Omniture's SiteCatalyst Turns 14

The new version of Omniture’s SiteCatalyst product doesn’t only report on rich Internet applications; the interface itself is built from AJAX (define).

The fourteenth edition of the platform reports metrics and analytics for video, rich Internet applications, and streaming media for a range of devices using the Internet including IPTV, iPhones, mobile devices, cable boxes, and game consoles. The company is expected to unveil SiteCatalyst 14 today at its annual customer summit.

The analytics program is built using AJAX in order to minimize the number of screen refreshes when customers run reports. Queries are conducted through drag-and-drop menus with minimal page refreshes.

Other companies have the ability to measure some rich Internet applications. For instance, last year Microsoft-owned Avenue A/Razorfish announced RIAx, a measurement application for the typically tough-to-measure apps. The Interactive Advertising Bureau released guidelines on measurement of rich Internet applications last fall.

For Omniture, video is significant for the version 14 platform. “We can see exactly when folks are using that slide bar to skip over commercials,” said Chris Parkin, senior director, Genesis Solutions, at Omniture. If you are a media company, and they aren’t viewing the ads, it gives you a good indication for when you should place your ads,” added Parkin.

Visible Measures also tracks in-stream viewing behavior such as when users abandon streams, or when they rewind or fast-forward to view particular frames in a video. Parkin stressed Omniture’s ability to capture metrics and analytics for an entire Web site beyond just video, including conversions and clicks.

Omniture has also enhanced its search optimization capabilities with SearchCenter 3. The tool manages search marketing campaigns and bidding strategies, in addition to integrating natural and paid search results into one interface to automate keyword discovery.

In related news, Omniture plans to bundle offerings from two firms acquired in 2007: Offermatica and Touch Clarity. The combined Test & Target tool will focus on A/B testing, multivariate testing, segment-based targeting, and one-to-one behavioral targeting to optimize conversion for customer interactions.