This document provides an overview of a web seminar on using web analytics to improve online marketing efforts. The seminar is hosted by the American Marketing Association and presented by Eric T. Peterson on March 6, 2007. It includes the agenda, background on the speaker, and sections on defining business objectives, key performance indicators, and running experiments. The goal is to provide strategies for effectively analyzing web data and translating insights into action.

1. AMA Marketing Effectiveness
Online Seminar Series
Marla Chupack - Moderator
American Marketing Association
March 6, 2007
by Eric T. Peterson

2. Commonly Asked Questions
1. Will I be able to get copies of the slides after the
event?
2. Will this webcast be archived for future “on demand”
viewing?
by Eric T. Peterson

3. Commonly Asked Questions
1. Will I be able to get copies of the slides after the
event?
Yes
2. Will this webcast be archived for future “on demand”
viewing?
Yes
by Eric T. Peterson

4. American Marketing Association
A wealth of information is available for marketing professionals at:
www.MarketingPower.com
The #1 marketing site on the web for:
Best Practices
White Papers
Professional Development Opportunities
Online and Offline Events
Archived Webcasts
by Eric T. Peterson

5. Today’s Speaker: Eric T. Peterson
Author:
– Web Analytics Demystified
– Web Site Measurement Hacks
– The Big Book of Key Performance Indicators
Blogger: www.webanalyticsdemystified.com
Founder: The Web Analytics Forum at Yahoo! Groups
Presenter: Numerous conferences and webcasts
Former: Senior Analyst for JupiterResearch
Current: V.P., Strategic Services, Visual Sciences
Contact: eric@webanalyticsdemystified.com
by Eric T. Peterson

6. Today’s Sponsor: Aquent
Global leader in marketing, creative, and
technical staffing – including all aspects of
business, marketing, and web analytics
• Freelance, contract, try-before-you-hire, or direct
hire talent
• 20 years of experience with 70+ offices in 17
countries
• Online @ www.aquent.com or toll-free @
877.227.8368
by Eric T. Peterson

7. Web Analytics Demystified:
Ten Simple Strategies for Using
Web Analytics to Improve Your
Online Marketing Efforts
Eric T. Peterson
March 6, 2007
Generously sponsored by Aquent (www.aquent.com)
by Eric T. Peterson

8. Agenda
I. Three Fundamental Truths
II. Ten Steps to Success
a. Description
b. Explanation
c. ACTION!
III. Questions and Answers
by Eric T. Peterson

9. Three Fundamental Truths
 Being successful with web analytics is relatively easy
 You need to recognize three fundamental truths
1. Web analytics applications are not easy for everyone to use
2. Web data is not easily interpreted by everyone
3. Web analytics is a process
by Eric T. Peterson

10. Ten Steps to Success
 Ten strategies that experts widely agree upon
 Likely you’re doing some of these today:
Pre-Execution Execution
1. Define your Business Objectives 6. Allocate the Resources
2. Translate Objectives to Activities 7. Define the Reports
3. Understand the Technology 8. Perform the Analysis
4. Learn the Terminology 9. Run the Experiments
5. Plan the Implementation 10. Adhere to the Process
by Eric T. Peterson

11. Define your Business Objectives
 You have a web site for a reason
– To sell products …
– To support products …
– To generate leads …
– To support existing customers …
– To deliver ad impressions …
– To generate clicks …
– To create brand awareness …
– To generate “buzz” …
 Often, business objectives are poorly defined and vague
by Eric T. Peterson

12. Business Objectives Provide Structure
 Business objectives are a framework
 Provide a basis for justification
 Instead of:
– “We’re starting a campaign to bring more visitors to the web site,
and our measure of success is an increase in visitor traffic.”
 You say:
– “We’re starting a campaign designed to generate additional sales
on the site, and our measure of success is a campaign conversion
rate at least twice our site-wide average.”
by Eric T. Peterson

