Getting Results with WebTrends How to Improve Your Business with Web Analytics

Getting Results
with WebTrends
How to Improve Your Business with Web Analytics
Introducing …
Web Analytics Product Manager
Brian Induni
[email protected]
Web Analytics Product Marketing Manager
Amy Duryea
[email protected]
Agenda
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State of the Web
Today’s Challenges
Setting the Stage
5 Key Areas to Measure
GeoPassage Case Study
Questions and Answers
As the Web Matures…
Pre-1997
Pioneer Days
1997 - 1999
Great
Expectations
2000
Wake-up
Call
2001
Reality Check
…the Focus Shifts to ROI
Source: Forrester Research, 2001
The Value of Web Analytics
“It has long been said you cannot manage what
you cannot measure. Nowhere is this more
true than on the Web – where examining what
works and what doesn’t directly influences the
bottom line.”
– Gartner Group, 2001
“Web Analytics: Getting Down to Business”
Challenges in the Market
1. Scalability
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As data volumes increase, business analysts are becoming
overwhelmed trying to understand how it all maps together.
Source: Aberdeen Group, December 2000
Challenges in the Market
1. Scalability

As data volumes increase, business analysts are becoming
overwhelmed trying to understand how it all maps together.
2. Insight-to-effort ratio
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Enterprises are challenged that high-end solutions require so
much effort. At the same time, entry-level solutions typically
offer little in-depth reporting.
Source: Aberdeen Group, December 2000
Challenges in the Market
1. Scalability

As data volumes increase, business analysts are becoming
overwhelmed trying to understand how it all maps together.
2. Insight-to-effort ratio

Enterprises are challenged that high-end solutions require so
much effort. At the same time, entry-level solutions typically
offer little in-depth reporting.
3. Aligning the organization to the technology
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Technology is only part of the solution, organizations must
coordinate across departmental boundaries to be successful at
utilizing web analytics to impact change.
Source: Aberdeen Group, December 2000
Setting the Stage
Quick Review of Terminology & Fundamentals
The Log File - Contents
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IP Address or domain name of requesting user
Username (if necessary to access protected pages)
Time/date of request
Status of request (whether or not the request was successful)
The page, image, or other file that was requested
Any parameters associated with a dynamic request
The browser that requested the file*
The page and domain of the request immediately preceding the
current request*
How long the server took to transfer the file
The user’s cookie and cookie parameters
* Information is available when the server logs in extended file format
Visits (or “Sessions”)
Activity for one visitor
default 30 minutes of
inactivity
also called a visit
5 Key Areas to Measure
5 Key Areas
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5.
Top Referrers
Content Groups
Top Paths
Technical Stats
Qualified Visits (by product)
#1
How are people finding your site?
Gain insight into your SEO strategy
* (do you have one?)
 What search phrases or terms are people using
to find your site?
 Which search engines or directories are driving
the most visitors to your site?
 What sites are referring traffic to yours?
#1
Top Search Phrases
#1
Top Search Engines
#2
What content are your visitors most interested in?
Gain insight into:
 What specific or top pages are people
accessing?
 What content areas are they visiting most?
 Are there areas of my site that people are
interested in but are buried too deep?
 What content should you consider positioning on
the homepage?
#2
Top Pages
#2
Content Groups
#3
Is the navigation through your site effective?
Gain insight into:
 Is your navigation leading visitors to desired
actions? (top paths through site)
 Are they getting to the content you want them
to? (top destination paths)
 Where are people dropping off? (top exit pages)
#3
Top Paths Through Site
#3
Top Destination Paths
 Forward path analysis -- Isolate a page and track where
visitors go after that page
 Reverse path analysis – Isolate a page and track where
they came from to reach that page
Where is this important?
Leveraging path analysis to optimize conversion events
 Check-out process
 Registration process
#3
Top Exit Pages
#4
Is your site optimized and free of errors?
Gain insight into:
 Did any visitors experience errors submitting
registration or order forms?
 Were there any problems with the servers?
 Are any visitors experiencing the forbidden
404 ‘Page Not Found’ error?
#4
Dynamic Page Errors
#4
Server Load Balancing
#4
Client Errors
#5
Is your site supporting your business objectives?
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Are you attracting “qualified visits”?
Are you converting visitors to desired actions?
Which “products” are your visitors most interested in?
Are you increasing or decreasing conversion when you
make changes to your site?
Note:
 A “qualified visit” is one that results in specific actions that you define.
 A “product” can be any action you wish to track.
#5
Defining Qualified Visits
#5
Qualified Visitor Conversion Ratio
 Conversion Formula
 (Qualified visits) / (Total visits)
 Understand if you’re successfully
converting visitors to your desired actions
#5
Visitor Conversion: ROI Summary
 ROI Formula
 (Total Revenue Forecast) – (Cost this period)
 Understand if your return on a specific
deliverable outweighs the investment
15.5
$30,000.00
$61,100.00
103.6%
$31,100.00
$30,000.00
$61,100.00
103.6%
$31,100.00
GeoPassage Case Study
Business Overview
 World wide tour company
 Customizable planning and booking of travel based on
customer interests
 Traditional package tours
 Destination
 Theme
www.geopassage.com
http://travel.aande.com
GeoPassage Business Challenge
 Measure the effectiveness of expensive
search engine submissions and web banner
advertising
 Increase return visits to site
 Gain a better understanding of what it takes
to get visitors to convert to customers
 Increase newsletter recipient base
GeoPassage Solution
 Provide information to decision makers out
of the box
 Intuitive and easy to use reports
 Report on dynamically generated pages
 Solution for small to mid sized business with
a cost-effective solution
GeoPassage Results –
Measure effectiveness of on-line campaigns
 Determined which search engines resulted in the
most traffic
 Measured specific words that generated the most
visits
 Optimized keyword selection which provided the most visits
 Concentrate efforts where they have the most
influence
 Now a strategic tool for the marketing department
GeoPassage Results –
Increase Return Visits to Site
 Used Top Destination Paths through Site and Top
Exit Page
 Track route of visitors through the site
 Look for strengths to be exploited
 Eliminate weaknesses of path navigation
 Home page was top exit page
 Experiment with layout and organization
 Study Most Requested Pages and Top Destination Paths
 Feature top destination countries on top navigation bar
 Increased return visitors by 30 percent
 Removed the home page as the top exit page
GeoPassage Results –
Convert visitors to purchasing customers
 Gain a better understanding of what needs to
be done to convert visitors to customers
 Analyze New versus Returning Visitors to
determine how many visits it takes for a
visitor to book an online adventure
 Typical sale is made only after the purchaser
has made 4 of 5 visits to the site previously
 Increase revenue by converting more visitors
GeoPassage Results –
Increase Newsletter Recipient Base
 Constant deliberation of what to feature
 Examined traffic analysis reports
 Most Requested pages would show what country or
activity was creating the most interest
 Featured most requested information in
newsletter
 400 percent increase in traffic
“WebTrends … has proven to be a critical tool
used by our marketing and IT departments,
allowing us to make strategic, fact-based
decisions rather than shooting in the dark.
We have been able to prove return on
investment (ROI) on our marketing initiatives
and spend our money more wisely.”
- Arturo Castellanos, System Adminstrator, GeoPassage
To Recap - 5 Key Areas
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Top Referrers
Content Groups
Top Paths
Technical Stats
Qualified Visits (by product)
Questions and Answers
Thank you for attending
How to reach WebTrends:
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[email protected]
[email protected]
Web: http://www.webtrends.com
e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 503.294.7025 or 1-888-932-8736