Business is bad. We all know it. So in this time when money is so tight, you, the professional photographer, need to make sure every marketing move you make is more savvy than the last one. Google Analytics to the rescue!

Google analytics is a free app accessible through your google id. Its ability to track viewers and their specific interactions with your site makes it an incredible tool for any business.

Need some help apply the software to your photography site?  PhotoShelter has just released a how to guide that will walk you through it. This 43 page manual is directed specifically at photographers, and explains everything from installation to interpreting the data. Best of all, it's free too!

PhotoShelter's CEO, Alan Murabayashi, got it right when he told Reuters, "Smart photographers are realizing that a website is much more than just a digital portfolio where you show pretty pictures, but rather a powerful marketing tool that requires constant optimization."

So why don't you give Google Analytics a try. I mean it can't hurt right? It's free... and knowledge is power!

(image from PhotoShelter)