New Google Updates (Analytics, Reader, Adsense, and Checkout)

I’m sure I remember reading something like this at the start of the year (I’m making the quote up).

We (Google) are now going to stop releasing stacks of new stuff, and instead focus on improving what we have

It’s not a genuine quote but over the last few weeks Google has unveiled a bunch of new features for their various pieces of software so I thought I would mention a few of my favorites.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a hugely powerful web analytics service. What it does is track the visitors to your website, letting you know where they come from and what pages they are interested in. Those of you worried about privacy… everything is anonymous.

However, whilst the service is incredibly powerful, it has always been rather difficult to get to the information you want to find – until today.

Today Analytics received a total overhaul of the interface, with everything being made clearer and more intuitive, along with a stack of new features. You can view a small presentation outlining the new features and advantages of using Analytics here.

Google Reader Wiider

I visited Google Reader on my Wii this morning and noticed things looked different but didn’t think much of it. This afternoon I checked my feeds on my pc and noticed that Google has indeed created a brand new Google Reader (Google Wiider?) for the Wii. The new Reader makes use of the Wiimote controls to navigate, making the system even easier to use than before.

Adsense

I haven’t seen it yet but apparently Google is switching Adsense over to use the Google Account system, rather than having standalone accounts. To me, this makes sense, as having to log in every time I want to check how I am doing is rather frustrating. Also, one of the big bonuses of using Google services is that they are the closest I have to a global login, which makes me more inclined to use their services.

Checkout

Not the biggest feature in the world, but Google Checkout is now available outside of the US… I can use it here in England. I haven’t used it, but it’s nice to know I could if I wanted too 🙂 Now what I want is for the cart, Adsense, and Adwords to be combined so that I can buy things with my Adsense earnings.

And…

I think it’s great that Google is focusing on improving their services. I use many of their systems on a day-to-day basis (GMail, Reader, Calendar, Adsense, and Analytics) and I always like it when new features are released for software I use regularly. Currently Google is in a very giving mood, and I am hoping that this is the tip of a very large iceberg.