All Chromed Out

Google has finally released a long rumored web browser of its own, Chrome. And thanks to the super-hype machine that follows Google’s every breath, this is almost certainly old news to the tech and online junkies.

Lots of folks are digging into the nuts and bolts of the new browser and talking about features, enhancements, speed. I’ll let those pros handle that. Instead, let’s take a look at what this might mean for online marketing.

Fact is, in the short term, Google Chrome itself won’t mean a whole lot. There’s nothing specific being done to monetize this browser. Google hasn’t integrated more AdWords into the browsing experience (yet). I take Google’s explanation at face value for now. They are in the Beta cycle of a fundamentally different browser. The engineers at Mountain View saw an opportunity to tune a better browsing experience. Kudos to them.

Where Chrome may very well present opportunity for marketing is in more subtle places. The launch of this new browser can give you great insight into how your audience ticks.

When you live every day online and are immersed in tech and marketing news, it might seem standard to try a new piece of software like Chrome. Keep in mind though, Chrome hardly registers to the wider world yet. That’s why you can really learn a lot about your audience.

Google Analytics is now tracking Chrome as a specific browser type. Even though it’s Google’s product, they were among the last of the big analytics vendors to recognize Chrome (it was getting lumped in as a Mozilla browser). Now that you can see when a Chrome user is accessing your website, you can find out if you have a strong, early adopter audience. If Chrome has creeped up to even 4-5% in the last few days, it’s a good bet that you have a lot of early adopters visiting your site.

Now you’ve got to ask yourself, are you properly targeting the early adopters? Do you have something unique to offer them? Could you be more effective focusing your marketing efforts there?

After all, knowing more about your online audience is a main reason to use an analytics program. Take this opportunity to get better acquainted with your customers.