For Enterprises, Alternatives To Google Analytics

Google makes web analytics so easy and cost-effective (what's more cost-effective than free?) that it's hard for cash-strapped enterprises to imagine using anything other than Google Analytics.

But researcher CMS Watch, which evaluated 20 web analytics platforms in a 470-page report released this week, says enterprises would do themselves a favor to look at companies other than the well-known market leader.

CMS Watch specifically cited Yahoo; not exactly an unknown, but far behind Google in web analytics market share. David Needle of internetnews.com reports:

Last spring, Yahoo bought Web analytics company IndexTools and converted the company's service to its own under the name Yahoo Web Analytics. CMS Watch said with the conversion complete, Yahoo is slowly ramping up promotion and further development of the service, but it already offers several advantages over Google Analytics.

Both services are free, though actively marketed by resellers who offer consulting services to help companies implement them.

"Google has more customers than anyone else," CMS Watch Founder Tony Byrne told InternetNews.com. "The difference at a feature level between Google and Yahoo isn't very much if you're a small to mid-level size Company, and those customers might prefer Google's slicker interface. But when you start talking about bigger sized companies with big Web site issues, Yahoo is more relevant."

Other web analytics vendors cited by CMS Watch include Coremetrics, Omniture, Visible Measures, and WebTrends.Here's a link to the full list of companies in the report. Also, you can go to this page to fill out a form and get a free 30-page excerpt of the report, which costs $895 to $2,795, depending on which edition you buy.

CMS Watch says on its web site that it works for buyers, not vendors, and thus maintains neutrality and objectivity.