Could We Soon Be Using MicroStats
Microsoft really appears to be taking the search marketing world seriously in an effort to ensure it can effectively compete with Google and Yahoo. Late last year Google released Google Analytics and if you have been lucky enough to get a copy (the program has a waiting list) you know it is an excellent way to view you web site data and metrics. Google rolled out this service after purching Urchin Software who was of course in the web site tracking business.
Microsoft has followed suit by announcing a “significant investment” in DeepMetrix, a privately held Canadian company that develops web analytics and business intelligence tools for online marketers and publishers.
Having used DeepMetrix products in the past I can state they are very good and quite capable or doing a few things even better then the Urchin Based Google Analytics. Smart marketers tend to use more then one tracking software though and I hope soon to be able to look at stats side by side from what ever MSN rolls out along side Google Stats. The more views into your data the better.
I would say based on past timelines we should expect to see some level of an Microsoft Stats product by fall of this year but that is just my guess. There are two key questions we will be waiting to have MS answer.
1. Will this product be like Google Analytics and be available to anyone not just people that purchase advertising?
and
2. Will Microsoft do a better job of allocation of resources so they can open the product to everyone and not have a closed waiting list? Right now the average wait to get an Analytics Invation from Google is several month.
For those answers we will have to wait. The real question is when will Yahoo snap to needing a good analytics platform?
Jack Spirko