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Archive for the Web Analytics Category
Facebook Insights now includes Facebook social plug ins for analytics
Posted in Analytics, Social Media, Web Analytics with tags Business, demographics, Facebook, Facebook Insights, Marketing, Social Media, Web Analytics on June 16, 2010 by pdeboisBig news from Facebook, analytics fans — Insights is now improved with more Facebook-ishness. Ok, ok, no such noun, adjective, or verb. But it is improved.
With anticipation of expanded usage, Facebook now allows Insight administrators to measure social plug in usage — the plug ins being the well-known “Like” and “Share” Facebook buttons. Facebook also revised the dashboard for more drill-down capability into data and graphs.
For those who have never heard of Insight — it is a Facebook analytics tool designed to measure engagement of 3 major sets of Facebook services; Facebook Applications, Facebook Fanpages, and Facebook Ads (You can read more about how to use these Facebook services at the AllBusiness.com article I wrote). With Facebook’s popularity among internet users (and marketers), it would be inevitable that an analytics solution would be created.
For more on the new features, check out the official Facebook developer page, as well as the Mashable article based on the developer page.
How to expand your analytics knowledge: Three books that show managers how
Posted in Analytics, Business, Web Analytics with tags Analytics, Branding, Business, business intelligence, customer segmentation, Google Analytics, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Small Business, Small Business Trends, Web Analytics, Yahoo! Analytics on June 2, 2010 by pdeboisNeed a little more information on using analytics within your organization? There are three great books that I have had the pleasure of reviewing at Small Business Trends, an award winning small business blog started by editor Anita Campbell. Written by the leading experts in web analytics and business intelligence, these can help develop an organization around the timely use of analytics tools.
- Web Analytics 2.0 (Avinash Kaushik) explains how organizations can implement a web analytics mindset as well as advanced analytics reporting/analysis concerns.
- Analytics At Work (Thomas Davenport, Jeanne Harris) — focuses on analytics within an organization. Differing from their first book, Competing on Analytics, Analytics at Work is for medium sized organizations that want to incorporate business intelligence tools for operational efficiency but not as a leading advantage in a given industry.
- Yahoo Web Analytics (Dennis Mortensen) — this book is more than a how-to regarding Yahoo! Web Analytics. It’s perfect for online merchants who are interested in Yahoo Web Analytics, but also advanced analytics practitioners who need additional ideas for Javascript code and segmentation analysis.
I have also reviewed other business books with Ivana Taylor, founder of DIY Marketers and the book editor for SBT. We try to review business books we genuinely like and that have great use for small business owners. A great one Ivana did is called Success Made Simple which featured perspective from Amish small businesses
Small Business Trends covers a number of great small business subjects and tips. Definitely a must follow for any small business owner.
What other business books have been a great aid to your business or outlook?
How to determine your most valuable customers: Customer Lifetime Value, inferred from analytics data spots the best segments for profits
Posted in Analytics, Business, Web Analytics with tags Analytics, Business, business intelligence, Google Analytics, how can my business determine the value of my customer segment, how to value your customers, keywords, Marketing, Small Business, Web Analytics on May 6, 2010 by pdeboisAvinash Kaushik has always been a great evangelist for the Google Analytics solution, with useful tips at the Occam’s Razor blog, along with having written two books on the business of web analytics (see the Small Business Trends’ book review on his book Web Analytics 2.0). There are great examples of how to extract value from analytics data. This post on customer lifetime value shows the influence of analytics data to determine your most profitable customer segment.
Explained by David Hughes of E-mail academy , the concept answers three questions regarding the value of an acquired customer base:
- Did you pay enough to acquire customers from each marketing channel?
- Did you acquire the best kind of customers?
- How much could you spend on keeping them sweet with email and social media?
This concept, along with inference of the analytics data, can guide businesses to understand which segments of website traffic are worth the marketing effort. Remember, your analytics data is more than just examining keywords. You can examine your online presence, and infer some answers, as well as guidance for others. I love this post from Avinash because it gets into the meat and potatoes of value. This is not entirely new; Annastatia Holdren gave great comments during her Adwords training about monitoring the value of your keywords so that you are not paying more for traffic (you can read more on the value of clicks here)
Key takeaways relevant for business owners looking to review their analytics.
- Focus on discovering the actions of a segment, not just an individual – analytics is about understanding a group of given traffic.
