How To: 5 Little Known Tools of Google Analytics

Google Analytics is by far the most powerful free tool available to track website statistics. Once the tracking code is added to your content, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips including common statistics such as visits, page views and bounce rates. However, it’s some of the lesser-known features that provide the most useful information.

1. Filtering Your IP Address
   It’s very important for your data to be accurate. This means filtering data from internal traffic coming from your staff. To do this, you need to find your static IP address and then create a filter. This allows Google to differentiate between internal visits from your staff and outside traffic from your community.
   
   Since city and county websites often act as an information hub for employees, filtering out your static IP address is crucial to acquiring accurate and relevant statistics on how the community is using your website.
   
   
2. Viewing Internal Site Search Statistics
   Some of the most relevant information available on your website is knowing what visitors are searching for when using your website’s internal site search. Understanding your user’s search behavior allows you to provide them with relevant content that will help them easily achieve their end goal. In addition, this data allows you to determine keywords - and their variations – that can be included in your main navigation structure.
   
   
3. Tracking Clicks on Links and Document Downloads
   To enhance your site user’s experience you must first understand where they are going and how they are getting there. To track the links that your visitors click on, you just need to add a small piece of JavaScript to the link. These instructions refer to outbound links, but they work equally as well to track internal links.
   
   To track the specific files being downloaded for your website, you once again add a short piece of JavaScript to the download link the enables Google Analytics to track that specific file.
   
   By tracking individual links and downloads you will be able to better map your site visitor’s course of action. This information is essential for optimizing your site’s navigation structure and making it faster for users to find the information they need.
   
   
4. Making Site Overlay Work for You
   Currently, the results displayed on the Site Overlay tool only show static pages that have unique links. If the page has numerous links, the total number of clicks will be displayed, not the amount for each individual link. You can get around this by adding “&location=x to” the end of each additional link (where x is the number of the link, so the first link would be 1, the second would be 2 and so on).
   
   
5. Exporting your Data
   While this may seem trivial to some, it’s a very handy feature. I have actually spoken with very experienced and technical Google Analytic users that were copying data out of Google Analytics and pasting it into Excel. With the export feature you can easily create PDF, CSV, TSV or XML reports. You can even set-up your account to e-mail your report daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly in your preferred format. Just click on the “E-mail” button located to the right of the “Export” button to schedule the delivery of your reports.

If you have any other tips, tricks or suggestions, share your knowledge and leave a comment!

Web Accessibility: A Growing Consumer Niche, Part I

Many people are surprised to learn just how much of the world’s population is affected by a disability, and how valuable accessible web design is to private industry, government, and educational institutions.

To understand the impact, one has to look no further than the World Health Organization (WHO) (2003) which indicates that people with disabilities are one of the largest and fastest growing minority groups. It is becoming clear that public and private entities who make their technology (both web and non-web) accessible can reach a largely untapped and underserved market, a demographic that represents both spending and voting power.

Industry analysts expect that the buying power of people with disabilities will quickly exceed the $1 trillion mark in the years ahead, much of this spent on technology and/or using the online environment to make purchases. The compelling evidence of the purchasing power of this market segment makes it clear that organizations need to conduct operations, including web design, in ways that will attract citizens with disabilities to their services.

For a quick assessment of your website’s accessibility, consider the following basic questions:

1. Roll your mouse over all graphics (pictures, logos, graphs, maps and any other visual items)--are they alt tagged (does a text description of the graphic appear)?
   


2. Do images, movies, sounds, and applets have alt tags?



3. Do all video clips have captions and transcriptions?



4. Unplug the mouse--can the application be managed by only using the keyboard? Without using a mouse, tab through the links and form controls making sure you can access them and that the links clearly indicate where they lead.



5. Turn off the sound – does it impact the application?
   a. Are all videos captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers?
   b. Do all videos carry an audio component that describes visual images for blind and low-vision users?



6. Tab through the website (without using the mouse)--does it tab in a logical order or jump all over the page?



7. Has color been used as an indicator? If important information is being conveyed using only color, for instance using RED text, then it will be inaccessible to people with vision impairments or color blindness.



