This post is the first in a series that will highlight key performance indicators (KPIs) to include in your measurement arsenal for keeping your organization focused on the metrics that matter.

There’s a lot of buzz these days about driving greater online engagement on your website or in your community from customers, prospects, employees, or any specific targeted audience. This is essentially accomplished by creating and delivering the quality content, features, or tools your audiences want or need. Read more…

Internet Marketing, Web Analytics, Web Strategy Consulting digital strategy, Internet Marketing, KPIs, Web Analytics

In Part 1 we set the stage for a adopting an agile web analytics methodology and looked at goal setting, KPI definition, closing data gaps, and creating your “to review” list.

In this post we’ll discuss data automation (and why it’s not the end-all-be-all), reporting strategies, insight brainstorming sessions, and the relative importance of data accuracy. Read more…

Web Analytics, Web Strategy Consulting Google Analytics, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Web Analytics, Website Testing

Time is, of course, money.  If you really want to see an ROI from web analytics, you need to reduce the time to insight.  This may mean slaughtering some sacred cows and taking a fresh look at what you’re tracking and why.  In this series, I outline ways to abandon bureaucracy and obligatory reports, take action faster, and point out why more automation is not always the answer.  Read more…

Internet Marketing, Web Analytics, Web Strategy Consulting Email Marketing, Google Analytics, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Surveys, Web Analytics

2010 is shaping up to have a number of tight political races.  The Wisconsin Governor’s race will likely be one of them.  A very important component of any political campaign these days is how well the web is utilized.

In this post, I take a look at the websites of each of the three candidates, Scott Walker, Mark Neumann, and Tom Barrett, and evaluate them based on their homepage performance, promoting email signups, usage of video, and available supporter tools and resources.

Read more…

Expert Review, Interactive Industry News & Events, Internet Marketing, Social Media Competitive Analysis, Internet Marketing, Mark Neumann, Political Website, Scott Walker, Social Media, Tom Barrett, User Interface Design, Wisconsin Governor's Race

By now, you’ve probably seen all the top-rated ads either during the game itself or afterward online and picked your favorites.  Most of the ads had some sort of mention of their web address, but not all of those sites greeted you with anything special upon arrival.  Here are four that went the extra mile to create experiences to make the most out of their massive Super Bowl ad expenditure.

Read more…

Expert Review, Flash, Interactive Industry News & Events, Internet Marketing, Social Media, User Interface Design, Web Analytics Flash, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Super Bowl, User Interface Design, Web Analytics, Web Graphic Design

Martha Coakley’s failed Senate run has led many to review the key differences in strategy between her campaign and Scott Brown’s.  It’s pretty clear that Brown took the web seriously and Coakley seemed to largely ignore many of the social media and web analytics strategies and tactics that swept Obama into office.

Ad Age and Social Media Today have taken a look at (and criticized) Coakley’s overall digital and social media’s approaches.  This post narrows in and serves as a reminder of web analytics best practices which can mean the difference between coming in first or a distant second.

The Obama campaign tracked digital metrics obsessively yet ingeniously with great success.  The techniques they used are just as applicable today as they were over a year ago.

Read more…

Interactive Industry News & Events, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized, Web Analytics, Web Strategy Consulting Email Marketing, Google Analytics, Google Website Optimizer, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Web Analytics, Website Testing

Continuing to tread on the territory of the major paid analytics vendors, Google Analytics just announced a number of new features that raise it to yet another level. These powerful, time-saving additions allow you to spend more time analyzing and interpreting your site’s performance, and less time foraging though the data.

Among the major additions are; automated and custom alerts based on significant changes in your data, advanced table filtering, expanded mobile reporting, the ability to share advanced segments, and more.

What do these new features mean for your business? Quite a bit. Read on for the details. Read more…

Interactive Industry News & Events, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Web Analytics, Web Strategy Consulting Google Analytics, Internet Marketing, Web Analytics

Everybody knows that money talks. It’s no different in the world of web analytics. When dollar values are assigned to site behaviors and other key metrics, the value of user actions and traffic sources becomes immediately clear.

Monetization isn’t just for ecommerce sites. Even user actions that have no immediate financial value such as contact form submissions, file downloads, page views, and email newsletter signups are excellent candidates.

If it’s your job to convince stakeholders to take action, or if you’re an executive looking for more clarity in your KPIs, this post will offer you some ammunition and help get you started. Read more…

Web Analytics, Web Strategy Consulting Internet Marketing, KPIs, Monetization, Web Analytics

By now, most companies are aware that there is a discussion about their brand going on. They also know that they can track and monitor this discussion via a wide variety of tools such as Radian6, Techrigy’s SM2, Twitter Search, Twitalyzer, Social Mention, and many more. The question now is, “What should I pay attention to? Which metrics will actually tell me something about my business?”

Certainly not easy questions, but some trends have evolved that help indicate whether you’re effectively promoting your business online and if you’re being showcased in a positive light. Here are some metrics to watch regularly. Read more…

Social Media, Web Analytics Blogging, Ecommerce, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Web Analytics

Podcasts remain one of the best ways to keep up with the latest trends and to learn new methods and approaches.  Whether listening while getting ready in the morning, during commutes or business travel, or even while working, there are more options than ever before as the medium has truly matured.  Even better, the vast majority are free.  Make the most of your downtime (in this economy, there may be more than usual), and never stop learning.

Below are some of the best podcasts that we “keep an ear” on: Read more…

Information Architecture, Interactive Industry News & Events, Internet Marketing, Social Media, User Interface Design, Web Analytics, Web Development, Web Graphic Design, Web Project Management, Web Strategy Consulting Information Architecture, Internet Marketing, Podcasting, Social Media