Well, unless you've been vacationing somewhere warm, tropical, and without connectivity, you probably know by now that Google Analytics has finally released its site search analytics functionality. Frankly, I found it pretty difficult to figure out how to turn it on from GA's account administration interface. But it's possible, and this document will help. I can't wait to give those tires a kick.

This is really a Big Deal for our emerging field. Because GA is becoming so ubiquitous, we should see a real spike in the appreciation of and demand for search analytics. And it should spur other analytics and search engine vendors to provide improved reporting.

Speaking of which, there is some rotten news from Denmark: Mondosoft is going away. Mondosoft has always seemed to appreciate the value of site search analytics as well as, if not better than, any other search engine vendor out there. I remain flummoxed that so many of their peers have ceded something so obvious to the analytics industry. Site search analytics is simply the best way to diagnose problems and improve search engine performance in reasonable, iterative, and often inexpensive ways. Oddly and sadly, a search company that really saw the value in closing this "feedback loop" has failed, but I have a sneaking suspicion that its demise had little to do with its focus on search analytics. My regrets and best wishes to Martin Vikkelsø Madsen and his colleagues at Mondosoft, whom I've found wonderfully helpful over the past few years.