8. Have table attributes been used? (i.e. column and row headers) If not, tables cannot be read properly by Assistive Technology.
   


9. Does anything on the webpage flicker, blink or flash? It must have a frequency greater than 2Hz and lower than 55 Hz. The frequency can be timed using a watch.



10. Are there timed instructional events? Are they adjustable? If not, they may not allow enough time for a person with a disability to complete the task.

Currently, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) estimates that the number of people with disabilities is dramatic, impacting an estimated 1 in 5 households or roughly 60 million Americans.

Adding to this population is the 76 million strong “Baby Boom” generation. With the leading edge of this demographic having turned 60 in 2006, the Administration on Aging projects that we will continue to see a dramatic leap in the number of people developing disabilities for the first time in their lives — disabilities such as, but not limited to: vision, hearing, mobility, and cognitive impairments. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy indicates that as the population ages, approximately 40% of those over 65 will likely acquire a disability.

An inclusive and universal design approach to technology is critical to both federal agencies and private industry wishing to anticipate future needs of this growing population, an untapped market that is fast becoming a prized consumer niche.

Be sure to stay tuned to the e-Gov Gateway blog for "Web Accessibility: A Growing Consumer Niche, Part II".

Also, join Debra Ruh, CEO and Founder of TecAccess , for her presentation at the 2009 WMC Online Series.

About Debra Ruh
Debra is a keynote speaker and has authored numerous articles appearing in consumer publications and trade journals such as Learning Solutions eMagazine. She has also been featured in Washington Technology and Entrepreneur Magazine. She has spoken before the European Union, Executive Offices of the President, USDA Conference on Disabilities, IDEAS, CSUN, GSA Usability Universes, Fed Web Conference, USPTO Panel on Accessible E-Learning, and the Leadership Institution on Design of Accessible Online Education at Georgia Tech Global Learning Center.

CP News: 3-Minute Video, CivicPlus Clients Win 17 Awards & The '09 WMC Online Series

CivicPlus Launches New 3-Minute Video!
Want to learn more about what CivicPlus has to offer? Take a quick 3-minute video tour that outlines the benefits of choosing CivicPlus as your award-winning website designer, developer and hosting provider

Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Brings Home the Gold at Horizon Interactive Awards
On May 15, five CivicPlus clients were recognized by the Horizon Interactive Awards competition for their excellence in online media in the Government category.

• Wheat Ridge, Colorado - Gold Award
  
• Maui County, Hawaii - Silver Award
  
• Raymore, Missouri - Bronze Award
  
• Carlsbad Dept. of Development, New Mexico - Bronze Award
  
• Onslow Water & Sewer Authority, North Carolina - Bronze Award

In its 8th year, the Horizon Interactive Awards were created to recognize excellence in interactive media production worldwide. Since 2001, the competition has received thousands of entries from countries around the world and nearly all 50 US States.

Maui County, Hawaii, Wins NACIO Website Best of Class
On May 19, the National Association of County Information Officers announced their 2009 Awards of Excellence winners, with four CivicPlus clients winning five of the top awards in the Computer Media/Internet Websites category.

Maui County, Hawaii, received top honors with the Best of Class Award in the Computer Media category and the Superior Award in the Internet Websites category.

Other CivicPlus clients honored with NACIO awards include:

• Cumberland County, Pennsylvania – Excellence Award in Internet Websites
  
• Hidalgo County, Texas – Meritorious Award in Internet Websites
  
• Contra Costa County, California – Meritorious Award in Internet Websites
  

"I'm extremely gratified that the positive responses we've been receiving on the community level have been echoed by the web industry," said Maui County Mayor Charmaine Tavares. "Our redesigned website not only provides expanded public access to government services and information, it helps reduce our use of natural resources by offsetting 100 percent of its carbon footprint through renewable energy credits purchased by CivicPlus.”

Temple, Texas, Wins TAMI Award for Best Web Home Page
On Friday, June 19, the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers announced their 2009 TAMI Award winners. Temple, Texas, won the TAMI Award for Best Web Home Page.

