There seems to be an increased buzz around cross-channel media attribution from many vendors lately and although we posted on the subject of attribution before we never really got into the nuts and bolts of the different platform options so here you go.

Check out the below slides we recently pulled together for one of our clients - the 1st part is a recap on cross-channel media attribution best practice in case you're new to the topic but the 2nd part goes into the detailed pros and cons of the various different technology platforms we've had experience with.

• Google Analytics multi-channel funnels
• Adobe SiteCatalyst Cross-Visit Participation JavaScript plugin, Light Server Calls and DoubleClick/Mediamind Genesis integration
• Atlas, Mediamind and DoubleClick ad server based purchase path tracking plus custom media attribution modelling
• Specialised ClearSaleing media attribution platform and out-of-the-box reports

Finally, it's important to make a distinction between media attribution and purchase path tracking, one is necessary to enable the other but they are not the same. Tracking the complete purchase path, i.e. every paid and organic campaign touch point leading up to a conversion is a necessary requirement to be able to actually do media attribution or the allocation or conversion credits back to those touch points. The purchase path tracking is the data collection if you so want and the media attribution the actual analysis or modelling part - given attribution modeling is only as good as the underlying data the below slides are focusing manly on the data collection aspects of the different options.

All you Google Analytics fans out there should check out the new SEOMOZ blog post on how to pull real-time Google Analytics data into Google Docs.

Jamie has written a detailed step by step guide on how to use Google's Data Feed Query Explorer to extract raw data from any Google Analytics account in real-time and then pump it into a Google Doc. Once connected, you can create summary reports and simple dashboards right inside Google Docs and share them with your colleagues - cool!

Google has added an exciting new feature to its Analytics tool to help you visualize how different classes of visitor move around your site. There have been a few attempts at this kind of visualization, none of which have been particularly useful. We think this one hits the mark rather well.

Starting on the left you see where visitors have come from, which is the default but you can start from other segments, then the landing pages and subsequent pages. The Datalicious site is pretty simple, so there's not much, but what we see in our clients' sites is much more interesting, with the full complexity of connections laid out in a really interesting way. This new feature will be gradually rolled out to all Google Analytics users over the next few weeks.

It comes hot on the heels of Google's Real Time view, which is also being gradually rolled out and gives a brilliant live dashboard of who is on your site right now. Google are clearly taking the analytics space very seriously, with lots of very cool stuff in the pipeline that we can't talk about yet!

Email us at insights@datalicious.com or call us on 1300 209 601 if you need help with your Google Analytics set-up or would simply like someone to analyse your data and make some campaign and website optimisation suggestions.

A small but potentially quite big change to Google Analytics has been pushed out. It relates to how sessions are handled, which you'll see in the "Visits" metric in Google analytics.

Most web analytics tools have to work out a "visit" metric to try and give you some idea of people coming to, then leaving, your site. The problem is that the analytics tools don't get a "goodbye" message when the visitor leaves the site, so they have to use other mechanisms. The traditional way is a timeout of 30 minutes without any activity from the visitor, or if the visitor closes his browser.

This change to Google Analytics introduces the idea of any change to the traffic source value resulting in a new session, that is a new visit. These values are set whenever a visitor arrives from an external site, meaning any new arrival basically, even if it happens within the previous 30 minute time-out bracket.

It's a pretty sensible change to the way the data is calculated and will affect all reports that include the "Visits" metrics. Any business wants to know how many people come through the front door, and how well they're converting them into paying customers. Even people who come through the front door more than once should be counted in that metric.

Details from Google about the change, including some rather panicky comments from users who are alarmed, can be found on the official Google Analytics blog post about the session tracking recent changes.

If you are an analytics professional with at least 2 years of work experience in data-intensive roles (preferably in a digital/direct markering environment) who would like to get into big data, web analytics and data driven marketing then you should apply. More experienced analysts and marketers are welcome to apply as well.

+ Keen interest in all things web analytics and online optimisation

+ Basic understanding of marketing principles provides a head start
+ Entrepreneurial spirit, business or marketing degree would be good 

+ Experience dealing with large and complex datasets a must have

+ Proven ability to turn data into insights and actionable recommendations

+ Ability to visualise and confidently present insights to key stakeholders

+ Ability to manage complex projects from start to finish a great advantage

+ Experience with business intelligence tools apart from Excel a bonus

+ Experience in dashboard design and development would be beneficial

+ Experience with either Tableau or Spotfire software would be fantastic

+ Experience with advanced statistical analysis and software a bonus 

+ Experience with Omniture and Google Analytics would be useful
+ Basic understanding of SQL and data warehousing would be good
+ Flexibility, lateral thinking and attention to detail are crucial
+ Ability to respond to client deadlines when necessary
+ Advanced Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills essential

+ Exposure to a growing list of interesting blue chip clients

+ Highly flexible working hours in a dynamic team environment
+ Young start-up with a "work hard, play hard" company attitude
+ Training on industry leading analytics and marketing platforms
+ Freedom to experiment with emerging technologies and new tools
+ Plenty of development and career opportunities in fast growing business
+ And of course you get a salary, maybe even a bonus plus other perks

If the above sounds interesting, please email us at jobs@datalicious.com so we can have a look at your resume and arrange a quick initial phone interview to ask you a few questions before we meet for a proper interview.