web analytics strategy jessica krywosa and rick allen

Web Analytics Strategy: Answering the Right Questions

Jessica Krywosa

Suffolk University

Rick Allen

Babson College

Stamats Integrated Marketing:

Technology Conference

October 22, 2010

#SIMTech @jesskry • @epublishmedia

Hi, I‟m Jessica.

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Hi, I‟m Rick.

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What we‟re talking about:

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What we‟re talking about

Web analytics strategy

Trends & segmentation

Campaign tracking & analytics goals

Reporting

Next steps: making it work

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How many „hits/visits‟

are we getting?

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How many „hits/visits‟

are we getting?

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Define the „right‟ questions.

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Trends & Campaigns

Trends

How do users travel through our

site?

Where are our most active visitors

from?

Are we doing better or worse?

How do people find us?

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Campaign Tracking

Which mediums work best?

Did users complete an action?

Is what we‟re doing working?

What content is performing or

underperforming?

Web Analytics Strategy

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“Often numbers don't speak as

loudly as they should because you

are missing one simple ingredient:

context.”

Avinash Kaushik

Author, Web Analytics 2.0

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Analytics strategy puts data in

context. Without context, data is

meaningless.

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Web Analytics

Strategy

University objectives

What is the purpose of your website?

Website goals

What actions do you want people to

take on your website to meet your

university objectives?

Measurement

What relevant web metrics can be used

to measure the efficacy of your website

goals over time?

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Measurement

Trends

Segmentation

Campaign tracking

Analytics goals

KPIs

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Trends & Segmentation

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/eworm/177950064/

Analysis & Hypothesizing

Non-campaign

YOY/MOM patterns

User behavior

Who, what, where, how–but not why

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Who?

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What?

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Where?

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How?

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How? (cont.)

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Make connections for

deeper meaning.

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Campaign Tracking

& Analytics Goals

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawrence_evil/588771342/

Test your strategy.

Make it purposeful.

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Finding Answers with

Campaign Tracking

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[campaign

tracking]

Objective:

Improve content delivery methods

Measure

Website Goal #1 Question Answer

Optimize editorial

calendar (publishing

frequency).

What are the best

times to publish

content?

Peak traffic by

campaign and

day/time.

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[campaign

tracking]

Objective:

Improve content delivery methods

Measure

Website Goal #2 Question Answer

Maximize use of

content delivery

channels.

Which content

delivery methods

are most effective?

Peak traffic by

campaign content

source (twitter,

facebook, newsletter).

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[campaign

tracking]

Objective:

Improve content delivery methods

Measure

Website Goal #3 Question Answer

Improve

content/messaging

efficacy.

What content is

most attractive to

our users?

Peak traffic by

campaign (news,

events, shared links)

and medium (social

media, email).

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Finding Answers with

Analytics Goals:

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[analytics

goals]

Objective:

Increase engagement

Measure

Website Goal #1 Question Answer

Encourage visitors to

explore website.

What percentage of

users view at least 3

pages per visit?

Analytics goal:

depth of visit =

3 or more.

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[analytics

goals]

Objective:

Increase engagement

Measure

Website Goal #2 Question Answer

Engage visitors with

compelling content.

What percentage

of users remain

on-page more

than 1 minute?

Analytics goal:

time on page =

1 or more minutes.

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[analytics

goals]

Objective:

Increase engagement

Measure

Website Goal #3 Question Answer

Elicit user feedback. What percentage of

users comment

content?

Analytics goal:

page view =

user comment

(virtual) page.

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Reporting

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliejohnson/2195090407/

Audience

VP/Director

Knowledge base

Timeliness

Automate

Share advanced segments

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Frequency

Monthly trends

Quarterly – actionable

Daily/Weekly – campaign based

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Content

Site traffic

Organic referrals

Asset update

Campaign update (summer, yield)

Social media growth & interactions

Targeted email analytics (from ESP)

Other site goals (form submission)

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Structure

Short and sweet

Bulleted

Minimal charts/graphs

Tie to goals

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Data is empty without action.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/efilpera/3920499357/

Next Steps:

Making It Work

Recommendations

Gain support for analytics through education

Understand what analytics can't tell you

Measure performance over time based on website goals

Start now and don't stop

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Questions?

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Thanks.

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Jessica Krywosa

@jesskry

http://www.krywosa.com

http://www.doteduguru.com

Rick Allen

@epublishmedia

http://www.epublishmedia.com

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