The method of tracking for LinkedIn buttons differs a little bit from the others I’ve posted so far. Currently, LinkedIn does not provide a callback function that executes when an action is completed — there’s no flag in the code that says “visitor shared something, now what?”. Instead, we have to build our own JavaScript function that we can bind to an action. In order to do so, this example uses jQuery, a popular JavaScript library.

The first step is to get your button code snippet from LinkedIn. LinkedIn calls this service LinkedIn for Publishers. When you generate the code, it will look something like this:

This script from LinkedIn above generates new HTML which is inserted into the page in order to create the ‘Share’ button and its functionality. The code generated includes a new <div> element, which has the class name IN-widget.

This gives us the chance to reference the generated button with a little code of our own. Using the jQuery .ready event handler — to ensure that the code does not execute until LinkedIn is finished building the button — we construct a new function that binds to the “click” event for all objects with the class name ‘IN-widget‘. In this function, we include the Google Analytics social tracking code, to create a new social event.

This new code can be added pretty much anywhere on your page — you may want to include it right after the code LinkedIn gives you to keep them together, or put it in your header if that’s how you prefer to organize your site.

Note that in this example, the last parameter, window.location.href, will send the current URL along as the resource shared. In different systems, you may prefer to output the URL directly, rather than through JavaScript. For instance, in WordPress, you may replace the last parameter with the permalink for a post:

Now, there is one issue which must be kept in mind. In the case of the Facebook and Google +1 buttons I’ve previously shared, the social event code only fires after something has been shared. That’s the benefit of the callback function provided by those services. In the case of LinkedIn, however, what we’re really tracking are clicks to the share button — it’s possible for someone to cancel sharing after clicking the button, so you may get an inflated total.

With that caveat in mind, you’re all set! Once you’ve added this JavaScript, your LinkedIn shares will appear in the new social reports in Google Analytics. You can find these reports under “Visitors > Social” in the new version of GA. With this, your web analyst can help you determine what impact these buttons have on your site and your business. For instance, whether frequently-shared articles get much more converting traffic from LinkedIn, and whether the people who share things are also the people who convert themselves.

Until next time,

Colin

Social media is difficult to track, and as a result, it’s notoriously difficult to assign value to it. So, adding tracking to the few places you can is important. One of those places that we frequently encounter is the Facebook Like button.

Last week, Google introduced Social Interaction Tracking in Google Analytics. Essentially, this allows you to put events from social media interactions into a special category that groups all social engagements together.  We’ve been tracking social media interactions on our clients’ sites for quite a while, but until now this was done with event tracking. The new format, using the Social Interaction reports, lets you view the data through reports that are specifically tailored for this kind of activity. It also lets you more easily group any kind of social interaction together, and provides some automatic segmentation of socially engaged visitors.

So, using this new code, here’s my update on how to track Facebook “Like” buttons in Google Analytics. In this example I use the latest code from Facebook, so you’ll want to update any existing Like buttons you have. I also used the latest, asynchronous version of the Google Analytics tracking code.

Getting your Facebook Like Button code

The first thing you’ll need is the code that actually creates the Like button, which can be obtained from Facebook. Facebook requires you to be a registered Facebook developer in order to make your buttons, which means confirming that you’re a real person either by a text to your mobile phone, or by entering credit card information.

In the post I mentioned above, I said that everything that happens on your site can be tracked — but that some things, including iframes and entirely-external JavaScript cannot easily fit into the mix. Facebook Like buttons can fit into either category. There’s an iframes version, which simply loads in a tiny window into Facebook that’s outside of the reach of JavaScript. The consequence: you can’t track the iframes Like button.

The other method uses Facebook’s XFBML. This version is mainly JavaScript-driven, but includes one very cool feature: Facebook provides a function to handle a Like event. That is, Facebook gives you an opportunity to add extra code to be executed whenever a “Like” happens. This is the perfect spot for Google Analytics event tracking, so make sure to choose the XFBML version of the Like button.

Facebook will give you some code that looks something like the following. Of course, APP_ID_HERE and PAGE_URL will both be replaced by your App ID from Facebook, as well as the URL of the page to Like — both of these parameters are set automatically when you generate the button. The settings you choose when you generate the button will change the second line.

