Spun Digital - Finding customers online

Google Analytics can be used by firms to measure short-term improvements in search engine optimisation (SEO), it has been claimed.

The search engine giant's service can be used to examine the number of pages that have been indexed further up the ranking chain, according to Ran Nir in a post on EConsultancy's blog.

He suggests that getting more pages indexed should be an aim alongside improving the ranking of existing indexed pages.

Google Analytics also allows firms to see the total number of keywords that they are ranked for, which can be a useful yardstick for determining the effectiveness of any SEO improvements, Mr Nir claimed.

Being able to view the total number of web properties, such as Refereeing Sites that drive traffic to your site can also be a great prediction of keyword and index page success before these results start coming through, he added.

Mr Nir's comments follow those of ClickTale co-founder Tal Schwartz to Practical ECommerce, who suggested that Google Analytics may not provide accurate reflections of user behaviour when it comes to calculating the time spent on a particular page.