“Gatineau” to Provide Analytics for MSN

Hoping to cut Google’s giant status a little, Microsoft is testing analytics software for keyword advertisers. The “Gatineau” platform is based on technology from DeepMetrixCorporation in Canada.

by Kristina Knight

Microsoft acquired DeepMetrixCorporation in 2006, and according to blogs from two team members they will launch a beta test for the analytics later this year.

Ian Thomas, head of the Gatineau project for Microsoft’s Digital Advertising Solutions team wrote on his blog, "We hope to release this product during 2007; however, we're extremely keen to avoid a repeat of Google's experience with Google Analytics, so we will be ramping up our user numbers gradually to make sure everyone has a good experience from a performance perspective.”

When Google Analytics was launched, it was overwhelmed with users and had to stop accepting new users for a short time. It appears that Microsoft is hoping to cut down on that possibility by releasing in short bursts to customers.

The ability to analyze keyword campaigns is crucial for search marketers, as is the ability to rapidly change keywords according to which words are creating the most push for the product.

Thomas went on to say, “. . .The target audience for this project is broadly similar to the target audience for Google Analytics - though it's emphatically not our intention simply to replicate the functionality within that product.”

Tags: keyword analytics, keywords, search marketing, search marketing analytics