Parse.ly Analytics Without Ever Leaving Your Website

Today we are releasing the Alpha version of Parse.ly extension for Google Chrome (click to install)! It allows you to dive right into post analytics without ever having to leave the page. You can see stats of the current page, and it also links to the analytics panel, for easy drill-down, if something catches your eye. Click through to see it in action!

We’re excited about this new feature – but it’s very much work in progress, and its direction will be also defined by your feedback that we will be super eager to hear! Contact us either via comments or by writing to support@parsely.com.

What does the Parse.ly extension do for websites?

There are two versions of on-page analytics. The extension will automatically show you the correct view based on if you are on homepage or an article page. It will also stay open within the current tab as you roam around the site. This means you will only have to enable the Parse.ly Extension once per browsing session.

The screenshot above shows the homepage view with daily overall site metrics and top performing posts and referrers. The “Authors on Page” section merges analytics and on-page data, and shows most represented authors on page by post count. Use this view to see how all of your content is performing site-wide and to quickly gain understanding of who’s represented on the homepage. See a piece of content that is doing better than your average story? Head over to the article to see the post view.

The screenshot below shows the post info view. The information is now specific to the current post and it also gives context as to how it has impacted the site, author, and section performance. If, for example, you see a post has a higher than normal social referrals while reading an article, you can click through to the post detail page by clicking on the “Post Info” on top, and examine who has been sharing the link on Twitter.

How do I get it working?  

Note: For the extension to function properly, you will need a functioning Parse.ly login. Want to try it out? Sign up for a free month long trial here: http://dash.to/try

First – make sure you are running the Google Chrome browser (you can download the most recent version directly from Google). Next, follow this link and click on the blue “+ Free” button on top-right. Shortly the Parse.ly logo (a leaf icon) will appear on top-right, next to the URL bar. Now you can navigate to your site and, when there, clicking on the leaf icon will slide out the extension panel on the left.

The Future of the Parse.ly Extension

The extension still is in the very early stages of development and there will be future changes made.

You’ll notice that, unlike Pulse, the extension does not update with real-time data while you stay on the page. Dynamic refreshing will allow you to always have the freshest data available. Other future updates? We hope to add more context and make predictions in-article so that editors can take action right away.

How will you be using this feature? Add a comment, or reach us more discreetly at  support@parsely.com  –  your input will be most appreciated!