Get To Your Data Faster: Announcing Shortcuts In Google Analytics

We’re pleased to announce the addition of Shortcuts to Google Analytics. Shortcuts help you get to the exact view you want of your data in GA in record time. Rather than having to go through the "find report, add segment, change, sort" process daily, with Shortcuts you can do it once, save it, and come back to it in a single click.

How to create a Shortcut

Creating Shortcuts is simple. When viewing a standard or custom report in Google Analytics, click on the “Shortcut” button found on the report’s Utility Bar:

Then, give your new Shortcut a name:

Once named, you'll be taken straight to your report in the new "Shortcuts" section in the "Home" tab. Your report configuration has been stored, and your report shows up on the left side of the screen.

The following information is saved as part of a Shortcut:

• Standard or custom report for context


• Currently viewed tab on the report


• Sort order


• Advanced segments


• Graphed metric

Notably not saved is the date range and sample size. This is because they are very dependent on the data you are looking at.

Using Shortcuts

In the "Home" tab in Google Analytics, there is a new section called "Shortcuts". Here, you can find all of the shortcuts you’ve created, and navigate to each one. Clicking a Shortcut will "reset" the segments that are applied - so you know you'll always see the same customization every time you use a Shortcut.

If you make any changes while viewing a Shortcut and you want to have those changes persist for the next time you view the Shortcut, just click on “Save” from the report’s Utility Bar:

Managing Shortcuts

You can easily manage your Shortcuts from the Overview page, found under the Shortcuts navigation on the “Home” tab. From this page, you can also delete any of your created Shortcuts:

What else should you know?

• Shortcuts can be emailed and exported like any other standard report.




• Deleting a Shortcut will remove that report from any scheduled emails, as with deleting a custom report.




• Shortcuts apply at the profile level, like the rest of reports in Google Analytics.

This is a continued step in making your experience with Google Analytics as efficient as possible. We hope you find Shortcuts a useful feature.  

Posted by Andrew Seguin, Google Analytics Team

Mac OS X Hompage

With random endless changing OS X Mountain Lion Backgrounds

Safari
Safari is the default browser on Mac OS X. A while ago it was also ported to Windows. It’s one of the finest browsers around, but sadly underused. If you belong to the Safari-minority, this section is for you.

1. If you’ve got a Mac, open the Safari dropdown menu and select Preferences… at the top-left of the browser.
2. If you’ve got Windows, open the Edit dropdown menu and select Preferences… at the top-left of the browser.

Both in Windows and Mac, you can change your homepage in the General tab. You can choose how to open new pages — blank, or with a homepage — and type in the address of your favorite site. Additionally, you can also choose to use the address of the page you’re currently visiting.

While you’re at it, you can also tell Safari what to do upon opening new tabs. Top Sites, one of the best features in Safari, is default, but perhaps you still prefer to use your homepage.


Opera
Opera is – sadly – one of the lesser used browsers, even though it’s got remarkable charms and has introduced numerous innovations in the browser market. If you’re amongst the fine men and women using this slick competitor, this section is for you.

1. At the top of the browser, open the Tools dropdown menu and select Preferences.
2. In the General tab, you can configure your homepage. Either type in the address you want to use, or choose to use the currently active page as homepage.

Alternatively, you can configure Opera to launch with a blank page, the startup dialog, or with the tabs of last time’s session.


Firefox and Firefox-based Browsers
Firefox is not just the acclaimed geek-browser anymore. These days, it’s the most used browser in the internet market. As such, that is where we’ll start. Note that any menu-names might have to be translated to your own language, but any changes should be obvious.

How to Set Browser Home Page ?
In the top left of your browser, open the Edit menu and select Preferences.
In the Main tab, you can change your default homepage.
You can also configure Firefox to load with a blank page, or to restore your last session.

When you start typing in the text-field, Firefox will make suggestions based on your history. Alternatively, you can also use the address of the webpage currently active in your browser, one of your bookmarks, or restore the default Firefox Start page.

You can add multiple home pages — which will launch in tabs upon opening firefox — by putting vertical slashes between the links. (e.g. “http://mac--desk.blogspot.com | http://www.google.com”)

This will work with Firefox, but also with Firefox-based browsers, like Flock, Wyzo, and many others.


Internet Explorer (IE7 and IE8)
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer might be loathed by many, but one can’t ignore the fact that it takes a worthy second as most used browser. And thus we go on. The differences between Internet Explorer 7 and 8 are superfluous for this tutorial.

Option 1
In the top right of your screen, open the Tools dropdown menu and select Internet Options.
In the General tab, you’ll be able to set the browser home page to one of your liking. Similar to Firefox, you can use the address of the currently active page, the default start page, or a blank page.
If you want Internet Explorer to open multiple pages upon launch, you  need to type the different addresses in the text-box, below each other.

Option 2
There’s a second way to configure your home page. First, surf to the webpage you want to use.
Next, open the dropdown menu next to the Home button, and select Add or Change Home Page…
A new window will pop up. You can choose to replace your current home page by the current address, or to add the webpage to your current bookmarks.
In Internet Explorer 8, you can also use the current tab set (all your open pages) as homepages.


Google Chrome
Chrome‘s one of the new guys on the block, but a relatively popular browser, taking in account its short time with us. If you like Google’s browser of simplicity, this part is for you.
In the top-right corner of the browser, open the wrench dropdown menu and select Options. Go to the Basics tab, here you can configure your homepage.

Option 1
Make sure that ‘Open the following pages’ is selected in the startup section near the top of the page.
In the box below, you can add multiple web addresses to be opened upon browser launch. If you want to open a blank page, you’ll have to enter ‘about:blank’, manually.

