Free Yourself From Analysis Paralysis

Erin Steinbruegge
Market STL Fall 2010
 Partner and Lead Marketing Strategist
@theloudfew.
 SEO and PPC Consultant and Instructor at
Buzzhound Learning Labs.

How You Can Reach Me

erin@theloudfew.com
@steinburglar
linkedin.com/in/erinsteinbruegge
facebook.com/erin.steinbruegge
Why Website Analytics is Important
 Measure ROI

 Troubleshoot issues

 Gain business intelligence

 Testing

 Optimize performance
This is an EXCITING time for website analytics
 Many great free options available

 Programs are more robust and integrated than

before.
 Website analytics isn’t just for websites anymore…
Everything from your phone to your TV is becoming
more measurable
The Analytics Geek is Evolving into a Hero
 But How Do You Make Sense of All of This Data?
abandoned funnels SEO
PPC
bounce rate
referring websites
mobile
events
exits subscriptions
blog
newsletter
keywords
conversions traffic sources
campaigns
landing pages
visits
banners affiliates
5 Causes of Analysis Paralysis
Goals are not clearly defined

You’re using “out of the box” reports

You aren’t focusing on actionable metrics

You aren’t testing or you are afraid to fail

Analytics was installed improperly or you

selected the wrong analytics program.
So How Do We Go from Analytics Zero to Hero?
Goals for Today:
 Organize your analytics program

 Focus on actionable metrics

 Start testing and failing

Step 1: Get Organized
Define Website Goals
 EVERY website has goals, EVERY campaign has goals

 Set both short-term and long-term goals

 Be specific and write them down

Define Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
 KPI’s are unique to each company

 Interview business leaders and decision makers

 Create a list of all KPI’s

Create a Measurement Dashboard
 Track your progress towards goals

 Set defined checkpoints for measurement

 You can download a free analytics dashboard here:
http://www.theloudfew.com/blog/web-analytics-dashboard/
Validate Your Installation & Analytics Program
 Incorrect or incomplete installs are very common.

 Compare reports with internal data such as server

logs, sales reports, etc.
 Have you selected the right analytics program?
Analytics Programs Are Not 1-Size-Fits-All
Configure Custom Reports
 Standard “out of the box” reports are not useful

 Custom reports give you a quick view of actionable

metrics and important KPIs.
Google Analytics Custom Reports Example
Step 2: Learn to Focus on Actionable Metrics
3 Characteristics of Actionable Metrics
 Don’t require an opinion

 Highly relevant to your business goals

 Required action is instantly obvious and useful

Stop Focusing on Visits
 Hits, Visits and Sessions are all fairly useless metrics

 Measure what people are doing on your website

Understand Conversions Rates
 Default conversion formula = conversions/visits

 But should it be conversions/unique visitors?

Conversion Rates Example

 Many first visit conversions  Takes several visits to convert

 Short buying cycle  Long buying cycle

 Low commitment  High commitment

 Little research required  Much research required

 Small investment  Large investment

conversions / visits conversions / unique visitors

Use Event Tracking
 Measure user events such as watching videos or
downloading whitepapers
 Gain insight into the type of content your target
audience prefers
Event Tracking: Insight to Audience Behavior
Use Advanced Segments
 Quickly isolate subsets of traffic for deeper insight

 Slice data by organic vs paid traffic, visits worth a

certain $ value, etc.
 Quickly answer questions from upper
management
Creating Advanced Segments
Advanced Segments Example
Bounce Rate is Beautiful
 Bounce rate of top landing pages

 Bounce rate by keywords

 Bounce rate by campaign

= Massive Optimization Opportunity

Fix This Page!
Step 3: Test and Fail
Start A/B Testing Now!
 A/B testing is critical to improving conversion rates

 It’s a must that you test conversion pages and

landing pages for paid campaigns.
Less than 40% of Marketers Currently A/B Test

Hubspot: What’s Worth A/B Testing? Webinar 2010

What Elements Should You A/B Test?
 Buttons and “call to action” links

 Headlines

 Copy

 Offers

 Images
Hubspot: What’s Worth A/B Testing? Webinar 2010
Examples of Some Tools That Help You A/B Test
 Google Website Optimizer

 SiteSpect

 Omniture Test&Target

 Your email marketing program

Final Tip: Fail Faster
 The faster you fail, the faster you succeed

 Give each test adequate budget and traffic

 Understanding a fail is a victory

Additional Learning and Recommended Reading
 Google Conversion University

 Web Analytics 2.0 by Avinash Kaushik

 Occum’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik (blog)

 Google Analytics Youtube Channel

 Thanks!
erin@theloudfew.com
@steinburglar
linkedin.com/in/erinsteinbruegge
facebook.com/erin.steinbruegge