Web analytics: What’s that all about?

Let’s get this out of the way. Web analytics is not the software program that powers the data collection. Web analytics is people. People like our own maestro, Juha, who collect, analyze and interpret the data. And people like our clients, who make decisions and act on what is learned.

A Web analytics program records the online encounter with prospective customers. It’s like an online rearview mirror and crystal ball combined. It maintains an on-going real-time history of a website’s or campaign’s user activity... and delivers data that (should) guide future online marketing decisions and actions.

Web analytics software will record and map out virtually anything you want to know, right down to remarkable levels of detail. New-generation analytics programs, such as WebTrends® and Google Analytics® are highly sophisticated tools, capable of producing literally thousands of reports. No serious online marketing initiative can pass Go without them.

BUT… the data-recording program just does its job. Nothing more. Web analytics becomes a value only when information becomes knowledge—analyzed, understood and applied by human experts, in a continuing process of tuning your website or campaign to what users tell you via the data.

So… what do you want to know? Here’s a taste of the data you can gather:

• Web traffic volumes and fluctuations
• Web-based transactions and other conversions
• Pages visited… links clicked
• Page abandonment rates
• Time spent on page and time on site
• Usability studies
• Keywords entered in your site's search box
• Mobile user behaviour
• Web server performance
• User submitted information (e.g.. surveys)
• How many unique visitors
• How visitors found the site (link, search, PPC)

Great… but caveat marketer! With the ability to measure just about anything you can think of pertaining to your online performance, the temptation to do just that is very seductive. Empirical evidence suggests that most companies succumb—and find themselves swamped in tsunamis of encyclopedic data.

Resist! Eschew data envy! Countless executive hours are wasted daily, poring over charts, graphs and stats that may be info rich and interesting, yet have no role whatsoever in developing strategy or solutions.

The best way to avoid muddying the waters with data overload is to sit down with your online team and make a real-world list of must-have information.

Work from your core online objectives back. Decide which KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) you want to focus on; then collect only metrics that will create actionable knowledge—the data that directly sponsors the evolution and continuous improvement of your website and online campaigns.

THAT’s Web analytics!