Google Snaps Up MeasureMap

By Mark Evans
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

You had to figure Google had what it wanted in the Web analytics market with the purchase of Urchin but it’s now obvious it wasn’t enough amid news the search engine giant has acquired MeasureMap, which has been offering an alpha blog analytics service. MeasureMap said there will be no difference in its operations and it “couldn’t be happier to find such an ideal home” (I’d be happy too if Sergey and Larry decided to spend some of their $7-billion cash booty to acquire me!). So, let’s take a step back and look at what this deal means. Maybe it suggests Urchin (a.k.a. Google Analytics) is good as a Web site analytics tool but it isn’t on the same level as MeasureMap, Mint, Blogbeat, etc. I’ve been using Google Analytics, MeasureMap and Blogbeat for several months - and been most impressed with Blogbeat because of its simple implementation, user-friendly interface and variety of analytical tools. Google Analytics does okay in measuring traffic but it’s too sophisticated for most bloggers. I never got a good feel for MeasureMap because it doesn’t support Blogware yet, although it appeared to be somewhat complicated to implement (at least it was more difficult than Blogbeat, which only requires one small piece of JavaScript). Google’s acquisition of MeasureMap fits its acquisition style to a tee - it’s a nice, focused beta service and, as far as I can tell, has received little or no VC, which means Google likely didn’t pay a lot to make a small, but strategic, acquisition. What I’d like to know is how Google plans to generate revenue from MeasureMap. MeasureMap could become a premium service once it comes out of beta, or perhaps Google will use it as another way to drive more traffic to AdSense. So who’s next to go? Will Yahoo buy Blogbeat or Mint to keep pace with Google? For a review of MeasureMap vs. Mint vs. Google Analytics, check out Mark Boulton’s review.

For more thoughts about the worlds of technology and telecom, check out my blog.