tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41514086636655263692009-03-03T21:11:35.721-05:00Google Analytics, Crystal Xcelsius, Excel Macros, Executive Dashboards, Web Development and More!BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-57944285149393716542009-03-03T20:59:00.002-05:002009-03-03T21:11:35.858-05:00

Google is now offering a Google Analytics course for web analytics! Plus, if you want to get your Google Analytics Individual Qualification you can pay $50 to take a test. If you score at least 75% on the test, you become qualified. They say that this is proof of your Google Analytics competency, but there's no information as to whether or not they will have a logo or graphic to display. I

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-7894359223247054312009-01-22T21:44:00.002-05:002009-01-22T22:31:23.069-05:00

My client, Applied Behavioral Insights, has just launched their new eLearning website. By partnering with several e-Learning providers, they now offer over 4500 courses.Course topics range from Cisco networking, to Microsoft .NET technology, legal & compliance issues, and CompTIA. They also cover workplace health & safety, so you can be sure to find a course that can help you move forward in

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-73227156114468020542008-12-04T20:40:00.003-05:002008-12-04T21:03:51.754-05:00

I love Google! They provide incredible services to the online community for free! Plus, they're giving away Gmail stickers now too! However, I agree with Brian Clark at CopyBlogger in that we shouldn't use so much energy to game the system. We need to concentrate on excellent content that is useful to many people. Writing a bunch of blog posts only to fill your site with keywords might get

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-10183617865727091592008-11-17T20:02:00.006-05:002008-11-17T20:50:43.235-05:00

A wonderfully powerful and easy to use way of comparing data across Excel workbooks is the VLookup function. I've been helping a lot of people with this function lately, so I thought I'd get a quick tutorial out there.Let's start with the syntax of the VLookup function:=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, range_lookup)Here's an example of how you would use VLookup to find rows on

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-39754898429041040442008-10-31T09:34:00.004-04:002008-10-31T10:05:22.838-04:00

A while ago, a blog I frequent, WebWorkerDaily, wrote about a contest that Plantronics is having. Their goal is to come up with a replacement for the word "telecommuter". They are giving away what WWD called the web worker's dream phone, the Plantronics Calisto Pro, to 10 finalists. The grand prize winner gets $1700 in great tech gear. Check out the contest site for details.So, I decided to

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-7168348811975316042008-10-20T11:47:00.004-04:002008-10-20T11:56:46.695-04:00

I recently upgraded to the new version of Foxmarks with "Password Sync", and it's so great, I find it worthy to tell you about it. Note, this is for the Firefox browser only. With the new Password Sync option in Foxmarks, you can save your passwords to their network and use them on any computer where you've installed Foxmarks.There are many other password managers out there, but most are simply

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-70756797224950433552008-09-07T14:47:00.003-04:002008-09-07T14:59:54.523-04:00

How many times have you written an email about "the attached file" only to forget to attach the file before hitting send? If you follow the instructions in this post, that'll never happen again! We're going to add a VBA macro to Microsoft Outlook that searches your email for the text "attach" when you click "send". If it finds that string of text (ie. attached, attachment...) it will check to

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-72484612394019427122008-08-03T20:36:00.004-04:002008-08-05T20:56:43.260-04:00

Well, it's pretty obvious that they hype over the new search engine, Cuil, was far greater than what the site could actually deliver. I won't repeat all of the reasons they won't be the next Google killer. If you're reading this, you've surely read about them all several times already. Instead, I did a semi-scientific test of their search results. Since they claim to be the largest search

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-82441898208607459692008-06-17T22:28:00.003-04:002008-06-17T22:51:00.940-04:00

I could tell you to help set the Firefox 3 / Guiness download record, but I think everyone else on earth is blogging about that. If you haven't downloaded it yet, there's still time to contribute to the record. Just go to SpreadFirefox.com and use the links there. Remember, if you downloaded Firefox 3 from a mirror, or got it before 1:00 PM EST, your download wasn't counted as part of the

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-49856365244786353142008-04-11T09:20:00.002-04:002008-04-11T09:24:49.858-04:00

I just came across a simple yet useful post on the Google AdWords blog about Google Analytics.If you've installed Google Analytics and you don't know what to do next, their post should help. Basically, just look at the major metrics and watch them over time. The main thing to keep in mind is that there is no "good bounce rate" or optimal time on site for everyone. Each site, and even each

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-77172642926866621552008-03-25T10:03:00.006-04:002008-03-25T11:05:14.081-04:00

Is Microsoft Gatineau ready to strip Google Analytics of the web analytics throne?I've been using both Microsoft Gatineau and Google Analytics on one of my sites for about 3 months. I think that's plenty of time for me to give a fair analysis of both packages.*Note that I am much more experienced with Google Analytics, so that might have some effect on my opinion. However, I'm trying to be as

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-33448172112819695312008-03-20T17:36:00.004-04:002008-03-20T17:54:39.371-04:00

My time as an "employee" is over. I am leaving LunaMetrics to run BusinessHut.com full-time. My most recent employer was LunaMetrics, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant (GAAC), from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In my time there, I held the title of Web Analyst. This meant I was responsible for installing and configuring Google Analytics on client accounts. After the analytics code was

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-80560919751741904462008-03-11T14:11:00.004-04:002008-03-11T14:33:04.693-04:00

Today, the EU approved the Google / DoubleClick deal. Here are the key points regarding the acquisition:1. $3.1 Billion (YouTube only got $1.65 Billion)2. Antitrust concerns were put to rest because anyone can use services from Microsoft, AOL, or Yahoo.3. Integration of the two companies will start soon.I'm not going to try to compete with all of the other posts about this topic. If you want

