Web Analytics - Getting it Right

Understanding and using web analytics.

In recent years, website marketers were concerned with increasing 'hits' and the 'stickiness' of their sites. They were concerned with increasing page views and the amount of time spent on the site. This is definitely a hold over from the paper based businesses of the past, and has proved to not be of much use in the fast moving internet world.

As a result, hits and views are no longer considered useful metrics for evaluating website success. They simply don't provide the right kind of information needed by online marketers. Now they look at conversions, drop-out rates, return on investment and revenue per visitor.

Internet marketers of today want to make more money. To do this, they must understand their visitors, their motives, where they came from, what they were looking for, and how they found the site. And most important of all: what made them make the decision to buy or what made them abandon the purchase.

In order to accomplish this, they need a powerful new set of analysis tools; tools that are fast, accurate and easy to use. And most important, these tools must be able to measure performance over time. That is, the marketer needs to be able to set a baseline for any metric and then measure a percentage of increase or decrease at a later time. And the time frame needs to be long enough to show meaningful results ? usually 30 days or more.

Here are a few common problems solved by the proper use of web analytics:

Good traffic, but a high Bounce Rate

A 'Bounce' is a visitor who comes to your site and leaves without looking at any other pages. The number of bounces is compared to those who visit more than one page to give a 'Bounce Rate'. All websites have a bounce rate. Whether it is high or not is relative to the site. Only numbers taken over a period of time will show an average for any particular site.

There are two main problems that lead to a high bounce rate: Attracting the wrong kind of traffic and not giving the visitor what they were looking for.

To identify the first case, open the New Visitors report. This report should contain a list of unique, first-time visitors. The report should also show the first page visited and where they came from. The origin may be empty, due to a number of reasons outside the control of the analytics package. Select a visitor that came from a search engine. Now 'Drill Down' by clicking on the selected line and opening a detail view of this visitor. The detail page will show the search term used to find your site.

Was the search term relative to the subject matter of the landing page? Were they only looking for something free? Looking at a number of search terms will reveal if the wrong kind of traffic is coming in.

If the search terms are appropriate, then the searches are driving qualified traffic to the site. If this is the case, the high bounce rate is due to the page content not properly addressing the visitor expectations.

High Drop-Out Rate

According to Jupiter Research, 71 percent of sites do not analyze customer drop-out rates, even though 66 percent of consumers reported having abandoned a purchase while on a website.

The drop-out rate will show an increase, or hopefully, a decrease with time. A properly designed buying process will capture personal contact information before continuing with the checkout process. This contact information can be used to contact the lost sale and discuss the reasons.

The Drop-Out report should show the visitor, the product and date and time of sale. Select one line in the report and drill down to view the contact information, if available. Call or email the visitor to learn the reasons for abandoning the sale.

Also, the internet marketer should discuss the buying process with current customers. This is an excellent method of increasing customer loyalty. It also provides an opportunity to gather testimonials. Most buyers will have visited several times before they bought. Ask why they didn't buy the first time they visited the site. Also, ask why they came back and what motivated them to buy.

Poor Return On Investment

Probably the most difficult challenge faced by internet marketers is controlling costs. Traffic acquisition can be an expensive proposition, so it is important to get the most out of every click.

The best marketing reports reveal where the money comes from, who the money comes from, and what marketers can do to improve revenues. Marketers can use this information to increase advertisements on sites that reach the most interested parties, provide a better selection of products for different types of visitors, or offer better service to their most valuable visitors.

The marketing reports should show sales grouped by campaign or affiliate. At a minimum, they should show units of sales by product and product options, and preferably revenue.

Compare advertising costs with revenues to identify the most profitable campaigns. Often the marketer will find that one campaign may bring in more visitors, but conversion is low, whereas another might bring in fewer, but more qualified visitors who purchase more.

The use of A/B testing to increase pulling power of ads is vital to keeping ad costs down and attracting qualified visitors. Here, the marketer will find it easy to measure changes and evaluate overall performance. Instead of taking months to identify and understand the effect of a change, it will often show in hours or a few days. This agility means that even smaller e-commerce sites can succeed on limited budgets.

Path Analysis / Clickstream Analysis ? Understanding visitors

Not really a problem, but vital to keeping a healthy web business running smoothly. The marketer is also able to identify new trends and opportunities by evaluating the visitors' interest in various content available on the site.

The ideal path through the site should go from the landing page to the products page to the orders page, from there to the checkout and finally to a 'Thank You' page.

Deviations might include paths to tutorials, articles and other information pages, but these should be kept to a minimum and always lead back to the main path.

Again, the marketer can select a particular visitor, buyer or drop-out and then drill down to the detail page to reveal every page visited and path taken, as well as the amount of time spent viewing each page. Knowing how long it takes to actually read the page will reveal the amount of interest in the subject matter. Combining this information with keyword searches will reveal how appropriate the content of each page is to the visitor's interests.

In Summary

The value of the analysis far exceeds the nominal cost of the web analytics service. Indeed, it may spell the difference between success and failure. Good web analytics packages can be hard to find, but need not be expensive. Increasingly, more and more comprehensive reports are available at better prices.