13. ACTION: Business Objectives
 The process for defining business objectives:
1. Gather senior stakeholders in a room
2. Pass out yellow stickies
3. Ask each to document why they believe the site exists
4. Put the notes on the wall
5. Look for groups and consistent themes
6. Find consensus around two or three objectives if possible
7. Document these business objectives
8. Share with the larger team or entire company
 Most companies are surprised at what they learn
by Eric T. Peterson

14. Translate Objectives to Activities
 Business objectives are “big picture”
 But web analytics is “tiny details”
 Defining specific activities bridges the gap
– For any business objective there are many activities
– These activities are the specific actions visitors take
– Things like “Add Product to Cart” and “Click Checkout Button”
 Each business objective can have “n” activities
 Depends on the objective and the web site
by Eric T. Peterson

15. Activities: An Example
 For the business objective “Sell Products”
– View products
– Search for products
– Read product reviews
– View product images
– Add product to shopping cart
– Start checkout process
– Complete checkout process
– Write a product review
– Email product info to a friend
by Eric T. Peterson

16. ACTION: Activities
 List the things visitors can do to satisfy the objective
 Be as specific as possible when documenting activities
 Capture click-stream images of the activity
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
 Think broadly, both on and off the web site
by Eric T. Peterson

17. Understand the Technology
 Web analytics technologies measure specific things:
– Referrers
– Clicks
– Page Views
– Visits
– Visitors
 Knowing what your particular platform is capable of
measuring is critical!
by Eric T. Peterson

18. The Marketing Perspective
 You may say:
– “I don’t have time to learn the details of the technology … I just
need the answers to my questions!”
 But measurement technologies have various limitations
that directly impact answers given:
– Failure to properly identify campaigns …
– Changing page names …
– Failure to remove robots and spiders …
– Caching issues …
by Eric T. Peterson

19. ACTION: Technology
 Ask your vendor to provide a training on the
fundamental elements in their data schema
– Focus on elements that directly impact your business objectives
– Have them provide an overview of the technology’s limitations
– Make sure that your core marketing team understands this
information
– Work to have open lines of communication between marketing
and IT
 Every stakeholder needs to understand the core web
analytics processes
by Eric T. Peterson

20. Learn the Terminology
 Web analytics isn’t taught in college *
 The lingo is largely new and often abused
 For example:
– “The site generated 50,000 hits in the first few days online …”
– Hits? Or page views?! Or visits?!? Or visitors?!!?
 When people don’t understand the terminology,
confusion leads to frustration leads to ignoring the data
by Eric T. Peterson

21. Using the Terminology
 You must learn the terminology
 Then, instead of saying:
– “We had 5,000,000 hits on our web site from campaign X.”
 You will be able to say:
– “Campaign X brought 20,000 new visitors to the site. Those
visitors generated 50,000 page views and returned an average of
3.0 times in the following month. Furthermore, those 20,000
visitors had a conversion rate twice our site-wide average.”
by Eric T. Peterson

22. ACTION: Terminology
 Take your vendor’s documentation and translate it
 Make sure to communicate the real meaning of:
– Referrer
– Click and Click-through
– Page view
– Visit (also called “Session”)
– Visitor (also called “Unique Visitor”)
– New and repeat visitor
 Do not assume that everyone knows these terms!
by Eric T. Peterson

23. Plan the Implementation
 Most baseline analytics implementations aren’t enough
 There are often many types of custom/external data:
– Customer information
– Impression data
– Product data
– Cost data
 Companies need to work with their vendors to ensure
that measurement systems gather the right data
by Eric T. Peterson

24. “Advanced” Implementations
 Many vendors offer advanced implementation services
 Usually for-fee, often worth considering
– Expert guides know the questions to ask
– They bridge the gap between the business and the infrastructure
– Can dramatically improve the quality of implementation
 Make sure you communicate your business objectives
and activities to external implementation support!
by Eric T. Peterson

25. ACTION: Implementation
 Your business objectives and activities provide the
implementation framework
1. List each business objective and activity
2. Next to each, identify which data are required
3. Identify the sources of each piece of data
4. Validate with your vendor the ability to leverage each source
5. Document the process for gathering data
 Do not rely completely on internal resources unless
they have repeatedly demonstrated competence
by Eric T. Peterson