Adding the Google Analytics social tracking

What you need to add is a simple line of code that adds a new JavaScript function. This function’s purpose is to execute whenever the Like button is clicked, and fire a Google Analytics tracking code when that happens.

The asynchronous (async) version of the code looks like this:

You may also want to track “Unlikes”, cases where a visitor clicks the Like button again to remove the page from their Liked content. Using the async method, add this to the JavaScript:

Here’s what the final code looks like when you’ve added the new tracking snippet.  Again, APP_ID_HERE and PAGE_URL, in red, need to be replaced. The new tracking code is highlighted in color:

So that’s it! Google Analytics tracking for Facebook “Like” buttons on your website. Once people start to ‘Like’ your pages, you’ll see the data show up in the Visitors > Social area of your Google Analytics account (in the new version).

Using the Data

Once you have your tracking in place, your web analyst can make use of Google Analytics segmentation and a little bit of smarts to answer some really cool questions. Are the same visitors who “Like” products the same ones who actually buy them? Do posts, pages and articles with more Likes serve as the landing pages for more converting visitors? Is there a best position for social media buttons to get the most shares, Tweets and Likes without distracting from conversions?

All of these questions can be answered with this data. Together with the referral data from incoming Facebook visitors, these insights can give you a sense of how valuable Facebook Like buttons are on your site and how you can best make use of them.

Until next time,

Colin

As analysts, we naturally want all of the data, so my first thought was, “OK, how do we track this thing?” As it turns out, Google thought of that as well. When you’re creating your +1 button, there’s an Advanced Options area which lets you customize the button. One of those options is to reference a callback function — JavaScript code that will execute when a +1 event happens. This is the perfect place for a little Google Analytics event tracking.

The code you get from Google will look something like this:

The first part, the <script> tag, doesn’t need to change and will need to be put in your header no matter what. What will change is the second part, the <g:plusone> tags. If you choose to add a callback function, it’ll look something like this:

In this example, I added a callback named track_plusone. This is a reference to a JavaScript function called “track_plusone” that will need to be defined on the page as well.  Here’s the code for my initial function:

What this function does is fires a Google Analytics event tracking code. It sets the category of that event to “Social Shares”, the action to “Google +1 Vote” and the label to the URL of the page the button was clicked on. You can change the category and action to suit your own conventions, of course. The page is technically available in the new GA interface, where you can view events by page as well.   The result is an event that shows up in Google Analytics whenever an item is voted for. Events take anywhere from one to 24 hours to show up, and appear within the Content > Events area of the Google Analytics user interface.

There’s one other feature we need to account for. Not only can visitors click the button to +1 vote for a page, but they can click it again to undo their vote — effectively giving you a -1 vote. We’ll need to be able to distinguish between initial +1 votes and -1 vote “undo” events. So, here’s a revised version of the function, which gives you two kinds of event actions: “Google +1 Vote” and “Google -1 Vote (Undo +1)”. Again, you change those details to match your conventions.

[ Update: Google has also indicated that they will be adding some +1 reports of their own into Google Analytics, so these features will be integrated. You may prefer to do it that way, but one of the reasons we're using this code is that it allows our "social shares" events to be grouped and roll up into one category. At a glance, we can see how many shares happened on the site, and then drill down to see which services they came from. It's all about getting the right structure you want for the way you look at your site's features. ]

[ Update 2: Google has now unveiled its new reports for tracking social media interactions. The integrated +1 tracking is now combined with a new version of the event tracking code that's specific to social media. I added a post on tracking Facebook Like buttons using Google Analytics social tracking to showcase the new code, but the +1 buttons have this feature automatically, so strictly speaking, you don't need to add this yourself anymore. We still use this code to show these alongside our existing events for social tracking, at least until we get more data from the new method and phase the event tracking version out. ]

This kind of tracking lets your web analyst answer questions about the value of these Google +1 buttons, and the voters who use them. Are people who +1 vote for products the same people who purchase them? Do those people tend to come from social media themselves?

