analytics to give you a more thorough picture of your site’s performance,” said Claiborne of the Google Analytics Team. “We are looking forward to working with members of the pilot to help us identify the best ways to make this happen.”