26. Allocate the Resources
 Remember I said “not easy for everyone to use?”
 Companies that identify/assign/hire the “right” person
are dramatically more likely to benefit from web
analytics
– Companies with no dedicated resources are far more likely to
treat web analytics as an ad hoc process
– Companies with dedicated resources are far more likely to
ensure that appropriate data is shared through the company
 Keep in mind: The distribution of web analytic data is
intrinsically tied to the data being used
by Eric T. Peterson

27. Who Are the “Right” People?
 The most successful web data analysts:
– Are business minded, having experience with some aspect of
online marketing
– Are technically astute, or at least willing to learn the “nuts and
bolts”
– Are excellent presenters, unafraid to talk at length about minutia
when required
– Are relentless in their quest for answers and information
– Have enough seniority and experience to earn the respect of both
business and I.T.
by Eric T. Peterson

28. ACTION: Find the Right People
 Recognize it is a “buyer’s market” for experienced web
analytics professionals (Aquent and others can help!)
– Salaries are high
– Experienced people are few and far-between
– Smart web analysts are looking for company where they can
make a difference
 If possible, look internally for employees that fit the
profile and who may be up to additional challenges
 Remember: When you find them, work to keep them!
by Eric T. Peterson

29. Define the Reports
 Don’t assume default reports will answer your questions
– Most default reports are lists or dashboards
– The former are usually too detailed, the latter not enough so
 Augment lists with key performance indicators, designed
to report on specific activities and business objectives
by Eric T. Peterson

30. Key Indicator Reports
 Business-
specific
 Color-coded
 In context
 Easily shared
 Automated
 Annotated
 Speak directly
to core
business
objectives and
activities
by Eric T. Peterson

31. ACTION: Revisit Your Reports
 Research and implement key performance indicators
 The Big Book of Key Performance Indicators or
information from your vendor
 Think hierarchically:
– Senior management: Few KPIs
– Strategic resources: More KPIs; occasionally lists
– Tactical resources: Even more KPIs; even more lists
 Remember to annotate prior to widespread distribution!
by Eric T. Peterson

32. Perform the Analysis
 Analysis is the drilling-down into the data in an attempt
to refute a reasonable hypothesis
– Example hypothesis: “A substantial percentage of high-cost
clicks from the Yahoo! Search network are fraudulent”
– Clearly, the answer has profound business implications
 The analysis step is where most companies fail
– Far too many companies only do reporting
– But the analysis is where the real business value resides
by Eric T. Peterson

33. Reporting versus Analysis
Reporting Advantages : Analysis Advantages:
 Automatically generated  Identifies clear actions
 Moderately tactical  Extremely tactical
Reporting Disadvantages: Analysis Disadvantages:
 Highly dependent on the  Impossible to automate!
reader for interpretation  May require data analysis tools
 Rarely suggest action except to that exceed current platform
very knowledgeable readers capabilities
by Eric T. Peterson

34. ACTION: Produce Analysis
 Analysis is theoretically easy to do:
1. Hire/allocate bright people to conduct the analysis
2. Examine existing reports, looking for obvious problems
3. Evaluate obvious problems against business objectives
4. Identify “high potential” areas for correction
5. Develop and test robust hypotheses
6. Clearly document the results of the analysis
7. Make and share succinct recommendations
 Clear, succinct recommendations are what most
companies and agencies are prepared to act upon
by Eric T. Peterson

35. Run the Experiments
 Often, analysis will suggest multiple possible changes
 Multiple possibilities necessitate testing, referred to as
controlled experimentation
– Also called “A/B testing” and “multivariate testing”
– Used to statistically sample multiple alternatives
 Ideally, controlled experiments can be run against all
existing reports and key performance indicators
by Eric T. Peterson

