One of the most powerful aspects of NewsGator widgets are the analytics and tracking data that come with them. NewsGator allows you to build widgets that are highly portable –- and can be shared on websites, blogs, personal homepages or social networks. Your widgets can even be integrated with external ad and analytics servers, allowing you to monetize them based on how often people view and interact with them. 

To view the analytics data for your widget(s), log into Editor's Desk and click on the “statistics” tab on the upper left portion of the home screen. This page is designed to give you an overview of how your widgets are performing. You’ll see a list of all widgets in your account on the left panel, with empty check boxes next to them. To view the data, all you need to do is check the boxes next to the widgets; the data shows up on the right panel.

If you've created NewsGator widgets but haven't yet checked out the detailed analytics information that comes with it, I urge you to take a look!

I'd like to take a moment to point your attention to one of the cooler widgets that NewsGator powers.   One of our clients is Earth Knowledge, which is a resource for information about the earth.   A widget we created for them appears on the front page of their site.

This widget is notable because it is highly dynamic, interacts with Google Maps, and has multiple tabs.  Depending on the content you choose -- biological diversity, water, climate, land -- links to different stories will be displayed.  Even cooler, the widget links these categories, as well as individual stories, with geographic indicators on a map.

This widget is an example of the very interactive and complex nature of some of the widgets we've created for our clients.  Check it out here!

If you've been following this blog, you know that from time to time we will highlight client quotes that demonstrate how NewsGator widgets have enhanced a partner's engagement with their audience.

There are several dynamic and successful Discovery News widgets that are powered by NewsGator technology.  Here is a direct quote from Lori Cuthbert, director of Discovery News. 

"I like the way NewsGator just keeps on giving, with 66% better [engagement] metrics since our relationship began.  Oh, I mean, like, 166%, since there were none when our relationship began.  See?"

NewsGator makes it very easy for your company to syndicate and widgetize your content that may greatly enhance user interaction, page views, and time spent on your site.

Jeff Nolan, VP of NewsGator's SaaS division, has a post up on his blog distilling some of his observations about last week's Digital Hollywood conference. You can check out his reactions here. 

Yesterday, NewsGator's Leland Rucker interviewed me about my role as Community Manager here at NewsGator as well as our efforts here to heighten awareness of NewsGator widgets.  I hope you'll find it informative.

You can download or listen to the podcast here.

This is the forth in a series of five posts highlighting each of the best practices discussed in the Best Practices - Driving Web Traffic & Monetization With Widgets webinar from last month.  This time around we'll talk about the importance of taking advantage of social interaction as well as using prominent site placement and broad distribution/promotion.

As Walker said in his post yesterday, the keys to building a successful widget are fostering engagement as well as prominent placement and broad distribution of the widget.  And one of the keys of engagement -- beyond the obvious caveats of not making the widget too complicated and making sure the content is fresh -- is fostering social interaction.  To foster this interaction (without making the widget overly busy), consider adding to the widget several of the below options NewsGator widgets provides:

• rate
• share
• email
• comment
• IM
• send to mobile
• other (digg, delicious, etc.)

The other key steps in creating a successful widget are prominent site placement and broad distribution/promotion.  In terms of placement and distribution, here are some suggestions:

1. Display the widget prominently on your home page or other highly viewed pages
2. Add the widget to as many pages as possible
3. Place the widget on pages with relevant content
4. Distribute the widget to like-minded sites and affiliates
5. Allow individuals to take the widget to start pages, social networks, etc.
6. Promote the widget through other marketing channels (blog, print, email, etc.)

A couple of other considerations: Consider co-branding the widget.  This will allow you to expand your network, increase page views and your overall web footprint and with no extra cost since co-branded widgets can access an increased audience that you couldn't reach before.  In addition, keep in mind that with a viral widget, as you allow content to be distributed, look and feel may change. So, be aware of where the widget may eventually reside (iGoogle, Facebook, etc.) and test the widget on all of the planned locations.         

If you have any suggestions to add, please leave them in the comments section.

And, as always, happy widget-ing!

Walker's on a roll today, and he has written an excellent post titled, "How to Make a Successful Widget, And What to Avoid."  It's a must-read. 

Walker Fenton, General Manager of NewsGator's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) branch, has an informative post up explaining what placement rate is and how it relates to widgets.  Check it out here!

From time to time on this blog we'll be featuring quotes from our clients that demonstrate how NewsGator widgets have benefited their company.

NewsGator helped Raycom Media widgetize some of their online content including localized news and weather.  Here is a quote from their Director of New Media Operations, Clay McNeill:

"With such a heavy cluster of stations in the Southeast, the NewsGator widget framework allows Raycom stations to easily build custom regional news feeds integrating content from sister stations."

NewsGator makes it very easy for your company to syndicate and widgetize content that specifically reaches your target demographics through the use of custom feeds. 

Next Tuesday, May 6, NewsGator's Jeff Nolan -- VP of our Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) division -- will be attending the Digital Hollywood spring conference in Hollywood. 

He will join several other talented individuals on a panel called, "The Widget Economy: The Information, Advertising, Next Generation Digital Consumer Experience," from 2:15-3:30pm on Tuesday. 

If you're at Digital Hollywood next week, make sure you check out what's bound to be an informative and engaging discussion on widgets.