Web Analytics for free- Urchin goes the Keyhole Way

Move over Statcounter.com, Haveamint.com, MeasureMap, Blogbeat, WSS HBX, NetIQ , WebTrends, Core Metrics, Click Tracks, Omniture SiteCatalyst......Urchin is now free.

This was the best Monday morning news ever for the Analytics industry. I guess this will go a long way in promoting Web Analytics and better highlighting the importance of measurement for the Online Industry and how measuring results can positively impact the ROI. Measurable results always leads to better and informed decisions.

According to http://www.blogger.com/www.google.com/analytics, “You’ll be able to compare the behavior and profitability of visitors who were referred from each of your ads, keywords, search engines, and emails, and gain valuable insight into how to improve your site's content and design.."

The setup is easy, and reporting is exhaustive. I especially like the three different views for Executives, Marketers and Webmasters.

This is great news for SME's with a limited monthly marketing budget. Integration with Adwords has finally completed the picture and active monitoring can go a long way in impacting the bottomline.

It’s up to the Analytics community to talk about how this "free" tool can be best utilized by everyone. Let’s help spread the word.

For more information, read the discussion by Eric Peterson and the Google Analytics University.