In producing Online Marketing with RSS Ray, we strive to bring our listeners interviews with well respected, top caliber online marketing experts. Every week RSS Ray talks to industry leaders to get “put to work now” advice and top quality resources.

We’re pleased to present to you the first of a series of articles from world class online marketing experts here on our blog. We hope that these articles will help supplement what you hear on the show and help you be even more successful with online marketing.

In this article by Phil Kemelor, president of PKWeb Communications, LLC, you’ll learn easy step by step instructions to web analytics. In it, you will learn about the different tools and resources available to you, and also the top tactics to do web analytics right. You can hear more from Phil by tuning into this our show on October 18th live at 1pm E.S.T, or by checking out Phil’s new book, “The Executive’s Guide to Web Site Measurement and Testing”.

The Web Site Analysis Toolkit
By Phil Kemelor, PKWeb Communications LLC
10/11/06

Without knowing how much your site earns or saves, and how to bring visitors to your site and keep them, you risk thousands of dollars in an unfocused hope that a new design, new content, or new functions will make the site a contributor to your organization’s profitability.

You can increase your site’s profitability by paying attention
The key is being able to evaluate how your Web site is doing. You do this by setting specific goals and measuring performance against those goals.

Web site measurement is the key to understanding what is occurring on your site
Good measurement and testing gives you information that you can use to make decisions on how to improve your site, and understand whether the site is achieving performance goals.

You need the right tools for the job
Measurement and testing sounds like a great idea, but how do you go about doing it. You need to select the right tools to do the measurement work, know when to use them and how to use them. In this article, we’ll review the essential tools in your Web analytic arsenal. The tools are classified as quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative Tools
– Use data generated from the Web site’s operation.
– Observes what events and trends are occurring.

Qualitative Tools
– Use data provided from the Web site’s visitors’ feedback.
– Expresses why events and trends are happening.

Quantitative Analysis Tools
Quantitative analysis tools include Web site measurement tools or Web analytic software and Web site monitoring services.

1. Web Site Measurement or Web Analytic Software

Why you need site measurement
Web analytic software is necessary for understanding:

• Visitor activity
• Content and function usage
• Search terms
• Site promotion and marketing
• Online sales and revenue generation
• Site usability

Quantitative analysis reports provide the basis for Web metrics, such as:

• Trends
• Visitor segments
• Visitor acquisition
• Transaction analysis

What are the tools?
Web site measurement software packages may also be referred to as “Web metrics,” “Web analytic,” or “Web site traffic analysis” software. They collect, filter, and separate Web site visitor data into a database and enable reports to be generated based on pre-set and/or customized queries to the database.

The data may come from either or both Web server log files or Web page tags:

• Web Server Log Files. Web sites are composed of directories and files. These reside on a Web server, a computer designated to host the site. All Web servers maintain log files that record every request made for a file. A log file is a text record of content, images, and applications requested by visitors to your Web site. Software solutions compile and sort these data into statistical reports that can help you evaluate the effectiveness of your Web site content, applications, navigation, and site promotion efforts.

Figure 2 depicts the Web server log file reporting process.

• Web Page Tags. Page tags are short strings of code that enable the collection of visit data directly from the site visitor’s computer. These data are sent back to a server where they are compiled into log files and imported into a database from which reports are developed through the log analysis software. In some systems, the data go directly into the reporting database.

Figure 3 shows the page tag data collection and reporting process.

Using the tools
There are four basic ways to implement quantitative research tools. The following summaries will give you a quick overview of their costs, pros and cons:

1. Get a standard set of reports from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISPs provide a limited report set for your site. These reports are available for viewing from your administration screen, and provide an overview of site activity. Google Analytics can be considered part of this category as well.

• Cost: Free or inexpensive.
• Pros: ISP does all of the support and maintenance.
• Cons: No opportunity to get more detailed reports or customized reports.
• Options: May be able to obtain log files in order to conduct further analysis; can tag pages and use page tag analysis tool.

2. Use an Application Service Provider (ASP). ASPs are third-party vendors that host the Web measurement software.

• Cost: Monthly costs may range from under $100 to thousands based on the size of site, number of visitors, access to reports, and need for customized reports.
• Pros: Do not require staff or resources to support analysis solution; sites hosted at ISPs can receive a more thorough analysis than ISP-provided reporting.
• Cons: Data resides with vendor; you do not own the data.

3. Purchase analytic software and do it yourself.

• Cost: Very wide range in pricing; off-the-shelf packages can be less than $100, while customized solutions can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cost is dependent on site size, report requirements, and quantity of raw data expected from log files.
• Pros: You own all the data; greatest amount of flexibility in storage and calibrating software; easier to troubleshoot any problems and reporting anomalies.
• Cons: Requires staff to maintain and computer resources to host software and database; additional costs associated with data storage and archiving.

4. Use built-in analytic capabilities from other Web software and ASPs. Analytic capabilities are available from software and vendors used for the management and marketing of your site. For example, vendors that your organization uses for content management, e-mail promotion, e-commerce, searches, advertising and search engine optimization may provide analytic solutions.

• Cost: May be included in the price of software or service; generally inexpensive relative to the cost of the primary function of the software or service.
• Pros: Tool is bundled so it will be tuned to capture and report data generated by the product/service.
• Cons: Little report flexibility or customization opportunity; may have difficulty combining application data sources and or report results with others on your site due to different data formats; data may be owned by vendor if they are hosting a service.

