Live Web Analytics News from X Change
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I’m here in San Francisco for X Change, the practitioner’s web analytics conference. It’s an intimate gathering of measurement professionals to share stories, brainstorm and talk shop.
You can get live updates from the ClickEquations twitter account. I may have a few on my twitter account as well.
Also, check out the X Change tweme, marked as #xchange.
Joining me at the conference are:
- Craig Danuloff, ClickEquations
- Jacques Warren, WAO Analytics
- Eric Peterson, Web Analytics Demystified
- Jim Sterne, eMetrics
- Gary Angel, SEMPhonic
- June Dershewitz, SEMPhonic
- Marshall Sponder, WebMetricsGuru
- Judah Phillips, Reed Business
- Bob Page, Yahoo!
- Aaron Gray, WebTrends
- Bill Gassman, Gartner Analyst
Those are just a few of the people at the conference. Leave a comment if you’re there and I missed you.
Track iPhone Visitors to Your Site in Google Analytics
Track iPhone visitors to your site in Google Analytics.
Ever since Apple released the iPhone, mobile internet browsing has never been the same. With the release of the 3G version, which sold over 1 million units in 3 days, it’s only going to grow faster.
I was a total geek and took off half a day just to buy iPhone 3G the day it came out. 2 stores and 4 hours later, I got it and I’ve been obsessed since. That got me thinking–how many people visit my blog on an iPhone?
How Many iPhone Visitors Do You Have?
Answering this question delves into an infrequently used area of analytics–technographics. Technographics are the nitty-gritty about your visitors:
- What kind of browsers do they use?
- What is their screen resolution?
- What operating systems do they use?
It’s actually a great source of information for your designers and developers. They can make more informed design and code decisions.
To find out how many visits you had from iPhone geeks, you need to look at the operating systems.
- Open Google Analytics, pick the profile you want and time period
- Click on “Visitors” in the left nav
- Choose “Browser Setting”
- Click “Operating Systems”
You’ll then get a report like this:
Visitors -> Browser Setting -> Operating System
Voila, now you know how many iPhone visits you got. But, what did those people do?
Track iPhone Visits to Your Site with Google Analytics
One of the biggest (and most annoying) issues with Google Analytics is that you can’t easily slice all* the data by different segments of your audience–paid search visitors, email campaign respondents, iPhone visits, etc. Instead, you have to setup a separate profile.
Setting up your iPhone profile in GA takes 3 steps:
- Add Website Profile and Setup Your Basic Administrative Options
- Copy Your Goals
- Setup Filters to Capture only iPhone Visits
1. Add Website Profile and Setup Your Basic Administrative Options
- First, click “Add Website Profiles” under the Website Profiles box (to the left of User Manager)
- Click, “
Add a Profile for an existing domain” - Pick your domain and give the profile a name like “iPhone Visits”. Hit finish.
Okay, now you have to setup the usual administrative options like any profile. Click the “Edit” link in the Website Profiles box. Fill out the following fields:
Coming Soon: Search Camp Philly!
Have you heard? Philly’s first major search marketing conference is just around the corner.
On September 6th and 7th, Temple University is hosting a join Search Camp Philly and Pod Camp Philly conference. There is a huge list of great speakers on the agenda.
In fact, I’ll be speaking on Sunday the 7th at 3:00 - 3:45. My session is titled Conversion 101.
Conversion 101: You’ve gotten the visitors to your site, now what?! They’re going to buy right? Not necessarily, in most cases they click away or hit the back button. This session is designed to go over some basic conversion strategies for websites, to increase conversion rates.
Come to my session, Conversion 101 on Sunday, 9/7 at 3:00 - 3:45. It’s at Temple University in the Tuttleman Learning Center.
The best news? The conference is only $21! Registration helps defray the facility costs and any extra money will be donated to charity. Seats are limited, so register today!
You’ll definitely get a tip in my session that earns you your registration money back and then some.
A Very Special Post: Jim Sterne, Career Advancement and Guruocity?
On this week's very special episode of Digital Alex, Alex optimizes your landing page.. with his mind!