- Being at the top of a given SERP may be costly in some instances. There are many ways to drive customers to your site without going head to head on a keyword which may be expensive to use in an Adword or CPC campaign. That expense becomes particularly costly if there are few visitors converting from use of that keyword.
- Even if your business attempt to gain a SERP advantage via a focus on keywords, an overfocus on certain keywords can eliminate choices of other keywords and phrase which has lower traffic volume but potentially better odds of conversion – more sales, more sign ups, etc.
- Business owners should be open for other means for customers to discover their site — even a well constructed print ad that links to a great landing page can general the right traffic if the ad is exposed to the right audience. Foursquare, Twitter, Yelp, and social networking sites have provided new means of discovery.
To read the full explanation of the Customer Lifetime Value process, see the post at Occam’s Razor.
Crain article on digital sites geared for women shows segmentation is essential for savvy business online
Posted in Business, Marketing, Social Media, Web Analytics with tags Marketing, business intelligence, Small Business, Social Media, consumer, Business, demographics, search traffic, marketing to women online communities, Crain's New York, Crain's on May 5, 2010 by pdebois
Today many online communities court women for lifestyle and consumer interests
Crain’s New York had a great recent article on online media properties and the increase competition among online women communities. The article focused on the relaunch or iVillage — NBC is attempting to make a portfolio of brands — as well as Glam Media’s continued dominance. From the article:
“Magazine publishers are also getting better at identifying audiences across their networks of sites and delivering them in big numbers, media buyers say. Hearst Digital Media’s network had 17.6 million visitors in February, comScore reports, and Conde Nast Digital had 15.3 million”
These are just the opening salvos — Glam Media has the largest number of unique visitors at 78.0 million (comScore figure). All hail from the “fragmentation of audiences and the way people now use search engines to travel around the Web.” You can read more at Crain’s New York (Site has a thing or 2 for Women)
Takeaways for small businesses:
- Business owners must pay attention to the different sites/properties available to their business, and see if there is an audience that rings true to their goals — to strengthen its position in a market or even extend its audience (long tail).
- In paying attention, businesses should decide what services and features to focus on the most — the fragmentation that is occurring has made being a jack-of-all-trades a very expensive proposition to maintain. The cost for marketing to as much traffic as possible may exceed the revenue generated. See the Zimana blog articles on segmentation and the Orient express as well as the post on the Lexus LF-A launch for examples of how large organizations deal (or not deal) with segmentation.
- In focusing on a segment, the marketing dollars and effort will be better focus and can yield better results for campaigns and attracting the right visitors who will convert.
Think Analytics is for auditing SEO? Use it for its true intent, to guide your online presence
Posted in Analytics, Business, Marketing, Web Analytics with tags Marketing, Marketing Strategy, search engine optimization, SEO, Social Media, Web Analytics on April 13, 2010 by pdeboisThere are many small businesses that believe that web analytics is linked entirely to PPC and keyword campaigns. It can be. But analytics solutions can do so much more by inferring your customers wants and desires from a number of marketing channels. Small businesses are bombarded with new means to market themselves, so as a business adds a new marketing tool — both online and offline — the new tools increases the attention needed. Remember your business can market itself through:
- Powerpoint presentations uploaded online
- Video uploaded and advertised through YouTube, Vimeo, AdMogul, etc.
- Magazine and Billboard ads with URLs to a landing page
- e-Mail (like MailChimps site analytics)
- Facebook (which requires a different approach to a keyword search….more later!)
- Profiles on sites such as Linked In, OPEN Forum, Biznik
- Local or specialty associations like the Web Analytics Association and the New York Entrepreneurship
- Customer responses via Yelp and Mr Tweet.
- Blogs
Plus, there are additional analytics for some of these, sources such as MailChimp’s Site Analytics (see a previous post on the subject here).
So the point is to use your analytics solutions as an anchor for understanding your marketing and managing your costs.
How to create a video resume by IQ Workforce
Posted in Analytics, Business, Web Analytics with tags Analytics, Resume, Video on April 7, 2010 by pdeboisIQ Workforce operates a great recruiting site for analytics consultants and companies looking for analytics practitioners. Companies can post job openings for analytics and related digital marketing positions, while analytics employees and independent contractors can post their resume and web video resume to show their skills and strengthens. It is a significant and welcome development in the web analytics community, as its niche focus on WA practitioners offers increased visibility to analytics positions while augmenting many other sites for digital marketing related posting. Established in 2005, the company is a global partner of Web Analytics Wednesdays (a networking meetup hosted in various cities, founded by Eric Peterson of Web Analytics Demystified). IQ Workforce also interviews web analytics practitioners regarding the industry trends.