Other CivicPlus clients honored by the 2009 TAMI Awards include:

• Shenandoah, Texas - Silver Star Award for Web Home Page
  
• Hutto, Texas - Third Place for Web Home Page
  
• Hutto, Texas - Silver Star Award in the under 70,000 population range
  
• Little Elm, Texas - Silver Star Award in the under 70,000 population range

3 CivicPlus Client Recognized by NSPRA Publications and Electronic Media Awards
Three CivicPlus clients were honored with the 2009 National School Public Relations Association‘s Internet/Intranet Award of Merit.

• Bay Village City School District, Ohio
  
• Edgecombe County Public Schools, North Carolina
  
• San Bernardino City Unified School District, California

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The 2009 WMC Online Series Schedule
Join us for the 2009 Website Management Conference Online Series, including one live and educational seminar for the local government professional every month throughout 2009.

Managing Information Overload in the Age of Social Media
Presented by CivicPlus on July 14

Portals - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Presented by the Center for Digital Government on August 11

Maximizing Your Website’s ROI
Presented by Google on September 15

Web 2.0: Web Evolved
Presented by Government Technology on October 13

Making Websites Accessible and Usable for All
Presented by TecAccess on November 10

The Extreme Art of Web Design
Presented by CivicPlus on December 8

To participate in all the live seminars with access to past and future on-demand versions, there will be a one-time charge of $79.

View complete 2009 WMC Online Series details

Upcoming July Seminar
Managing Information Overload in the Age of Social Media (LIVE)

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 – 2:00 to 3:00 P.M. CST

Presenters:
- Jesse Manning, Director of Product Strategy, CivicPlus

The Internet is a fantastic medium by which to provide information to the world. Sometimes far too much information. In this seminar you will learn best practices to effectively present information so that your site visitors can quickly and easily navigate to the content they need in an accessible and interactive way. With social networking sites becoming a well-known method for organizations to communicate in cutting-edge ways, governments are facing the daunting challenge of managing the two-way flow of information. This seminar takes a look at a few of the policies that local governments are implementing as they wade into the world of Gov 2.0 as well as the latest tools available to aggregate and organize collaborative traffic.

Register for the WMC Online Series to attend this webinar:
Managing Information Overload in the Age of Social Media

Developing a Social Media Policy with Cumberland County

When developing our local government social media policy, I originally looked at Sun Microsystems’ and IBM’s policies. A few drafts later, it looked little like the first version, but hit the important points. As we worked through the process we decided that a simple, straight forward approach was our goal. There is enough ambiguity associated with Web 2.0—what it is and how a local government can utilize it—that the policy need not add more questions.

This policy has cleared our legal team and is now waiting for official approval from our Board of Commissioners, so it is currently in a draft status. I have added it below, identified as County Social Media Policy. I also have included our Library System’s Web 2.0 policy, with their permission. It is identified as Library Social Network Policy. They are also working on similar goals related to Web 2.0.

The Policy
Purpose
The purpose of this Social Media policy is to ensure the proper use of Cumberland County’s Web 2.0 technologies by its employees. Web 2.0 technologies, also referred to as “social media” are tools for communication and users have the responsibility to use these resources in an efficient, effective, ethical and lawful manner.

Ownership
All social media communications messages composed, sent, or received on the County IT equipment are the property of the County.

Privacy and Security
The County has the right to monitor employees’ social media use on County equipment and will exercise its right as necessary. Users do not and should have no expectation of privacy. Social media is not a secure means of communication.

When using Web 2.0 technologies, such as Facebook, Twitter, SharePoint, MySpace, blogs, or discussion boards, Cumberland County employees will act in a professional manner by:

• Identifying themselves by name and as an employee of Cumberland County
  
• Using only appropriate language
  
• Being aware that what is written will not only reflect on the writer, but also on the Elected Officials of Cumberland County and other County employees
  
• Not providing confidential information about cases or clients, including names, or be using such material as part of any content added to a site.
  
• Not commenting on business partner’s or their competitor’s practices or services or using such as part of content added to a site.
  
• Not providing information related to pending business decisions that would compromise negotiations or including such as part of content added to a site.
  
