"Most Analysts / Marketers / HiPPO's don't realize the amount of pain and effort that is involved in getting the web analytics data they are seeking. We need to teach them what it takes to get the 'ultimate golden everything' so that they'll make smarter decisions about what to ask for and what to skip."
That's my good friend John Marshall starting yet another 'lets go out and change the world' conversation with me. : ) He is also convincing and I quickly agreed. The result is that you all get these delightfully informative videos!
Two things connect John and I (we are the co-founders of Market Motive):
1] A passion for Analytics, web or otherwise.
2] A love of teaching, with a particular stress on cutting through the FUD and stressing actionability.
We hope to bring those two things together in this blog post through three videos. They share our perspective on how you should go into a "I want everything from my web analytics tool" session.
The videos recommend an evolutionary process for your "meet all my desires now Omniture (!)" sessions. [Of course replace Omniture with your favorite vendor.]
They also share what specific things you need to be aware of in order to ensure maximum success. I am sure your boss (or is it you?) wants it all, x, y and zebra metrics or q, r and parrot reports. Here you'll understand what you can get out of the box, what might need a bit more work and what might need selling your soul!
And I will fail my fiduciary duty if I did not let you know that in some cases we are going to recommend you walk away. The cost of what you want is simply not worth the data you are asking for.
Let's go. . . .
My answer to John's challenge was to sketch this out on the white board (in all of five minutes – comes from being close to the pain for so many years!):
Clearly I am not winning any awards for my calligraphy. At the end of this blog post is a PowerPoint version of this sketch (thanks to Tyler Link!).
I called my picture (/piece of art) "The painful path to web analytics nirvana", to which John remarked "let's call it stairway to heaven". Much better I think.
If you want join the contest and come up with a better title then please add it in the comments section.
Act One: Basics, Self Service, The Start of Pain. (17 Mins.)
In this video we cover three steps of the ladder.
Stairway to Nirvana Step 1: "Tag baby tag!"
What you'll learn: If you implement the javascript tag what do you get? What don't you get? What's www . hotbrits . com? : )
Stairway to Nirvana Step 2: "Update tool side settings"
What you'll learn:Which simple things you can update without needing your IT resources? Ideas for goals you could set.
Stairway to Nirvana Step 3: "Campaign tracking / ROI of acquisition efforts"
What you'll learn: What does it mean to do online campaign tracking? Why will you cry for your mommy? What can you do to be successful?
Got your learning hat on? Hit play. . . .
Was that not fun?
Did you realize you could do so much of Web Analytics without really aiming for a 18 month installation of Omniture and WebTrends and any other tool you choose?
That is the amazing part, and the reason for these videos. If you add a javascript tag to your site, update a few settings associated with Internal Site Search and Goals etc then you are off to the races.
Yes the tool won't help you into your underwear quite yet.
But in the name of all that's holy you can start taking action and improve big things (even as world domination and crushing of all competitors by your company will have to wait a little while!!).
In step three hopefully you learned why the Web Analytics Trifecta (People + Systems + Process) is so important – and oh so painful to pull off.
Now you can make plans accordingly.
[PS: Here are 30 points of progress you can make with just three hours of your time: A Primer on Web Analytics for Everyone – you'll be surprised how much you can do.]
Act Two: Money, Money, Money! (11 Mins.)
In this video we try and kick things up a notch, focusing on things that often many of want to track (and should track deeply like Revenue) and others that we feel like tracking (but we might not realize the associated cost).
Stairway to Nirvana Step 4: "Revenue & Über Intelligence"
What you'll learn:Where does the standard javascript tag come up short? URL, Title, Cookies, what if the data you need does not exist there? Who do you have to beg for help?
As Chef Emeril would say: Bam! Bam! Bam!
See there is still hope in the world. If Step 4 has less pain than Step 3 then there has to be something terribly right with this universe. Of course while we talk about pain in Act One, we actually do that scoring in this video. Sorry.
Again here the stress is on the importance of planning and accounting for the Systems and the Process parts of the game. And did you know about the legal stuff?
Also did you notice that we are really having fun? Perhaps as only two friends on a common mission can. :)
Yes, we do need to buy some lights to ensure you can see the sparkle in my eyes!
Act Three: The Price (& Pain) of Greatness! (11 Mins.)
I, humbly, believe that the web became "fluid" a while back, we have just not realized it yet. Well most of us who have grown up in the log file parsing, page viewing, "my site clickstream data is all I need to care about" crowd.
Life is now about RSS and Widgets and Flex and Flash and AJAX and Video and Web Applications (and all of them mashed together) all of which make the web experience a lot more fun, a lot more fluid. And a lot more nightmarish to track.
Stairway to Nirvana Step 5: "Rich Media"
What you'll learn:Why page views are truly "to die for"? Did you realize "geeks" are your BFF's here? [John has a definition for you!] What's the most fundamental difference between the "old world" (javascript based data collection) and the "new world" (fluid web)? How to make good choices on your path to Nirvana?
Intrigued? Sure you are. . . .
Get a feel for your new life, you are going to have to get out of your cubicle and be something of a social butterfly and get to know your Marketers and Developers and Business Folks and others.
It is your relationships and your pre-planning and huge investment in time and love that is going to ensure that you succeed in this step.
In the video we refer to Event Logging as a scalable non-fake-page views data capture methodology, learn more here: Google Analytics Event Tracking Guide. [A feature that is in wide invitation release, with access available to anyone who asks. :)]
I request other vendors (Unica, Omniture, IndexTools, WebTrends etc) to please add links to their guide in comments.
Nirvana Summary:
As promised here is a pretty version of the complete picture of what was on the white board. . . . .
One step at a time.
Don't overestimate your ability to get things done.
No need for a 18 month web analytics installation, before the tool bears fruit.
Make wise choices, evolve intelligently.
Good Luck!!
Want more such educational videos on Analytics, PR, SEO, PPC, Social Media etc? Check out Market Motive: www.marketmotive.com
Ok now it's your turn.
What has your experience being in extracting value from Web Analytics? Is implement, pause, extract value, evolve, pause, extract value . . . . and strategy? Are there things we completely missed? What has worked for you? What has not?
Please share your feedback, ideas and critique.
Thanks.
PS: Couple other related posts you might find interesting:
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