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-84688128753275114862008-03-05T22:35:00.004-05:002008-03-05T22:50:26.758-05:00

Upon entering my Google Analytics account this evening, I was presented with a new request.Google Analytics Data Sharing:"In order to improve your experience with Google products, Google Analytics is updating its data sharing policy. You now have the ability to share your Analytics data with other Google services. This will improve integration, enable additional features in Google's advertising

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-19333392773971704752008-03-04T14:43:00.005-05:002008-03-05T22:20:31.960-05:00

You click "I like it!" in your StumbleUpon toolbar to promote your own work. Is it spam? Maybe, but let's look past that for now. Let's instead assume someone stumbled your site on their own.Buckle up, because you're about to get 500 free visitors to your site. I've even seen some pages get over 1000 visits!This is really exciting, but the fact is that you're not going to make a dime off of

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-21445135058830966542008-03-04T14:24:00.002-05:002008-03-04T14:31:38.876-05:00

Taylor Pratt gave me the honor of writing a guest post about web analytics on his blog, Gonzo-SEO.com.I covered these basic topics:1. Statistical jargon will confuse most managers and executives.2. Pretty charts are a crutch for people who don’t know how to convey actionableinsights.3. Above all, make sure the information is actionable.If you enjoy the article, don't forget to Sphinn it!Thanks

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-58289869108108612802008-02-29T10:37:00.004-05:002008-02-29T10:48:24.639-05:00

The Pittsburgh Google office is having a technical event on Tuesday, March 4th. It looks like this will be a very technical discussion. They'll be discussing "Dapper", which is a system for monitoring large, distributed applications at Google. The title of the talk is "Dapper: It's 11 p.m. and do you know where your RPC is?"Bonus: There will be beer, wine, and snacks.I may attend mostly to

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-85188165901042961252008-02-21T09:04:00.004-05:002008-02-21T09:15:21.717-05:00

You may have heard about the lunar eclipse last night, February 20th, 2008. I was able to get a few decent pictures from my house in Pittsburgh, PA. I'm not a professional photographer by any means, but my camera is a Nikon D40, which is a pretty nice, entry level, digital SLR. I've been impressed with its quality so far. Check out my Flickr page for some other pictures.I hope you find the

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-70403148382355275592008-02-15T20:41:00.005-05:002008-02-17T13:40:25.742-05:00

***Update 2/17/2008 : Solution found! See the bottom of this post!!!***If you're a user of Business Objects Crystal Xcelsius and you've seen this message, you know my pain.So I make sure Excel is closed. I even check the task manager to see if there are any hidden processes running. Good. Excel is NOT running. So I click OK.And I'm greeted with this wonderful error message in Excel."Excel

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-37046095216076548152007-12-19T20:59:00.001-05:002008-02-15T08:27:10.903-05:00

Why the Internet is no different from the real world when it comes to closing sales.I recently read a post at Johnathan Mendez's Blog about the Top 10 Multivariate and A/B Testing Results of 2007.In the very last comments of his post, he mentions how your customers probably know a lot more about your product than you, or the marketers, give them credit for. As far as conversion goes, you don't

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-1152401074332232492007-12-11T21:03:00.000-05:002007-12-11T21:13:57.650-05:00

I just read a post from my favorite blog, LifeHacker.com, where they told of free software available from Microsoft.That's right! Office 2007 Ultimate or Vista Ultimate (possibly other software?) is yours free!Yes, there's a catch. You need to allow Microsoft to monitor your activities for 3 months, and you have to fill out a survey. Last time I checked, Office 2007 Ultimate edition retailed for

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-90227512880202921152007-12-07T10:20:00.000-05:002007-12-07T10:51:41.199-05:00

I am in the process of creating a database of County information, and I needed to insert several thousand records. I was able to get the data into Excel, but now I needed to write an SQL Insert statement to get the records into my database. SQL wizards, I'm sure you know a more efficient way to write this INSERT. Actually, what is generated is a series of INSERT statements. If you'd like to

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-29891072909810663742007-11-28T08:29:00.000-05:002007-11-28T09:09:08.657-05:00

Well the past week has been incredibly busy, yet totally unproductive. Why? you ask.Last week I read a blog post about gOS, the Linux operating system that comes on the Wal-Mart $200 computer. I decided it would be a good idea to install the system and play around in case any customers had questions after buying said computer.I downloaded the ISO and created my live cd. I then ran the live cd

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-65735914094055965182007-10-26T09:09:00.000-04:002007-12-07T10:20:15.222-05:00

I put together a little somethin' about how I roll for the Shoemoney "Party Like a RockStar" contest:Can I party like a rockstar?You better f***ing believe it.Drinking top shelf, and buying a round for the barRiding around in stretch limos, forget the rental car.I'm not here to talk about businessIf you start bragging about your SEO tricksI'll be up in your grill, screaming "I don't give a shit!"

Prattnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151408663665526369.post-73456166420352689852007-10-18T22:25:00.000-04:002007-10-28T22:16:57.943-04:00

So I have a customer that needed a registration page for their E-University. This consisted of about 500 courses in various categories.I got the ~great idea to implement an AJAX Accordion to contain the categories. Within each accordion pane, I needed separate tables to house the various sub-categories. So how do I get a list of courses, with course codes and hyperlinks into a properly

BusinessHuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460144444867531811noreply@blogger.com0