• Being aware that all content added to a site is subject to open records/right to know laws and discovery in legal cases.
  
• Insuring that all content posted to an external site will include a disclaimer that the comments and/or opinions posted are those of the postee and not the County.

When in doubt about the appropriateness of content you are going add to a site, it is best to refrain. Employees should think of social media in the same manner as writing on a wall in public with the addition of their name and address attached to everything written. There are no truly anonymous postings to social media.

Cumberland County Library System Social Networking Policy
Purpose
The Cumberland County Library System sponsors staff blogs, wikis, photo sharing, video sharing, tagged websites and other social networking sites to further its mission to meet the cultural, educational and informational needs of library users and community residents. The Cumberland County Library System’s sponsored sites are also a place for the public to share opinions about library related subjects and issues. Comments are welcome and will be reviewed prior to publishing.

Acceptable Use
The goals of Cumberland County Library System sponsored social networking sites are:

• To increase the public’s knowledge of and use of library services
  
• To promote the value and importance of the Library System’s services among governing officials, civic leaders, and the general public
  
• To maintain open, professional and responsive communications with members of the public and the news media.

Publicly posted information will be professional and reflect positively on the Cumberland County Library System, its member libraries, staff, volunteers and services. Staff shall check facts, cite sources, present balanced views, acknowledge and correct errors, and check spelling and grammar before publishing any posts.

The Cumberland County Library System reserves the right not to publish any posting, or to later remove it.

Comments from the Public
Where moderation of comments is an available option, comments from the public will be moderated before posting by Cumberland County Library System designated staff editors. The Cumberland County Library System reserves the right to modify or remove any messages or postings that it deems, in its sole discretion, to be abusive, obscene, defamatory, in violation of the copyright, trademark right, or other intellectual property right of any third party, or otherwise inappropriate.

The Cumberland County Library System also reserves the right to edit or modify any submissions in response to requests for feedback or other commentary. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Cumberland County Library System is not obligated to take any such actions, and will not be responsible or liable for content posted by any subscriber in any forum, message board, or other area within the service.

By posting a comment, customers agree to indemnify the Cumberland County Library System, its officers and staff from and against all liabilities, judgments, damages, and costs (including attorney's fees) incurred by any of them which arise out of or are related to the content posted by customers. Forums and messaging may not be used for commercial purposes or for organized political activity.If a customer does not agree to these terms, the individual should not use the Cumberland County Library System sponsored sites as a violation of these terms may lead to legal liability.

Copyright
Content on Cumberland County Library System blogs, wikis, and other social web applications is governed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States licensing (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/).

Management of Social Web Applications
The Cumberland County Library System’s administrative office is responsible for overall blog or wiki administration. All staff-related blogs and wikis must be approved by the Cumberland County Library System Executive Director before an account may be set-up. Set-up questions and problems can be directed to the CCLS Training Services Coordinator.

Each site should have wording that indicates who the owner of the site is and an email link back to the library or individual who maintains it. The name of the library should be on the site, as well as an indication that the library is a member of the Cumberland County Library System.

Hosting, Training and Support
Currently, Cumberland County Library System blogs are hosted at blogger.com and wikis are hosted at pbwiki.com. Cumberland County Library System also uses Facbook.com business pages and MySpace.com sites for social networking, Flickr for photosharing, YouTube for video sharing and Delicious for tagged websites. As technologies evolve, use of other hosting sites must be approved by the Cumberland County Library System Executive Director.

Cumberland County Library computer services staff will install any necessary technical updates needed for the basic operation of tools hosted at approved sites. The Cumberland County training services coordinator will provide basic training to the primary staff members responsible for editing and maintaining the sites.

Moderating Public Comments
Where moderation of comments is an available option, comments from the public will be moderated by Cumberland County Library System staff editors before posting. Where moderation prior to posting is not an option, sites will be regularly monitored by library staff.

