Google Acquires Social Media Analytics Service PostRank

Google just acquired PostRank, the Canadian social media monitoring and analytics company that allows publishers to see how their content is shared on the social Web. PostRank launched in 2007 (and was still called AidRSS at that time) and currently offers to main products: Connect and Analytics. Google was most likely more interested in PostRank’s Analytics package, which would make a nice addition to Google’s own Analytics service.

PostRank Connect is a slightly different product. Based on the knowledge the company has about blogs and social media users thanks to its analytics data, Connect wants to make it easier for brands to connect with these influencers. The product is still in its beta phase, though (and has been for a long time).

In its announcement, the PostRank team stresses that it believes that “conversations online are an important signal for advertisers, publishers, developers and consumers—but today’s tools only skim the surface of what we think is possible.” Given that the PostRank team stresses the importance of this data for advertisers, chances are we will see some of this technology in its AdSense and AdWords products as well.

PostRank has shut down signups for new customers, but the service will continue to operate as usual for current users.