Google buys Urchin

It was announced this morning that Google would buy Urchin, a web analytics company. Google says they will be making it available to their advertisers to help them maximize their sales. Urchin is an incredibly robust tool and they’ve been around forever. Google anticipates the deal will be closed by the end of April. Terms of the sale were not released but John Battelle heard a rumor of a price of $30 million.

Offering more functionality to their program is what will keep Google ahead of Yahoo and MSN in the pay per click market. With Urchin, Google will increase their usefulness to their advertisers, no longer just leaving analytics up to the site owner.

Andy Beal thinks the Urchin acquisition is a move toward a performance-based pricing model and predicts we’ll see one before the end of the year.

Related posts:

1. Google Renames Urchin; Gives It Away
2. Yahoo Buys Right Media, Microsoft Picks Flowers
3. Another Google algorithm, more Google confusion
4. Google Takes Step toward Transparency
5. Google in bed with terrorists; known to kick puppies.

About the Author

Susan Esparza is the Senior Editor at Bruce Clay, Inc. She joined the company in November 2004 and has written extensively for clients and internal publications. Search Engine Optimization All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies by Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza, is available now. She also knows where the knives and forks go in a buffet line. The latter makes her invaluable to Bruce Clay, Inc.