36. About Experimentation
 Many schools of thought … simple A/B, Taguchi, etc.
 Fundamentally:
– Segment visitors based on pre-determined criteria
– Show test segments alternative content or functionality
– Track segments over time
– Watch for differentiated behavior based on pre-established
metrics (e.g., “conversion rate”)
 Controlled experimentation is a critical component of
web analytics but is rarely used for a variety of reasons
by Eric T. Peterson

37. ACTION: Run Experiments
 Start by choosing a platform to experiment on:
– Offermatica, Optimost, …
– FREE Google Site Optimizer (in BETA), …
– Also found in some web analytics applications …
 Adopt a methodology
 Aggressively test, but be open to failure
 Use experimentation to calculate ROI from your
investment in web analytics
by Eric T. Peterson

38. Adhere to the Process
 A fundamental truth: web analytics is a process
 Some companies are successful despite process
– There are often low-hanging fruit …
– Everyone likes the idea of “easy wins” …
 But establishing process around web analytics is critical
to long-term, repeatable successes
by Eric T. Peterson

39. Several Fundamental Processes
Management Processes Operational Processes
 Defining business objectives  Mapping activities to click-stream data
 Documenting activities  Collecting and integrating data
 Assigning ownership of analytics  Validating data
 Establishing goals  Providing internal training
 Hiring and allocating resources  Generating and distributing reports
 Defining change management processes  Conducting and presenting analysis
 Tracking web analytics ROI  Making and measuring changes
 Selecting technology partners  “Tweaking” data collection
 Researching new directions
 Each process has easily defined inputs and outputs
 Learn more at http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/wabp.asp
by Eric T. Peterson

40. ACTION: Incorporate Process
 Document where measurement has broken down
 Think about the last three times you failed to:
– Incorporate measurement into a new campaign …
– Incorporate measurement into a new site or project …
– Incorporate measurement into a new application …
 Consider which questions you were unable to answer
 Document the broken process with measurement,
reporting, and analysis as an integrated component
by Eric T. Peterson

41. Bonus Strategy: “Web 2.0”
 Many marketers are intensely focused on “Web 2.0”
 The emergence of:
– Distributed content, podcasts, vidcasts, …
– Social media, blogger influence, blog comments, …
– AJAX, RIA, RSS, XML, …
 Much of what’s out there is difficult to measure using
traditional analytics applications
 But that doesn’t mean you should give up hope!
by Eric T. Peterson

42. ACTION: Measure “Web 2.0”
 Some vendors already support Web 2.0 measurement
– All that is typically required is careful adherence to process
 Ideally all aspects of visitor/customer contact are
integrated into a single measurement environment
– RSS feeds bring visitors to the site to comment on blogs, interact
with AJAX RIAs, view pages, bookmark on del.icio.us, and
ultimately make a purchase
 Talk to your vendor!
by Eric T. Peterson

43. Summary
 The onus is on every site owner to UNDERSTAND the
metrics that are critical to their business success
– Rely on the metrics team for analysis, not numbers
– Remember: Analysis is the highest-value activity!
 Site managers need to INCORPORATE
MEASUREMENT into design and marketing efforts
– Use checklists, requirements, diagrams, documentation, …
– Remember: You don’t know what you don’t know
by Eric T. Peterson

44. Question & Answer
by Eric T. Peterson

45. What Next?
Reference Guides
1. Web Analytics Demystified
2. Web Site Measurement Hacks
3. The Big Book of Key Performance Indicators
Online Resources
1. www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/ama
2. www.tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/webanalytics/
3. www.webanalyticsassociation.org
PDF Copy of Presentation
James Gardner
jgardner@aquent.com
Archived Webcast (available in 24 hours)
www.MarketingPower.com/webcasts
Questions for AMA
Marla Chupack
mchupack@ama.org
by Eric T. Peterson

46. Web Analytics Demystified:
Ten Simple Strategies for Using
Web Analytics to Improve Your
Online Marketing Efforts
Eric T. Peterson
March 6, 2007
Generously sponsored by Aquent (www.aquent.com)
by Eric T. Peterson