Embed Google Analytics Data in Your Reports Automatically

Google Analytics is at the heart of retail websites around the globe, recently tipping the scales in over 50% of surveyed sites. Website owners are attracted by the easy installation, intuitive user-interface and of course the price point (free), as well Google’s reputation for innovation in the online industry.

Many medium to large sized business owners will find that what Google Analytics lacks compared to its paid-for rivals is the big budget investment in customised reporting.

Google Analytics Dashboards

Google have made a valiant effort recently with their new customised dashboard, an extremely useful feature which allows you to build up a dashboard of your favourite widgets, all of which will load when you arrive. From here you can even download as PDF or in Excel, or schedule a regular report by email.

What’s this good for? Well let’s say you have a site which sells things. You probably know how much you sell each week, but you need to know where these customers are coming from in order to manage your business.

Head over to your dashboard, hit ‘Add a widget’ and make a pie chart showing Transactions grouped by Source (see below).

Ta-da! Well almost half of the sales shown here came direct, no surprise there as I know about half of my transactions are from repeat customers, but there’s a new site in 3rd place whose traffic has generated 30 sales. I should head over to that site and find out why, and maybe cut a deal with the site owner to promote this further.

What if I now want another widget which just shows the same information for a sub-set of products, perhaps the most profitable ones? Well this is where we reach the limits of the Google Analytics Dashboards, as segments and sub-sections of tables can’t be applied here.

Vuedata

For business dashboards and reports which require a bit more customised functionality, third party tools are available which will allow me to create these views automatically.

Vuedata is a new tool launched to allow site owners to build automatic dashboards quickly and easily, with no manual intervention. It pulls its data straight out of Google Analytics, so no code changes are required to get it working.

Vuedata’s interface follows the same familiar list of dimensions and metrics as the dashboard from Google Analytics, allowing you to quickly recreate reports. The headline feature is segmentation, making Vuedata one of the only external tools which allows advanced segmentation on all of your reports.

Creating My Business Dashboard with Vuedata

Once inside Vuedata, my report can be recreated by selecting ‘source’ from the list of dimensions and ‘transactions’ from the list of metrics. I also enter ‘-transactions’ in the sort box to ensure that the report shows the highest numbers first, and select ‘Last 3 months’ as my date range.

Hitting generate brings up my data in bar graph form, and flicking this over to Pie Chart gives me the end result I was looking for:

My favourite feature is the ‘Save to dashboard’ button, which saves all settings for future use.

Building on the example above, I’m also able to create a sub-report which looks specifically at my most important product. To do this I can create a segment, which is achieved through the slick new segmentation interface. In this example I’m segmenting ‘productName’ contains ‘widget’ to focus in on visitors who bought a specific item:

Using my Business Dashboard with Vuedata

Once set up, all my business reports are helpfully stored within the My Dashboard section of the site.

From here, all reports can be reopened, edited or shared using the build-in shortlink feature. The real business benefit here is convenience.

Once created, I can take any graph, and copy the automatically generated code into a blog, intranet site or client report.

The polished chart appears automatically and even allows viewers to hover and click on it to see further detail.

Vuedata is available to anyone who currently has a Google Analytics account.. Head over to www.vuedata.com to find out more.

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Home Organization Tools to Simplify Your Life

These products make our lives easier and less stressful by keeping things neat and making them easy to find. Organizers are great for solving clutter problems and making the best out of a small area. Use these space-savers to add invisible square footage to your home and make organizing your living space that much easier.

■ In the Bedroom

• Whether you have a library in your bedroom or you have magazines in your office, you can purchase hanging racks to help you organize your literary collection and keep files, magazines and papers all in one location.
• For your children’s rooms, you may want to invest in an under-bed storage bag so that they can keep their belongings in one spot and then hide it from view.
• If you have a large jewelry collection, you can buy either a hanging jewelry organizer or a jewelry box armoire. While the hanging organizer takes up less space because it can be hung up in the closet, the armoire is a great conversation piece and a beautiful addition to any bedroom.

■ In the Living Room

• Keep your phone and keys all in one place by using a SmartPad. The pad sticks to almost any surface and hold the objects in place.
• If you have children, instead of buying a toy box that sits in the middle of your living room, consider purchasing one on wheels that your children can take with them. It also doubles as a handy tool for grownup items like transferring laundry from one room to another.
• If you and your spouse have a large movie collection, a DVD tower holds all of your films and makes a fantastic addition to your living room furniture at the same time.  
• Storage chairs are available that vastly cut down on closet space you would need for blankets and pillows. Simply lift up the seat of the chair and use the hollow space beneath for your throw pillows when guests or messy children come to visit.

