I just finished signing up with Microsofts Beta web analytics service Microsoft Gatineau. What a kick in the ass it was to get signed up! Apparently when I signed up for the Beta I used a different email address than the one I used for my Adcenter account. So I had to sign up for a second Adcenter account to try the Beta. You have to use the email address you signed for Gatineau with to use it, even if you already have a Microsoft Adcenter account.  Adcenter and Gatineau are tied together, much like Google's Adwords and Analytics, only tighter.

Reading the ToS, the only thing that jumped out at me are that Gatineau is limited to 5 million page loads per month and they also reserve the right to charge for the service in the future. I installed the code on my newly re-designed site for Marines just beneath the Google Analytics code already there. I clicked the reports link in the interface, but can't view anytingyet since there are no stats. I'll post this weekend or something and review the service, as well as compare and contrast this Beta with Google Analytics.

UPDATE: My early impression the day after I installed this is that Gatineau is more a stats tool than an analytics one at this point (which is to be expected in a Beta). The interface is really really nice though and very easy to understand. No confusion at all about what data is being presented. I think they beat Google Analytics in this aspect, but everywhere else Google wins.  We'll see if they can continue with a good UI as features get added.

stuff