FeedBurner, an RSS analytics service that was acquired by Google way back in 2007 has finally received some attention and has been upgraded for the first time in three and a half years. FeedBurner was one of the first RSS management tools but with time it grew obsolete, thanks to plethora of real time tools available today. But better late than never...right?
Other than the look that is much neater now, FeedBurner has been introduced with real-time stats for your feeds along with a message service that notifies you of any interruptions in your feeds; the comprehensive dashboard looks and feels pretty much like Google Analytics.
Google explains by saying:
"The new interface provides real time stats for clicks, views, and podcast downloads, which means you can start seeing what content is drawing traffic from feeds readers, Twitter, and other syndicated sources as it happens."
This new interface has been introduced in beta version and can be accessed from "New Beta Version Of FeedBurner" button on top right of your FeedBurner page.
Why Is It Good For You?
Assuming that you are already using an analytics service for your blog or website, this service serves more or less same purpose but for your feed readers. With time readers are shifting towards RSS subscriptions or Email subscriptions, because it is much more convenient to view articles from all their favorite blogs or sites within one window and therefore it is imperative to pay attention to these visitors as well. After all they have subscribed with you, there must have really liked your work and it is essential to analyse their trends and sources.
Moreover, FeedBurner Socialize service allows you to automatically tweet your latest post on Twitter and real time stats will help you understand the rate at which traffic is diverted to your site from largest micro-blogging site; it will also provide statistics for traffics that comes from various feed readers. Therefore, the moment you hit 'Publish' button, stats will be presented you instantly.
Google further explains, "Your subscriber and reach numbers are still calculated based on a whole day's worth of requests, and are based on the traffic you received yesterday and before; but your item stats reflect the traffic you are receiving right now. Our new real-time stats presentation and getting messaged about and issues with your feed posted to the top-level dashboard, so that you can better diagnose any issues that may prevent your feed from being delivered in real time. "
Visit FeedBurner's latest interface here or simply log on to feedburner.google.com.
Cool features, especially the real time stats