■ In the Kitchen

• Depending on how your home is laid out, you may come through the door and into your kitchen. To avoid tracking mud and dirt, install a shoe cabby to house and keep track of your shoes.
• Some Tupperware manufacturers market storage containers that come with their own storage racks so, when they are not in use, you can still keep the containers and the lids together.
• No longer will you have to dig through cupboards and drawers to find the right size pot; instead, invest in a ceiling pot rack that hangs from your kitchen ceiling. Not only will you be able to find the item you need easily, but it also adds a special decorate touch to the room.
• Silverware can often get disorganized, especially if you have young children helping out with the dishes who may confuse a salad fork with a “regular” fork. However, with an expandable flatware tray, you can keep your silverware in line and you can adjust the size to fit in any drawer.
• If you really run out of counter space, hang an organizer rail system on the wall. This type of mounted organizer can hold a variety of utensils as well as spices so that you never have to go digging for what you need.

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3 Important Things to Remember in Selling SEO Services

SEO has been a part of the digital age as one of the most effective tools in marketing. With this, more and more services in this field are being introduced on the web. Of course, online marketers are very familiar with this marketing tool but it's really best to ask for some professional help so campaigns will have a higher chance of success. 

There are some things that you need to remember if you are going to offer services in the SEO field. Since there are many competitors, you need something that will make your target clients purchase the services that you are going to provide. 

Keeping it Simple

If you are going to offer SEO services, always remember that your target clients will not have the knowledge that you do in this field. Most of them might think that SEO is a big risk, but they don't have any knowledge about the use of "tags" and PageRank sculpting. Of course, you have to inform them that you're able to do your thing really well - however, you don't want to confuse your target clients and alienate. Talking over their heads is something that you don't want to do. 

Explain the things that you do at a high level (without confusing them) and talk about the potentials that you have identified for their website. You might want to say something about the success you had in some of your clients but don't overdo it (you might look like you're begging for them to get your services). 

Having a Plan

For every goal, there is a specific plan. Do not precede with your SEO services without an effective plan of action. Do your homework - have some research about your target client's website and identify factors that will have the most impact in your SEO services. 

Pinpointing problems is like giving your services for free - you don't want to do this! However, you should be able to figure out fall outs to your target client's SEO efforts and tell them about your plan to fix it. This will allow them to understand what's going on, figure out the opportunities along with it, and give them the confidence that you're the person who's capable of fixing the problem. 

Being Passionate with Your Field of Expertise

Love what you do! This will help you a lot in presenting your services (since you normally get excited if you love what you're talking about). You have to make sure that your enthusiasm is evident to your client as you walk, talk, and present your services. Although there is a line between enthusiasm and professionalism, you have to make sure that your clients know that you are very excited to work with them. 

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Qualities To Consider When Branding

The process that will help your business have a lasting connection to your target consumers is called brand management. It may take some time, but this will allow your business to grow into something that people won't live without. On the other hand, the term "brand" is something that you want your target consumers to feel about. With careful planning, you will be able to enhance the growth of your business.

Of course, it takes a lot of time to have a successful brand. If you rush it (which is something that you don't want to do) all your efforts will be wasted. Here are some things to remember as you brand your business:

Be Unique

To stand out in a crowded marketplace whether it's local or global, you need to have a unique brand or identity. A good example is a successful company with an iconic branding - which is noticed easily and is very popular worldwide. Along with a quality customer service and products, it's not impossible to outshine your competitors. Always remember that the brand is like a message conveyed to your target consumers. As your business progresses as an established brand (noticed by many because of its uniqueness), marketing your products and services becomes easier.

A unique brand is recognizable - it will stand out in the minds of consumers. Cognitive Fluency (one of the psychological theories and ideas used in marketing) state that the easier "something" comes to the mind - such as your business or logo, the more likely a person or consumer will choose it. 

Credibility

This is very important in businesses since people want to have or buy something from an established and reputable company/business. If your business lacks credibility, your target consumers will most like to look for products elsewhere. A well-managed brand and high quality products will definitely contribute a lot to your credibility. 

If you provide good products and services, your chance of creating a lasting connection to your consumers will be greater. As a matter of fact, consumers enjoy the feelings they get when they buy something that they have come to love. Establishing this kind of thing along with your brand creates a successful business - with loyal customers that will brag about your products to other people most of the time. 

Something Memorable

A good brand will attract a lot of customers. The catch is - will the customers purchase something more in the future? Careful brand management will allow you to win back previous customers and have newer ones that will help your business in its success. If you have instilled a memorable feeling to customers, it will ensure their return when they need more of your products and services.

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Diet on a Tight Budget

Eating healthy foods is really great since it will help you a lot in warding off diseases and living a long life. However, most people are quite challenged mentally and financially since healthy recipes are quite hard to manage and the price of healthy foods are quite expensive than your usual processed food meals. While others bear this, you can still have healthy foods on your dining table even if you are on a tight budget. This will take your worries off if you're on a diet or body building plan. 

