14 September 2011 | Author: R Wood Media Intern

Twitter users can track their progress with new analytics tool

Web developers and social media junkies alike can rejoice at the release of Twitter's Web Analytics service.

Twitter's Director of Web Business Development April Underwood announced the new service at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference.

The service, made possible by Twitter's acquisition of BackType in July, will show users the most shared and discussed stories, as well as which referring sites direct the most traffic.

BackType founder turned Twitter product manager Christopher Golda took to the Twitter blog to discuss the analytics tool.

He said: "People have struggled to accurately measure the amount of traffic Twitter is sending to their websites, in part because the web analytics software hasn't evolved as quickly as online sharing and social signals.

"We're announcing Twitter Web Analytics, a tool that helps website owners understand how much traffic they receive from Twitter and the effectiveness of Twitter integrations on their sites."

Users engaging with the Web Analytics tool will have the opportunity to see the amount of traffic Twitter is sending to their site and measure the effectiveness of Tweet button integration.

The feature also allows users to track how much of their website content gets shared across Twitter.

Previously, Twitter offered the Tweet button to help publishers share their content, but without a way to track any traffic generated through its use.

Until now, Twitter only provided analytics services for advertisers, and the new service will be a welcomed addition to web developers keen to track their progress on the microblogging site.

For now, the Twitter Web Analytics is only available to a small pilot group, with plans to roll out the service to all users in coming weeks.