Cumberland County Library System designated staff editors shall not post any comments that are abusive, obscene, defamatory, in violation of the copyright, trademark right, or other intellectual property right of any third party, or otherwise inappropriate or incorrect. For example, the following may be removed by Cumberland County Library System editors before being published:

• Potentially libelous comments
  
• Obscene or racist comments
  
• Personal attacks, insults, or threatening language
  
• Plagiarized material
  
• Private, personal information published without consent
  
• Comments totally unrelated to the topic of the forum
  
• Commercial promotions or spam
  
• Hyperlinks to material that is not directly related to the discussion

Recommended Guidelines
These guidelines will help ensure your site’s success.

1. Only establish a social networking presence if you plan to maintain it regularly.
   
2. Determine in advance who will contribute to the site and how much time you have for maintaining it.
   
3. For successful, time-sensitive topics, consider using “found content” (ready-made data from library email lists, Web news, etc.) rather than drafting original content.
   
4. Aim for brief, newsy posts with strong opening sentences.
   
5. Determine your audience. Is this a site for your department? For your users? For library-wide reading? All of the above? Any of these uses are appropriate, but use the answers to this question to guide your content and your marketing.
   
6. Consider a “soft launch” where you begin using a site quietly for a month or so to get used to it.
   
7. Links to related posts are encouraged, but editors should post original content rather than reposting entire items from other sites.
   
8. Pictures enrich blog entries and provide informational value to posts.
   
9. Do not feel compelled to post every day. Post when you have something to share.
   
10. Share your site in appropriate venues. Don’t rely on being “found.” If you have a site of interest to home schoolers, let them know.
    
11. Use your blog URL in instructional materials. Add it to your email signature file.
    
12. Obtain Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States licensing language and logo from http://creativecommons.org/license/

I want to thank Bill Finnerty, Cumberland County Assistant Information Technology Director, for putting together this fantastic post on local government social media policies.

If you have any feedback or questions, just add them to the comment section below.

Why Local Governments Need SaaS-based Website Management

As budgets continue to shrink, IT managers and Finance Directors search for cost-effective solutions for improving technology; and many are turning to the software as a service (SaaS) model. Often used for customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP), the SaaS model has proven itself a viable website management solution.

The concept is simple and attractive - rather than commit a sizeable expenditure for software and hardware, you pay a monthly fee for a web-based website management solution hosted by your selected vendor. Such solutions integrate the website tools, publishing environment, content management system (CMS) and analytics into a single service. So, what can the SaaS website management model do for your organization you ask? Here are five benefits that will positively affect your bottom line.

Reduce IT Costs
When you subscribe to a SaaS website management solution you avoid the overhead costs associated with buying and installing conventional software and hardware. Hosting and maintaining a website typically involves purchasing and maintaining servers as well as installing and maintaining software on individual PCs. This requires an experienced IT staff that has to allocate large amounts of time not only for the maintenance of your software, but your hardware as well.

Save Staff Time
The implementation of the SaaS website management model eliminates many of your typical maintenance and management tasks associated with licensed software and hardware. Your IT staff will no longer have to focus on supporting your server infrastructure, maintaining equipment redundancy and installing system upgrades; instead, they will be able to focus on your organization’s core business goals.

Gain Economies of Scale
The real benefit of a SaaS website management approach is the considerable cost savings you’ll experience. A true SaaS application is reflected by the economies of scale achieved with multi-tenancy. Multi-tenancy refers to a single instance of the software running on the vendor’s servers, but serving multiple clients simultaneously. This solution allows you to take advantage of the substantial investments made by the vendor into their software for a fraction of the cost.

Receive Instant Upgrades
With the SaaS website management model you have instant access to system upgrades. As soon as new or improved functionality is available, you can begin using it without having to move your organization to a new browser or operating system. A reputable provider will rollout these upgrades free of cost.

Pay as You Go
Another benefit of the SaaS website management model is the payment structure. Instead of trying to incorporate a large one-time payment for software and hardware, you pay a monthly or annual subscription fee. Most of the time, your SaaS subscription will allow you to pick and choose the features you want, instead of paying a lot of money for tools you will never use. Depending on shifts in your organization’s needs, you can then add or subtract features as your needs – or budget – changes.

In addition to these five benefits, the SaaS website management model just takes a load of an already overburdened IT staff. By transitioning to this model, you will realize a higher ROI and an overall improved staff efficiency.