To be effective, the marketer must understand what to look for and how to apply the knowledge revealed by the analysis. The learning curve is not steep, and the rewards can be significant.

WG Moore is a web analytics specialist with over 20 years of hardware, software and web development experience. Visit http://www.webstatsgold.com for more articles and information on web analytics. You may contact him at http://www.webstatsgold.com

Copyright 2005 by WG Moore

Permission is granted for this article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for in ezines, newsletters, websites, to offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and the resource box below is included.

Ancona limousine airport .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare
In The News:

Recent reports show many common passwords can be cracked in literally seconds. Kurt the CyberGuy explains how to strengthen your passwords.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Iron, a robot that stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds, combines advanced artificial intelligence with human-like movement and exceptional vision.
Hertz, the rental car giant, recently confirmed that customer information was exposed through a cyberattack on one of its software vendors.
There are a number of features with AirPods you may or may not know about to take your listening experience to the next level. Kurt the CyberGuy explains.
These 35 Chrome extensions have privacy and security concerns. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says to delete them now.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says 329,000 mph fusion rocket promises to be fast, disruptive and enable deep-space missions.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a new autonomous AI is a game changer that also raises privacy risks. Is your data safe?
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says robots and drones are revolutionizing fruit farming with faster picking and smarter handling.
Landmark Admin revises May 2024 cyberattack scope to show twice as many people were affected. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives tips to help stay safe from an insurance data breach.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how Yamaha’s hydrogen outboard motor could revolutionize boating with zero emissions.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals how to memorialize or remove a deceased loved one’s Facebook account and protect their digital legacy from misuse or scams.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says an Apple Watch saved psychiatrist Amanda Faulkner by detecting deadly leukemia early.
Scammers and fraudsters are increasingly targeting the most vulnerable, especially nursing homes and the personal data of their residents. Kurt the CyberGuy has safety tips.
Infected USB flash drives can spread malware among multiple organizations in ways that can easily bypass traditional security systems.
With a fully automated warehouse system and AI-powered robots, Ocado's Hive picks, packs and delivers grocery store orders in just a few minutes.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Recycling robots are using artificial intelligence to learn how to sort recyclables by recognizing patterns in colors, textures, shapes and logos.
The Reachy 2 robot is designed to be friendly and approachable, inviting natural interaction and is perfect for research, education and experimenting with embodied AI.
Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shares several easy ways to keep your credit cards safe from digital thieves while you're traveling this summer.
Arcturus sets up cameras around the edges of baseball stadiums to capture real-time action and generate a 3D digital clone of the game.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
The CyberGuy explains why healthcare organizations are vulnerable to hackers after there have been a half dozen data breaches this year.
Developed at two California universities, the innovative technology combines brain-computer interfaces with advanced AI to decode neural activity into audible speech.

From Concept to Website

You've decided to create a website to market your products... Read More

Why You Need A Web Site

"I have a small business with just a couple of... Read More

Entangled in the World Wide Web

I am just a learner who likes to delve in... Read More

6 Steps To Your Own Website

A lot of people these days are interested in getting... Read More

Make Your Own Website - General Website Design Tips

Wow, we`ve already taken a domain and chosen a web... Read More

You May Be Losing Valuable Traffic - And Not Even Know It!

Here's something you may never have thought of before:If I... Read More

The Dos and Donts of Launching a Small Business Website

Launching a new small business website is often a long... Read More

5 Essential Traits Of A Home Business Website

So you've decided to start an online work at home... Read More

Wheres Your Focus, Money or Customer?

Is your website Really useful?I had a 'rep' in yesterday... Read More

Beware the Software Siren

I've heard several prominent web marketers mention in their classes... Read More

Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & Web Accessibility

There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced... Read More

Why You Need a Website

You hear a great deal about the Internet these days... Read More

Web Design for the Professional Magician Part I - Selecting the Perfect Domain Name

Selecting the Perfect Domain NameThe first issue I have with... Read More

What Your Customers Say About YOUR Site! Part 1

The following is a list of patterns that many visitors... Read More

Server Stats ? Analyzing Traffic To Your Site

Analyzing traffic to a site is a key factor in... Read More

In Business? 10 Reasons Why You Need a Website -- Now!

1) Word of Mouth The single most powerful form of... Read More

How Worldly is Your World Wide Web?

The growth in Internet usage around the world is astounding... Read More

Stop Losing Precious Web Site Traffic to the Dreaded World Wide Web Black Hole

You work hard to build traffic to your web page.... Read More

MySQL Database Handling in PHP

Most interactive websites nowadays require data to be presented dynamically... Read More

Having a Portfolio on the Internet Can Help you Infiltate the Workforce

If you're an up and coming graphic/web designer just out... Read More

Having a Domain Name And Web Site Gives Your Business The Key To The Door

Just like all things in life, the ways to run... Read More

Improving Usability for Screen Reader Users

Simply ensuring your website is accessible to screen reader users... Read More

The Number 1 Reason Most Websites Fail

Failure, just like success, is measured differently by each and... Read More

Let Marketing Manage Your Website Content

The definition of the phrase "Content Management" depends on what... Read More

Web Content: How Much Should I Pay?

When web content gets discussed on webmaster bulletin boards, the... Read More

Buffalo Grove cheapest limo ..