Microsoft Snags a ‘Google Analytics’ of Its Own

Microsoft says it has made a significant investment in DeepMetrix, a 15-year-old Web traffic analysis firm. The acquisition is likely in response to a similar one archrival Google made a few months back.

Microsoft’s Internet division, MSN, plans to ultimately incorporate the DeepMetrix Web analytics tricks into future releases of Microsoft AdCenter, Internet search, Office Live and MSN Spaces, a Microsoft rep said.

DeepMetrix makes a number of different software applications, including graphical bulletin boards. But what most attracted Microsoft is its feature that provides real-time information about the traffic visiting a Web site, details Web operators greatly benefit from knowing.

“Microsoft chose DeepMetrix because of its great technology that delivers superior Web analytics software,” a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. “It is the best target for this space.”

While the word “Google” never appears in the statement Microsoft provided, it may as well have been sprinkled into every sentence.

By incorporating the traffic intelligence features into its online array, Microsoft can better compete with Google. That’s because Google recently introduced its own DeepMetrix-like feature, which it calls Google Analytics.

DeepMetrix customers using its features to improve Web site traffic include beverage maker 7Up, Yale University, the Portland Trail Blazers basketball franchise and scores of others.

Microsoft also said May 4 it purchased Massive, a New York-based video game advertising specialist, to add a new twist to ads across all its online properties, and imagery provider Vexcel Corporation to add a “real-world” feel to the Microsoft local search and mapping experience.