Corry Prohens is the Managing Consultant for IQ Workforce. He offers solid advice to all, such as great post on how to conduct a video resume, a format he has encouraged contractors to use. You can learn more about how to conduct a web video resume at the iQ Workforce blog post.
How iPad + Hyundai Equus = Analytics opportunity for revolutionizing customer service at auto dealers
Posted in Analytics, Marketing, Social Media, Web Analytics with tags Analytics, Apple, Cars, customer segmentation, customer services, Equus, Hyundai, IPad on April 5, 2010 by pdebois
Apple's iPad may be revolutionizing customer service for auto dealers
The iPad has received much hype since Apple’s announcement. But the news that really caught my attention was Hyundai’s offering an iPad in the glove box of every new Equus. The Equus is the brand’s most expensive vehicle, a premium sedan aiming to be a BMW 7 series alternative. The iPad will serve as a service manual instead of the standard brochure.
Now this may sound like a slight come down for Apple — why have a $500 computer serve as a book — but there is a marketing advantage for Hyundai and Apple, along with an analytics opportunity as well.
Hyundai is in an interesting position. It has been strengthening its brand as of late to gain more upscale customers, but unlike Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, they can not create a whole new network and sales division by scratch (ie Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura). Adding an iPad creates a special and timely interest about the Equus.
For Apple, the inclusion addresses the criticisms for what an iPad can be besides an extra computer device. Although much has been said about the ebook reader capability (and even more said about e-book pricing — more later in a separate post), there are not many innovative examples to show the capability of an iPad or Slate device. Replacing the service manual changes that. The iPad revitalizes a long ignored feature in an automobile and renews the usability in an interesting way, similar to how Starbucks revitalized how consumers perceive coffee.
The iPad also becomes an analytics conduit for information. According to USA Today’s article on Hyundai and Apple, the iPad will provide service information:
“The iPad will also schedule service appointments, for which owners won’t even have to drive to the dealer. To give the brand a more upscale feel, (Hyundai CEO John) Krafcik is creating a system in which a service attendant will pick up the car from the owner and leave them a loaner. Hyundai also is offering home test drives for potential buyers.”
This means increased customer service capability and more information on its target customers, premium buyers. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda had the natural progression of customer lifestyle — buyers wanting more premium vehicles as they progress professionally — but these brands did not have the feedback potential Hyundai will have from customer communication to the dealer via the iPad (Maybe Toyota could learn a trick or two for the Lexus LF-A — see the Zimana blog post on it)
Can an iPad be better in a Hyundai? With a little analytics, like Obama, yes it can!
Takeaways for small businesses:
- Match your branding accordingly with whomever you partner with — Apple is not a luxury brand, but features and its stores incorporate features of a premium brand (and it is positioning iPad to be superior to netbooks). This is a fit for Hyundai, which is not an Acura but will limit production on Equus, establishing some premium level above the vehicle on the second rung, Genesis.
- Technology can serve as a gateway to offline engagement of customers. Using the iPad will allow Hyundai to use all the techniques and tools to encourage a positive engagement at the dealership. Auto owners have had a negative impression of dealership experience, and all automakers struggle to ensure that any repair is a positive experience that will lead to repeat sales.
- Analytics can aid your brands effort to strengthen its image by providing a means to gather customer feedback and infer how to improve customer service or product offering.
New Book Review at Small Business Trends: Analytics at Work
Posted in Analytics, Business, Web Analytics with tags Analytics, Book Review, Business, business intelligence, Competing On Analytics, Harvard Business Press, Jeanne Harris, Robert Morison, Thomas Davenport, Web Analytics on March 21, 2010 by pdeboisI have been writing a book reviews for Small Business Trends, a popular and award winning blog on small business. I have been really enjoying reading business books. Working with Ivana Taylor of DIY Marketing and SBT founder Anita Campbell has been a true privilege.
The latest analytics-related book is Analytics At Work by Harvard professor Thomas Davenport, Jeanne Harris, and Robert Morison. The book expand on the study described in the previous work Competing On Analytics by examining the framework necessary to become a more analytics-driven business culture. It’s a great read. Learn more about my review of Analytics At Work at the Small Business Trends site
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