Vinoaj Vijeyakumaar, Customer Solutions Engineer, Google IncTwo months ago, during their Analytics event held in Singapore, Google announced the expansion of its web analytics offerings in Southeast Asia. New features were unveiled  that combine the sophistication and versatility of a full-service web analytics tool with Google Analytics’ ease of use and accessibility including enterprise-class features such as custom reports, advanced segmentation, an API as well as an updated interface, richer data visualisations and integration with Google AdSense. .Unsurprisingly, the event drew 200 marketers, ad agencies and businesses, all wanting more insight into Google’s free, next-generation web analytics tool, to better understand and serve their customers and improve the value of their marketing investments.

Google also made use of the opportunity to further promote  their new Analytics Individual Qualification program, announcing at the same time its first ever Google Analytics Authorised Consultant (GAAC) in the region, clickTRUE Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of SPH Magazines. A Pay Per Performance online marketing company that specializes in services such as Online Media Planning, Search Engine Marketing and Optimisation, Web Analytics Consultancy and Landing Page Optimisation, clickTRUE has gone into the history books by being the first here to meet the high standards set by Google, including passing web analytics client satisfaction criteria and a rigorous web analytics technical and strategy test.

Mr. Jereme Wong, Chief Operating Officer of clickTRUE, says that he is extremely proud that his company has been the first in Singapore and Southeast Asia to be certified as a Google Analytics Authorised Consultant. “Our participation in the Google Analytics Authorised Consultant program demonstrates our continued commitment to educate and deliver quality online marketing campaigns to our clients,” he states.

Far from blowing his own trumpet, Mr. Wong modestly affirms that clickTrue applied for the GAAC certification sometime in October last year, saying, “It simply happened that we were the first to apply for it and therefore got the certification ahead of anyone else in Southeast Asia.”

ClickTRUE’s value proposition is the fact that it enables its customers to market online with insights that will improve their online marketing campaign ROIs and ensure quality traffic to their websites by offering Google Analytics services.

As a Google Analytics Authorised Consultant, clickTRUE will provide support and consulting services to clients that prefer to leave web analytics to the experts to get the greatest return. According to clickTRUE’s COO, Analytics Consultancy will be rolled out as a new revenue stream as the company sees it complementing their existing Search Engine Marketing and Optimization services.

Although Google Analytics seems to be easy to use for beginners, it is without doubt most powerful in the hands of knowledgeable experts like clickTRUE or of course seasoned professionals like Goole’s very own, Mr. Vinoaj Vijeyakumaar, Customer Solutions Engineer, Google Inc., who was willing to give Asian e-Marketing more insight into Google’s Web Analytics strategy, which consists of a suite of free tools to help users understand how their site and audience are represented on the Internet, how their sites get discovered, how to engage site visitors and what his company intends to achieve with all this. That tools such as Google Insights for Search, Google Trends, Google Website Optimiser, and Google Webmaster Tools are provided as well he confirmed, explaining that: “These tools are especially relevant to marketers, agencies and businesses who want to assess how well their online marketing is working and to discover new opportunities before their competitors do”.

Mr. Jereme Wong, Chief Operating Officer of clickTRUEOver the course of the next year these tools will be enhanced as Google Analytics has already announced a number of innovative and powerful features: “Advanced segmenting and custom reporting now allows you to really own your data and view it in ways that truly mean something to you. Event tracking provides useful information for AJAX- and Flash-rich sites. The data API allows you to integrate your analytics data with your backend solutions”, he elucidates.

According to him the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GA IQ )Program is tailored for agencies who want to retain and develop employees who are knowledgeable about web analytics as well as individuals who seek ways to improve their job prospects or own personal development. Interested parties can access the training modules for free at http://www.conversionuniversity.com/.

Explaining the procedure for the program, Mr. Vijeyakumaar shares, “The material takes 3-8 hours to review depending upon the applicant’s existing knowledge. Once you have sat through the interactive training modules, you have the choice to sit for the GA IQ certification test which comprises 70 multiple choice questions. He adds that the level of interest in Asia has been encouraging so far.

What spurred the introduction of such a Program was the fact that Google realized that an online training program would hold many benefits for new and existing Analytics users. The birth of such a structured training program allows users of all levels to get up to speed on all the important aspects of the product. It also allows them to better familiarize themselves with the new features that are constantly being released.  A self-paced online training course gives the option to learn without being tied to a classroom and timetable. Furthermore, in keeping with Google's philosophies, the training modules have been made free to allow open and equal access to all.

The company expects a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant (GAAC) to have experience and expertise in implementing Google Analytics (GA) for different types of sites: e-commerce sites, lead generation sites, branding microsites, and so on. In addition, it also demands that a GAAC covers the analytical aspect as well, which means having the ability to assess reports for a client and advise them on what actions they need to take to improve their site for increased ROI. Ensuring a better user experience is also something that is expected. All in all, a GAAC should provide “great customer service and be an evangelist for web analytics in the community”.

Mr. Vijeyakumaar also notes that “Google is always looking for more GAACs regardless of which markets they operate in as the beauty of the online business and working with web-based products such as Google Analytics is that the GAACs do not necessarily have to be in the same country as their client. Web analytics experts usually approach us to become GAACs.  If there are agencies or development teams who believe they can be GAACs then I encourage them to visit http://www.google.com/analytics/authorized_consultants.html.  Here they can find the requirements for becoming a GAAC and the e-mail address to submit their application to.”

So why not grab this chance to demonstrate proficiency in Google Analytics if it’s something up your alley?

By Daniela La Marca