I’m out and about on the web. Thanks to Li, Rich and Corry for the opportunity to be a very special guest on their blogs. It’s like an after school special…
Jim Sterne!
I interviewed Jim “The Godfather” Sterne about his upcoming session “Measuring Success in a 2.0 World” at Search Engine Strategies San Jose. I know, I know, 2.0 is a really awfully moniker, but Jim’s got a lot of great thoughts, especially about social media measurement and video analytics, so read up.
The Secret to a Web Analytics Career: Stop Learning Web Analytics
IQ Workforce recruiter Corry Prohens (who is looking for Philly web analytics talent) let me write up a storm on his blog Web Analytics Rock Stars. My topic du jour? Web analytics career advancement.
In my guest post “The Secret to a Web Analytics Career: Stop Learning Web Analytics” I advocate that people who analyze numbers should spend more time learning about the channels their measuring. Radical concept, right? Learn more web analytics career secrets right here.
I have Corry’s contact info if you need a web analytics job in Philly, alex @ alexlcohen . com
Wait, Am I a Web Analytics Guru?
Definitely not. Rich Page kindly interviewed me for his Web Analytics Guru series. I am so not a guru. I’m just a guy with some opinions and a blog. But, I do love to talk and write, so he found my weak spot.
Check out the interview for my thoughts on the Micro-Hoo debacle, the future of web analytics and learn what Avinash told me to do. Check it out right here!
Still reading? I like to guest post or write for lots of sites. If you have a website or newsletter with substantial readership and want some content, drop me a line alex @ alexlcohen . com
Finally, Better Search Volume Data!
Search Engine Optimizers do it.
Paid search managers do it.
So, why aren’t you doing it?
I’m talking about looking at search query volume, of course. As you plot out your search marketing strategy, you’re looking for the intersection of high volume, low competition and strong user intent.
Getting at the volume part of that estimate can be tricky business. Typically, this involves using any number of keyword discovery tools, such as Trellian. 3rd party tools pull from an amalgamation of sources and the absolute number you get is dubious at best. Relationships, however, still hold true.
Better Search Query Volume Estimates
Now, Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool has finally pulled back the curtain and included search query volume in their reports (it used to be a graphical scale). Take a look at this example for web analytics phrases.
Just a couple quick things to keep in mind:
- You can change your match type. I used exact in that image.
- Hide and unhide the columns you need. I think the search trends is really great for understanding seasonality:
Ideas for Using the Data
From a paid search marketing perspective, more exact volume data will help you plan budgets and campaigns better (especially for larger projects where volume can be tricky within constraints).
SEO’s now have another sources of search query (aka keyword) volume data. I’m sure there are weaknesses associated with these data as well, but it does come straight from the source. It’s also much more granular than Google Trends.
For the web analysts in the audience, this will help you:
- Gauge your search query/keyword share for targeted terms
- Analyze whether trends in search results are due to seasonality
- Complement your web analytics and internal site search data to help see how well your site users your customers’ language.
Which tools do you prefer?
Google: “All Your Data Are Belong to Us”
Maybe it’s the competitive pressure from IndexTools/Yahoo or just a carnivorous appetite for your data, but Google really seems to be on a tear with analytics lately.
Google Trends: Covered in Scales (and Competitive Data)
First, there was the Google Trends update. Google Trends, for those who don’t know, allows you to trend the volume of searches for a particular set of queries over time.
Google finally introduced scales and the ability to export data to a comma separated value (CSV) file. Thus, you can finally get a sense of how dramatic WebTrends search volume has dropped vs. Omniture’s.
Then, Google upped the ante on the competitive intelligence market by releasing Google Analytics for Websites. Admittedly, it offers very few features compared to enterprise tools like Hitwise or mid-market options like Compete, but it will certainly open up the field to more people.
