The value of measurement online

That, in a nutshell, is why online is so incredibly effective. With the right tools and techniques, every marketer can monitor the success of their efforts and, even more importantly, is equipped with actionable insights that can deliver results! There are no exceptions - all online tactics are measurable.

Doing the groundwork

It is worth getting your ducks in a row before starting, so that you can get the most out of your data and have clear direction for optimising.

1. Defining your goal: (the action you wish the user to perform)

   Goals can be:

   • Sales driven, to register, to request information.
     
   • Brand driven, to measure level of interaction with the brand and so on.

   Establish the path to achieve your desired goal

   The conversion funnel is commonly referenced here - each step within the conversion process is analysed for an optimal conversion rate.

   Key performance indicators (KPIs)

   KPIs keep your efforts ‘in check' - allowing you to gauge how you are performing, for example:

   • Goal: increase bookings on your website.
     
   • KPI: conversion rate or cost per visitor.

   A very useful function of online metrics, with the right planning and response mechanisms, is tracking offline campaigns alongside your online efforts. This contributes to an integrated view of your marketing efforts.

Making sense of it all

Google Analytics has become the most widely used tool for collecting data from a website. It's incredibly easy to use, has the highest data integrity and provides sophisticated analytics (and it's free!). No, this is not an ad for Google Analytics - it's simply an excited user who's overjoyed at how easy it is!

Before getting into the figures, you simply set up the date range you wish to analyse.

The data is then broadly set up into five main categories:

1. Overview - page views, visits, time on site, bounce rate.
   
2. Visitors - visitor profiles, their browser profiles, new visits vs. return visits, map overlay of geographic locations.
   
3. Traffic sources - direct, referring and from search engines.
   
4. Content - page exits, unique page views and more in depth
   navigation analysis, landing page optimisation, click patterns, AdWords, keywords.
   
5. Goals - setting up of goals in funnel and goal conversation rate.
   

While the terminology of web metrics is daunting for some, the principles are no different to the analysis used by any marketer (read more about on measuring success online and Google Analytics).

Taking action

This is where we go beyond the reports and get to true analytics. The data can be analysed to infer user behaviour and intent, outcomes achieved and user experience, as well as conversion ratios that can be addressed.

Testing to optimise user experience can demonstrate ways to influence user behaviour so as to enhance outcome successes. Testing is therefore critical and is quick and relatively easy to perform. That said, you need to test a significant volume to be representative of your audience. Types of testing include:

• A/B Split testing - tests one variable at a time, eg call to action.
  
• Multivariate testing - tests multiple variables at once, eg sitemap, call to action and register form.
  
• Heat maps - see exactly where visitors are clicking on a web page to understand what is stimulating or distracting the user, eg www.crazyegg.com

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Another very effective testing idea is:

• Listening labs - watching users interact with your site in a forum-type setting. This is moreover a qualitative form of research, which enables you to observe how users are responding to the different facets of your website.

Statistics are telling us that more and more companies are re-apportioning their traditional marketing spend and taking a stronger slant towards eMarketing. This makes sense for so many reasons - measurability being top of the list.

So, in closing, listen to your customers through the online data that is available and convert that data into real business value! And remember the mantra TAO: Track, Analyse and Optimise.