Take off the Junk

Your family (mostly your kids) will always ask you to buy some junk food when you go to the shopping mall. If you want to avoid junk food, it's best to shop alone and get something healthy. If you can't remove this kind of snack in your daily meals, you can at least look for a healthy snack substitute.

Beverages such as sodas are also considered junk food since it's packed with lots of sugar and other chemicals that might be harmful to your body. Instead of sodas, try to replace it with water or milk. Your family needs these things too in strengthening their muscles and bones. 

Fruits

This kind of healthy food is a great source of vitamins and enzymes that are very useful to your body. Although it has many benefits, it can be quite expensive too (especially those that are seasonal in nature). When they are in season, you can buy fruits in small quantities and freeze some extras. That way, you can have some fruits even if they're already out of season. 

Tips in Freezing: Wash the fruits well and remove any spoiled pieces. Dry the fruits thoroughly and put it inside sealed zipper bags (this will allow the fruits from rotting quickly).

Switch Meat to Beans

Meats and beans are great sources of protein - great food for body builders! If you are looking for lean meat, expect a greater price from meats with lots of fatty parts. Going for canned meat is nice since it's quite affordable but be wary of the chemical substances in it. The best way to cut the costs in your source of protein is to replace meats with beans. 

Caution: The recommended consumption of beans is at least 4 times a week. You don't have to eat beans all the time since it may trigger problems inside your body. If you are experiencing 

Go Fishing

Living in the coastal area is really great - not only because you can go swimming or surfing most of the time, but you can also go fishing too and save some money on the fish that you usually buy in the market. 

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Simple Reasons Why Web Strategies Fail

Why do you think online marketing strategies fail? Some people think that it's because of management incapability and others think that uncontrollable factors caused it. Well, online marketing strategies don't really mean to fail - they just do whether you like it or not. It might be because of the factors that went out of control or the lack of robust campaign backup.

There are infinite possibilities that may lead to the failure marketing strategies - it's an endless task to know why and when things go wrong. Companies may dig into this vortex and try to understand the cause of failure. 

Here are some of the reasons why online marketing strategies fail:

Operating without Specific Plans and Clear Goals
A serious plan of attack will allow your company to grow online. Without it, there's no reason why you should start your online business in the first place. Many things revolve around online marketing so you need yourself to be updated and keep your actions recorded most of the time.
Prior to you campaign, you need to have the knowledge of how the web works. If you don't know how search engine works - you will just waste your time and worse - your money! Your goals are also very important in your online marketing strategies - try to ask yourself if your online strategy is good enough to reach your goals. Whatever your goals are, your website needs to work that complements your marketing goals.

No Dedication and Patience
Your passion for marketing is a must if you want to market your business on the web. You have to allow your strategy to evolve and morph in order for a web strategy to work - online marketing requires changes along the way and your passion will help you a lot in finding new ways to have your target web traffic.

Patience is one of the most important things any businessman needs to market their brands/businesses online. The information highway is a very busy place and every day, people around the world create billions of pages/contents which require patience to reach out.

Crappy Website and Lack of Resources
A well built website is a must if you are going to spend time and resource on a comprehensive marketing strategy. A badly created website will only waste your time and resources - it might get the traffic that you want but the website will leave your traffic clueless about what to do and what's being offered. The last thing that causes a marketing strategy to fail is the lack of resources (if you are going to shoot for the stars, make sure you have enough power/fuel to execute everything properly in a consistent manner).

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How to Enable Facebook Timeline

Facebook recently announced the launching of the new face of Facebook, and with that came the feature called Timeline, a virtual scrapbook about your life through your Facebook profile. I've long been wanting to organize my life's history online, and I have finally got it.

Notes:

• Expect bugs. Timeline is not yet stable, considering that this is yet a beta/trial version.
• Not all users have this (yet), so expect that not everybody can see how your Timeline looks.
• Be sure that your Facebook account is verified (via phone or credit card).

To enable Timeline into your profile, all you need is to follow these steps:

1. Login to your Facebook account and enable Facebook Developer. (Be sure to allow permission to the app to access your profile.)

2. After granting permission to the app, you will be redirected to your Developers page. Now, create a new app. (See image below.)

(Be sure to fill up App Namespace, although it is not necessary for your timeline but it is required for the app to function properly.)

3. After creating the app, you will be redirected to your Developers page. (See image below.)

4. Now switch to the Open Graph tab right below the Settings tab. 

5. Fill in the required data and you're DONE. 

6. Allow a few minutes for the App to take effect and return to your profile. Look for the invitation to try Timeline right at the very top of your profile.

Hit the Get it Now button and your Facebook Timeline is good to go. After enabling Timeline, your Facebook profile will now have a new look. (See image below.) 

To add a header image, add a photo of your choice by pressing the Add a Cover button and upload the image of your choice.

Good luck and enjoy your new Facebook Timeline.

Need further assistance? Feel free to leave your queries on the comment section, we will tend to it the soonest time we can.

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