How to start using web analytics within an organisation
While everyone appears to think it is only them who are barely scratching the surface with web analytics, most companies that I have spoken to are in a similar position. They may have a web analytics tool implemented on their website and know how to look at unique visitors and page views but are unsure of where to go to from there.
My advice is to start simple and to talk small steps from there. Don’t worry initially about actionable insights, they will come with time. Instead, just get your company used to looking at web metrics. Create a one page report containing basic metrics and start sending it out to key internal stakeholders. Include some comments but again, starting simple, these need only be what has happened that week.
Based on experience, once departments and managers start receiving data, they will start asking questions. Set yourself a target of answering 1 to 3 of these questions each week, focusing initially on those questions that you can answer (including the answers in the weekly report).
Over time, as experience grows, the questions will get more complicated and the answer will become more useful to the business, they will turn into actionable insights. The report that is sent out will evolve as well, as people understand which metric they need to see and which are only nice to know. KPIs will be defined and used to measure the success of the business. The weekly report will contain recommendations on how the business can improve and this information will be used.
Just keep in mind that this won’t all happen overnight so don’t expect it to. if you try to do it all at once, it likely won’t work. Take small steps, educate the people around you and you can make a real difference to any organisation that you work for.
For suggestions on which metrics to start with, try reading Your First Metrics - Part 1 and Your First Metrics - Part 2.
Tags: Reporting, Web Analytics, Web Metrics
Hi Pete,
Hope all’s well. Your blog is looking great, you’ve been busy! If I’ve read your post correctly you are not just looking at where to begin, but also how to drive adoption throughout the organisation. I agree that it’s important for a company analyst to familiarise themselves with the metrics they will be using (and more importantly the KPI’s relevant to their organisation) , but a one-page report outlining the past weeks metrics will mean little to stakeholders without some meaningful insight attached to the data (and could possibly have the opposite effect).
To drive adoption it’s important to demonstrate the value of investing time and resource and the best way to do this is to talk to the bottom line. How about using the insight that can be gained from your data to identify a quick win that will result in more £’s (or leads, applications - whatever conversion may be). Monetise the possible outcome and use that insight to drive interest.
The quick win analysis doesn’t have to be complicated and is a great way to get people to realise the value that their analytics data can offer. Identify a low traffic, high converting product. Recommend ways to drive traffic (feature prominently on product category page, move position in search results, place above the fold) and monetise the potential impact based on similarly priced and placed products.
I see your point Rachael…. Though from Petes POV I agree that its important for the company to understand whats important initially, by understanding key statistics and what the KPIs are before getting into the quick wins - which will inetivably come with time anyway. Educating the companies stakeholders, to become aware of whats important by asking them why simple trends over time are changing such as page views due to weather patterns :-), seasonal behaviour, ease of userbility and nomenclature of the website…
The quick wins will come once the biz model has its key reports identifying insight into behavourial patterns and audience segments, knowing what a visitor is worth, the rate cards, bottlenechs etc. Once a company has this insight its easier for stakeholders to highlight and interrogate simple things such as SEO effect, marketing channels ROI etc. Bounce rates, failed internal search terms, browse to buy ratios, duration per visit are things that can then be focussed based on the businesses KPIs, and therefore more effectively utilising the stats to increase conversion due to the stakeholders having that knowledge about what drives there site.
Thanks for your comments Rachael and John. This post was written primarily for companies without a dedicated and experienced web analyst (guessing most companies fall into this bucket). If you or I were to work with someone Rachael, we would do as you say and focus on actionable insights starting with quick wins and building from there.
But I think a lot of companies won’t be able to start like that straight away (unless they hire a consultant or experienced web analyst in). For these companies, rather than being too scared to start at all as they are not sure how to convert the numbers into a change in their business bottom line, I think they should just start by getting used to looking at the basics. Over time they will learn more and look at wider range of data. As John says, once they have the key reports and understand how they are performing, they can then start identifying those quick wins and focus on the bottom line.
Hi again, Right you are… I agree with you both - my only concern involves the distribution of data. To encourage adoption and investment in analytics data should only be shared with stakeholders when it offers some meaningful insight…