Complete Analytics Part I: Are You Oversimplifying?

admin


What sources of data represent the complete user experience of a customer who visits your site and completes a purchase?

You might be surprised to learn that there are numerous such sources – all of which are valid in their own right. There’s a myriad awaiting anyone who has been too narrow while taking to task the organism of site analysis and it’s many-pronged corpus of data.

So, then how do you best categorize such data so that you can utilize it? And, how do you then capture and learn from the data from each category? Here’s an answer you will probably not want to hear, but one that attempts to reflect the state of analytics as it pertains to your web site and it’s users.

5 Identifiable and distinct categories might be defined in the span of user experience or customer lifetime:

Category | Segment Tools | Methods
Competitive intelligence Compete, Hitwise, Technorati, Alexa, Google Trends, Websitegrader.com, spyfu, trellian.com, keywordspy.com, Yelp!, industry publications such as those by Delloite, Jupiter Metrics and various consumer review media
Voice of Customer Software solutions: iPerceptions, Omniture Surey, OpinionLab, ForeSee and Ethnio. Clicktales.com. Market Research: pre-existing or commissioned. Usabiltiy studies. Observation. Focus groups.
Experiment & Testing Google Website Optimizer, Optimost, Sitespect, Offermatica, Amadesa, Omniture
Analytics Aggregation ForeSee, iPerceptions
Clickstream Google Analytics,Websidestory, Omniture, Coremetrics

If thought one analytics tool was enough, think again. We’ll cover more specifics in the next post.

VN:F [1.7.0_948]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
VN:F [1.7.0_948]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
Blog Traffic Exchange Related Websites
Dec
12

Analytics Tool: ClickTale Reconstructs User Experience

admin

I was a bit surprised when I first came across this analytics tool, because I had always imagined that a visual replay of user experience could only be achieved with a packet sniffing platform. Interestingly, it appears as though JavaScript can accomplish the same. Why did it take so long for such a tool to arrive, one must wonder.

The pricing is quite reasonable, though this is no Tea Leaf, or a maybe something like a poor man’s Tea Leaf. Nevertheless, I was extremely pleased to stumble across this gem.

VN:F [1.7.0_948]
Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
VN:F [1.7.0_948]
Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)
Blog Traffic Exchange Related Websites
Oct
10

Google Website Optimizer API Released

admin

Google has released the Website Optimizer API. It covers the basics of the optimizer, allowing for the creation and control of experiments, pages, sections, variations and the other components of the testing framework. This is great news for developers of content management platforms.  For developers of systems such as Drupal, blogging software or shopping carts, the API will allows for the incorporation of  Website Optimizer experimentation into these platforms.  This enables the users of such systems to test their web sites. This will be a major selling point for many of these developers, and a good way to hang onto users whether paying or not.

VN:F [1.7.0_948]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
VN:F [1.7.0_948]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
Blog Traffic Exchange Related Websites
Oct
10

Some Usability Rules for Forms

admin
  • if a password requires a number or case variation, make it obvious
  • username should be the email address if possible
  • require confirmation of email and password
  • always use highlighting or an asterisk to represent required fields and optional fields
  • build your email reputation and deliverability so you can send confirmation emails effectively
  • send confirmation emails ASAP
  • collect the least amount of information necessary to facilitate the signup or form goal
  • don’t collect credit card information until it is needed
  • forgo asking for the user’s address until it is needed
  • don’t default email opt-ins to being on – present the option and only send email with permission
  • use form text areas to provide extra information about form requirements and clear them on focus
  • make sure tabbing flows logically through the form
  • pre-focus the cursor in the first form area
VN:F [1.7.0_948]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
VN:F [1.7.0_948]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
Blog Traffic Exchange Related Websites
Oct
10