2. Web Site Monitoring Services
Why you need site monitoring
You need Web site monitoring services in order to develop performance metrics.

Web site monitoring is necessary for keeping track of Web server performance. It is necessary if your organization hosts its own servers and has a lot of site traffic. It can be useful if you have a small site hosted at an ISP as a means to audit your ISP’s ability to keep your site up and serve pages quickly.

What are the tools?
Web site monitoring is conducted by companies that have access points to the Internet from around the world. Reporting focuses on:

• Web site access and availability
• Web server response time

In addition to providing reports, these services also provide alert and notification options via e-mail, pager, and phone to enable your organization to respond quickly.

Using the tools
• Cost: Often based on a monthly subscription fee, these services range from inexpensive to expensive; costs are based on size of site, number of probes sent, and features purchased.
• Pros: Understand the network and system impacts that may affect visitors’ ability to use your site.
• Cons: There are no real drawbacks other than cost/benefit based on the size and traffic expected to your site.

Qualitative Analysis Methods and Tools
Qualitative analysis methods and tools include user testing/usability testing; online information gathering through e-mail contact, forms, or surveys; Internet audience measurement, focus groups, and interviews.

1. User Testing/Usability Testing

Why you need user testing
To test Web site design for usability, i.e., ease of finding information, site readability, using site navigation, shopping carts and workflow processes, forms, search engines, multimedia, graphics, etc.

User testing is necessary for understanding:

• User reaction to proposed site design and navigation.
• Why users leave the site.
• Why users like the site.
• Why it is difficult for users to find what they are looking for.
• Whether the site is intuitive enough for visitors to use without assistance.
• Whether site instructions are easy to understand or lead to user frustration.

What is the basic method?
User testing is based on providing users with a series of tasks to complete and observing if they complete the tasks and how quickly they complete the tasks. This can be followed by asking the users a series of questions about their experience with the site.

When to use
Usability testing should occur during the site design process at specific milestones. For example:

• Test a site map or workflow map with prospective users to confirm that navigation paths to content and functions are intuitive.
• After initial design of the screens, test the placement of instructional, navigational, and main text elements.
• Develop an HTML prototype that accurately reflects the design and text of the site pages. Test the clarity of instructional content and navigational elements.

2. Online Information Gathering – Surveys
Why you need surveys
You need surveys to understand the reasons behind navigation and usability metrics trends.

• Direct contact from site users can raise red flags about issues with site content, function, design, and navigation that need to be addressed.
• For every person who makes a comment, there are many others who have the same issues, but do not comment.
• Survey forms structure comments into results that can be organized and analyzed more easily than free form, open ended text.
• Comments gathered from survey forms help explain site measurement trends, such as why visitors leave the site.

What is the basic method?
Surveys may be placed on the site or sent in follow-up emails to site visitors. Forms response may be encouraged through an incentive, such as a discount on a subsequent purchase or receipt of otherwise restricted content.

When to use
Surveys should enable users to respond or provide feedback after completion or abandonment of a process. They can also be used to gain general feedback on site usability and navigation. Do not use them in an intrusive manner, i.e., excessive pop ups.

Site contact forms are a variation of the survey. A contact link should be standard with all Web sites, and a form should be the method in which the user questions are submitted. The form may contain e-mail addresses to specific departments, as well as a list of close ended questions that encourage a response from the user.

3. Online Information Gathering – Registration Forms
Why you need registration forms
You need registration forms for collecting information from visitors. This information can be used with Web measurement data to develop money metrics, visitor value metrics, marketing metrics, and navigation and usability metrics. Visitor information can be used to develop customer segments and profiles.

What is the basic method?
Forms are used in conjunction with the visitor signing up for product, services and content, such as subscriptions, document downloads, secure applications, product ordering, classes, events, memberships, etc.

When to use
Sites that offer a service, function, or information that requires user registration enhance the chances of learning more about site users.

4. Focus Groups

Why you need it
Focus groups are useful because the outcome of these sessions may be used to develop requirements for building or altering the Web site, or developing a marketing campaign.

What is the basic method?
Focus groups consist of asking a small group of people targeted questions and getting them to express their opinions. Sessions may run up to two hours.

When to use
Focus groups are most valuable before site design or redesign begins. Feedback and input from potential users will give you a perspective that will aid the development of requirements for the Web site. Without this input, there will be a risk of building a site that does not relate to or communicate well to potential users. This will result in a site that visitors leave quickly, and a site with limited revenue potential.

5. Interviews
Why you need it
To get a better understanding of the underlying reasons behind marketing and Web navigation and usability metrics trends.

What is the basic method?
Conduct phone or in-person interviews with site users about specific or general aspects of the site, a promotion program, potential site changes, etc.

When to use
Interviews are useful after you’ve received results from Web measurement software. Additional information may be needed to analyze the reasons for Web measurement trends. Interviews, like surveys, help explain the reasons for users’ site activity.

Summary
Web site analysis requires that you use a suite of tools and techniques to find out how to improve your site and ensure that you give visitors what they need when they come to your site.

Site measurement and performance testing should be considered as starting points for quantitative research. The data from these tools tell you what is happening.

Usability testing, surveys, forms, interviewing, focus groups are the qualitative component of Web analysis. The findings from these techniques tell you why something is happening.

Taken together, analysis of the data from these tools and techniques will go a long way to helping you make Web strategy decisions that increase profitability, serve customers better and save Web design and production costs.