Learn to master Web traffic analysis with Google Analytics training

Deciphering the subtle tweaks that Google makes to its search algorithms can seem like more of an arcane art than a precise science, even for the most experienced Web marketing professional. Google plays its cards very close to its chest, and for good reason. As one of the world's leading search engines, it's important that these trade secrets do not become common knowledge to ensure that companies cannot exploit vulnerabilities in the code to promote their sites unfairly. Taking Google Analytics training at the American Graphics Institute is an excellent way to delve deeper into the mysteries of Web traffic analysis, and if the latest adjustments to Google's algorithms are any indication, such training could prove invaluable.

Proving theories
Although there are certain constants and widely accepted best practices within the field of SEO, nobody truly knows how Google's search algorithms work - aside from the company's engineers, of course. For this reason, some SEO consultants go to great lengths to decode how Google adjusts its search parameters. One such organization is MathSight, a Web analytics firm based in the U.K. According to Search Engine Watch, MathSight recently reverse-engineered Google's Penguin 2.0 update to learn more about which practices are most effective and identify those that are likely to result in penalization.

Link building - the principle of externally linking to other sites from within the body copy of an article, news item or blog post - was one area that the Penguin algorithm took to task. As many SEO experts suspected, outbound links to sites with a poor reputation, low search rankings and inferior content, seemed to be harmful to the site linking to the substandard page.

"Many people forget that an inbound/outbound link profile originates from website's pages," Andreas Voniatis, MathSight's managing director, told the news source. "The readability of content from a linking web page is highly influential to how Penguin views the destination site, that is, the site being linked to. Websites should eliminate links from sites that don't meet the readability thresholds Penguin demands."

Real-time challenges
Google Analytics training is an excellent way for Web and marketing professionals to gain a deeper understanding of how SEO practices apply to improving a site's ranking. However, Google is keeping many marketers on their toes, especially when it comes to so-called ambient search systems such as Google Now.

According to Search Engine Land, Google Now will prioritize its top menu search filters in a dynamic way that responds to the original query of the user.

"We're always making changes to Search to help you find the most useful things more easily," read a statement from Google, as quoted by the news source. "Now when you search, the type of results you can select at the top of the page will vary depending on what makes sense for your search. For example, if you search for 'English to Tagalog' you'll see 'Apps' that'll help you with translation as well as 'Books' and 'Shopping' in case you're looking to buy a printed or electronic dictionary."

Although adoption of Google Now has been limited, as the technology becomes more sophisticated, it could revolutionize the mobile Web and change the way that marketing professionals utilize Google Analytics tools to help them shape online content strategies. The field of ambient search is still relatively new, but given Google's commitment to research and development into this area, it seems likely that this could be the next big thing in search.

Don't get left behind in today's digital marketing environment. Google Analytics training at the American Graphics Institute can teach you how to leverage the power of this versatile suite of tools and drive real growth to either your own site or those of your clients.