Option 2
Make sure that the ‘Open the home page’ is selected in the startup section near the top of the page.
In the Home Page section, you’ve got two options. Either use the New Tab Page — which is selected by default — or enter a custom address in the text-field.

A more dynamic mobile reading experience

Last year we introduced mobile templates on Blogger, and Dynamic Views for the desktop. Since then, over 2 million blogs have started using Dynamic Views on desktop, and users have asked us for more mobile features. So today, we’re bringing the speed and advanced reading experience of Dynamic Views to mobile.  Configuring your blog to use a Dynamic View on mobile will result in a reading experience that mirrors the desktop, but is optimized for mobile.

To configure a Dynamic View for mobile on your blog, select the "Template" tab, and then click on the settings cog under the “Mobile” preview.  

If you’re currently using Dynamic Views on the desktop and have the “Default” mobile template selected, you don’t need to do anything -- your blog will automatically start using the mobile optimized view when viewed from a compatible mobile browser. For more information, see Blogger Help.

Currently, only the “Classic” view, which is best suited for small screens, will be shown on mobile. Tablets with large screens will get the full desktop experience. As with the older mobile templates, supported browsers are WebKit-based browsers (such as Android Browser, Chrome for Android and iOS, and Mobile Safari).  


We hope your readers enjoy the modern, compelling experience that this mobile update provides.

Google App Engine Tips and Tutorials on Google Developers Live

Have you ever wanted to use a new feature of Google App Engine, but were uncertain of how to get started? Documentation and sample applications are a great way to start learning about App Engine, but sometimes a more interactive approach can make all the difference. 



Google Developers Live is exactly that. Each week, members of our Developer Relations Team host a Google+ Hangout or event to discuss a feature or tip. You can get expert answers to your questions, live. In addition to the live session, these talks are recorded and available on YouTube for you to view whenever you want.



We’ve hosted sessions on using Google Cloud SQL, Google Cloud Endpoints, and other Google Cloud Platform services like Google Compute Engine. Have a topic you’d like to learn more about? Let us know by filling out this questionnaire.

- Posted by the Google App Engine Team

Go Mobile with Google - Create a Mobile Site for Free

With an estimated 70 million mobile Internet users in the country, Mobile Internet is taking off in India. And to help your business get ahead in this mobile era - we at Google India are very excited to launch a new initiative called ‘Let’s talk Mo’.



With Indian smartphone users spending over 72 mins daily on the mobile web (89% of them are searching for information*), the user-experience is not optimized for the mobile screen as most Indian websites are still designed for the PC experience. That’s why starting today, Google is giving Indian businesses two options: (1) Create a mobile optimized site for Free (2) Test how user friendly is your existing mobile site. We have launched a dedicated website that provides all the tools and resources that businesses need to have a presence on the mobile platform.

[*Source: Nielsen Informate Insights for smartphone users 2012]

On the Let’s Talk Mo website, businesses will be able to see how their sites look on a smartphone using the GoMoMeter tool and get personalized recommendations for creating a more user friendly experience. You can also choose from a range of partners who provide a Do It Yourself (DIY) tool to create a mobile site free of cost. The site also provides information on current mobile trends, best practices, case studies and various other resources to help businesses develop a successful mobile presence.



What's more, whether you are an advertiser, agency or a publisher, we have customized guides tailored to your specific requirements.



With more and more people using their mobile phones to explore the web, it makes sense for businesses to have a website optimized for mobile, sooner than later.



So, visit letstalkmo.com and get mobile ready!



Posted by Nikhil Rungta, Country Head Marketing, Google India

Release Schedule for AdWords API

In response to your feedback, we are pleased to announce that starting at the end of September 2012, new major versions of the AdWords API will be released according to a published schedule. These major releases will occur 3 times per year: at the end of February, in the middle of June and at the end of September. Exact release dates may vary.



A major release is one that starts the sunset clock on previous releases. An example of this is the recent v201206 release which started the sunset clock on the v201109 and v201109_1 releases. We will also continue to release minor versions to deliver new features as required. Minor versions are optional and are source code compatible. Minor versions are delivered as dot releases and an example of this is the v201109_1 dot release.



We believe that delivering new API releases to a published schedule will allow you, the API users, to better plan and allocate resources, not just for performing required API updates but also for innovating and implementing new features and continuously developing your tools and platforms. It also provides us with a more stable and more frequent vehicle for delivering new features.



Each new major release will trigger the deprecation of the previous major release. Exact deprecation timelines will be announced with each major release.



If you have any questions about this announcement please post on the forum or attend one of the AdWords API Office Hours Hangouts.



- Mandy Waite, AdWords API Team

Some Changes to DoubleClick Ad Planner

We are constantly evaluating our products to make sure that we are investing in tools that create the most value for our customers. Sometimes this requires making some changes...as we will be with DoubleClick Ad Planner. Starting on September 5, 2012, DoubleClick Ad Planner will become a tool dedicated to researching placements across the 2 million sites comprising the Google Display Network. Our goal will be to make this a best-in-class planning product for the GDN. It will also get a new name: the Google Display Network Ad Planner.

In order to maintain the highest level of quality planning data and to invest in new functionality, we will also need to discontinue some existing features. You will start to see, for example, that certain filters and demographic data will no longer be available in Ad Planner.

Next Steps

• Please visit our Ad Planner Help Center for a full list of changes.


• If there is any data or media plans that you will need after this change that will no longer be available, please export and save them before September 5th.

Thanks for your support and understanding as we continue to focus on developing new monetization features for publishers and advertisers.

Posted by Vincent Lacey, Product Manager