Social media is notoriously tough to track, so answering questions like this can be very useful to understanding what exactly you gain by adding these buttons to your site. Are they worth it? Let the data tell you.

Until next time,

Colin

If you use the service, you probably know that Entrecards, which used to show approved ads from community members, and paid you in credits, and allowed you to advertise on other Entrecards, now show paid ads 50% of the time.  You can reject paid ads, and check an option (it’s not checked by default!) to only allow approved ads on your widget, but that doesn’t change this core change in the purpose of Entrecard.  OK, so that’s not what Entrecard was to begin with, and not what we signed up for.  But maybe we’ll all make some money, so let’s hear them out.

It was recently announced that algorithms would be developed to determine who gets payouts first.  The algorithm would attempt to determine your value to Entrecard’s community as a whole.  Feel the love.  Here are the criteria:

1. How many cards you drop / how frequently
2. % of paid ads you approve
3. % of Entrecard ads you approve
4. Listings you create / completed sales in the market
5. How many credits you transfer to others (indicative of contests, tips, and generosity)
6. % of credits you spend on Entrecard ads

Ok, so, I have to be willing to approve most of the ads coming my way, even if they’re irrelevant to my site and inappropriate for my visitors?  I have to participate in this weird marketplace community that trades goods and services for Entrecard credits (I thought those were for advertisements, but whatever.  I can pay 1EC for some guy to follow me on Twitter.  Yippee.).  And I have to hold contests for my credits, or just give my credits away?  You want to buy my credits, but only if I give some of them away first?

Of course, Entrecard has always been more valuable to those who have the time and energy to drop cards all day, to round up huge amounts of credits and hold contests to give them away, etc, etc.  But there was value in it for those of us with work, school, social lives, and, uh, blogging to do anyways.  I got a bunch of junk traffic, and a bunch of valuable traffic.  I got new eyes on my blogs.  I got comments.  But now, the value of the advertisements I place has been halved, since paid ads will show over mine 50% of the time, unless I, too, pay.

So, what motivation do I have to support paid ads on Entrecard? Whether or not I ever see a dime for showing paid ads on my site is completely uncertain.  It looks like if I become more active with Entrecard, I maybe, kind of, could see a few bucks.  But if I cash out the entirety of my credits right now (i.e. if they’d let me), I may be able to eat at McDonald’s.  Y’know, if trying to cash in credits weren’t enough to give me a heart attack.

News. Flash. I get more money than that from Google AdSense where I use it, and I don’t have to jump through hoops to get them to pay me.  I don’t have to run around visiting other AdSense sites and clicking on ads to get a return for the ad space I’m using myself.

Who would join Entrecard after this?  Here’s the pitch: “Put this widget on your blog.  We’ll show paid ads on it.  We might pay you for them, but, sorry, if you’re not going to play our little dropping game, you’ll be last on the list.  But why wouldn’t you want to participate?  Aren’t you a team player?  We’re all about community here.”

What makes Entrecard think it’s cool to push paid ads onto my site and say, “Hey, I’ll get you later”?  Entrecard was great as a community site where everything was about bloggers working together.  But this gradual change into a paid ad marketplace sucks, and the fact that it’s happening slowly has some bloggers excited about the idea that their credits could turn into cash.  So much so, that some people seem to be hoarding credits away rather than using them to keep the free half of the system moving.

I’m trying to have faith that this will work itself out, so I haven’t removed my widgets yet.  Maybe if I just reject paid ads and focus on the original intent of Entrecard, I’ll still get value from it.  Or, maybe the system will improve and I’ll eventually get some money from it.  Entrecard isn’t neccessarily doomed, but I don’t think they’re on the right track.  So, we’ll see.

I joined a community-driven, cooperative ad network.  Now I’m in a paid ad network.  And not a very good one.

Game developer Infinity Ward, the company behind the immensely popular Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is calling on gamers to submit suggestions for its next title via Twitter.  In order to submit a suggestion for Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2, or answer the current question posed by the dev team, just include the hash tag #MW2 in your tweet.

The company has launched a web app to compile the replies, which is now live at twitter.infinityward.com, and is already collecting huge amounts of feedback from the dev community.

This is a great thing for Infinity Ward in a number of ways.  For one, getting lots of feedback and identifying the trends is just going to make the game better, which is great for the company and its customers.  Additionally, it’s building better relationships with their target audience, and helping them ensure that its games remain in gamers’ minds between releases.  (Good call on this one @fourzerotwo!)

The Canadian party leaders participating in the debate.

In Canada, New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton (@jacklayton) brought pieces of the debate right into Twitter.  He apparently had a team working behind the scenes to offer NDP responses to some of the things said by the other leaders (mostly Harper).  During the debate, several “fact check” tweets were posted, linking to various statements on the NDP website that offered the NDP account of what really happened.

Most of the other candidates have Twitter accounts too — Prime Minister Stephen Harper (@pmharper), Green Party leader Elizabeth May (@ElizabethMay) and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe (@gillesduceppe) are all up there.  The only Canadian leader who doesn’t seem to have an active Twitter profile (at least not one that I could find) is Liberal leader Stéphane Dion.  @stephanedion isn’t following anyone, and has only a “Hello Twitter!” statement from over a year ago.

I’ve followed all of the leaders, but so far only Jack Layton and Stephen Harper have followed me back.  (Seeing “Stephen Harper is now following you on Twitter!” pop up in my email was amusing to me.)  I’ll be disappointed if Elizabeth May doesn’t follow me, but she hasn’t posted a tweet since the debate, and it looks like she genuinely manages her own Twitter account.

I do hope that whoever becomes Prime Minister does keep using Twitter.

This year, Blog Action Day will focus on another global problem: poverty.  Bloggers from around the world are called to write a post about the issue and publish it on October 15 to raise awareness of global poverty and work together to help the problem.

I’ve just registered Work, Web, Play to participate this year, and I’ll be writing on my other blogs where I can.   It looks like I made it into the first 100 sites to register.  Be sure to get your blog registered on blogactionday.org and join in the cause on October 15!

This year, it’d be great to see some more corporate blogs take part as well — social awareness is always a great trait to see from the corporate world.  This is a great opportunity to promote your business as a socially conscious, forward-thinking organization.

But, talk has been growing over the past year about the future of this utopia we’re all building together — or at least, its business future. The analysts say the tides may be turning yet again: that Web 2.0 is forming a bulge of a bubble that’s about to burst at the seams.

And they’re probably right. If you look around, it’s pretty obvious that there’s a lot of noise going on. Of course, we’ve had Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Digg, Flickr and the great big blogosphere for a while now. But every day it seems I’m learning about some new Web 2.0 app and how it’s the best thing for me since sliced turkey. There are way too many social media sites out there, and I’m afraid that sitting in the middle of this with my Web Marketer and Web Developer hats on has gotten me awfully dizzy.

And while wearing those hats — yes, I wear actual hats — I’m often browsing freelancer sites looking for fun and exciting projects to work on. Without fail, there are daily postings from investors looking to build the next MySpace, Digg or i-silver-bullet. If not, they at least want a new Facebook app that will create the viral marketing their business always needed to get off the ground.

After the 2000 dot-com burst, this kind of if you build it they will come smack in the face of rationality came to a grinding halt, and the executives who didn’t smarten up were politely asked to die in a hole somewhere. Now, it seems like the coffers are opening up again to buy a piece of Web 2.0 pie.

Of course so many “Web 2.0″ companies are living off of traffic and ad revenue alone — but what about those using the Web to sell something tangible? My friends over at Sitebrand paint a brighter picture for those involved in online retail, where the Web may actually be the safer bet as the U.S. economy slows down.

Meanwhile, the clients I work with have all increased their online marketing spending over the past year or two — but every single one of them has become obsessed with their web metrics. Conversion rates, cost-per-lead and ROI are on the tops of their minds, and rightly so.

So it seems that at least some people have learned from the first dot-com burst, which is great because they’ll need to use that kind of sense again to search for new marketing tactics when the bubble bursts and Internet users worldwide simultaneously fall into comas.

I guess what I’m trying to say in all of this is “smarten up, Internet”, because if everything goes to hell again the Web won’t be any more fun and I’ll have to get a new job.