Of course, some people might be interested in exactly where this data is coming from:
Trends for Websites combines information from a variety of sources, such as aggregated Google search data, aggregated opt-in anonymous Google Analytics data, opt-in consumer panel data, and other third-party market research. The data is aggregated over millions of users, powered by computer algorithms, and doesn’t contain personally identifiable information. Additionally, Google Trends for Websites only shows results for sites that receive a significant amount of traffic, and enforces minimum thresholds for inclusion in the tool.
The Arranged Marriage - Google AdWords and Google Analytics
From the beginning, Google Analytics has been synchronized with AdWords (though, not always well suited for measuring paid search). Lately, it seems that Google has been pushing the switch from AdWords Conversion Tracking to Google Analytics more aggressively based on 2 points:
First, Google is dumping your old reports
Second, Google is pushing AdWords in Analytics and Analytics in AdWords
This makes perfect sense, of course, for Google. The question is… what’s next?
Is the Future of Web Analytics Horizontal or Vertical?
It’s something of a design truism that you can be decent at more things or great at a few things. Scarce resources, time and customers always force trade-offs. I like to think of “decent at more things” as a horizontal focus. Being “great at a few” would be a vertical focus.
Before eMetrics in San Francsico, I speculated that Google Analytics would make an announcement about the return of Measure Map (a blog measurement). They did resurrect it as a vertically focused tool designed just to help Blogger users measure their blogs.
On the flip side of the equation, Omniture used their annual summit to announce the newest version of their tools and the integration of everything into the Omniture Suite. Integrating each tool still takes some configuration, but the suite is definitely more horizontal in nature.
Different Users, Different Needs
The web analytics industry is growing up. It’s still a very geeky field, but as more people create and advertise online those same people are paying attention to measurement.
There’s a bunch of users who need focused data that’s simple. Not everyone needs access to every metric under the sun (when was the last time a blogger looked at technographics?). For those less experienced in web analytics, too many numbers can be confusing to navigate and understand.
Some users need focused data that’s richer than horizontal tools can provide. Specialized metrics and a clear presentation can make vertical tools much more applicable and useful. Email or affiliate analytics are probably good examples of targeted measurement.
Of course, we all want to simplify our lives. Horizontal tools can often integrate many different channels in one place. There’s no discounting the value of a unified world.
You Tell Me
At the end of the day, it’s all about the bottom line. What numbers do you need to measure and improve? What tool delivers the right user experience to make it easy for you to find and act on the data that matters? The answer may be one horizontal tool, one vertical tool or a combination of the two.
What do you think? Is the future of web analytics vertical or horizontal?
18 Must Read Articles from my Twitter Account
I often stumble on a lot of great articles that don’t trickle down to my blog. Instead, I often share them on Twitter. Follow me to get all of the resources (DigitalAlex).
You can also check out my FriendFeed. I share great posts from my Google Reader there.
- Sample Correctly to Measure True Improvement Levels
- Writing for the Web — And Getting It Read
- Creating a Positive Professional Image
- Stats on the growth of mobile video
- Breakdown of each search engines share of mobile search
- Yahoo Developer’s Ideas to Improve Site Speed
- An overview of landing page design
- Form analytics from ClickTale
- Learn linkbait from Matt Cutts
- PR Secrets for Startups
- The Wordpress SEO Guide
- Get a free web analytics industry report
- Web Analytics Data Reconciliation: How To Guide
- The SEO Success Pyramid
- Learn how Google uses testing
- Analytics for iPhone Apps
- Non-profits can get free money from Google!
- Interesting thoughts on PPC testing
16 Ways to Harness the Power of Pictures - Ecommerce Tip #9
I’m back! After a crazy 6 weeks at work (6 new clients!), I finally have some time to get back into writing. In case you missed it, I was blogging elsewhere about blog conversion and the importance of search queries.
Last time I wrote, I mentioned 4 ways to profit from the buying cycle. Let’s get right into the meat and potatoes of closing the sale on your ecommerce site: pictures.
If you want to sell online, then you have to close the tangibility gap–the inability of a customer to touch, feel and assess your product. Great copy goes a long way, but you’ll need compelling pictures to fill in the gaps. Here are 16 ways to sell more with better pictures:
1. Provide Zoom In - The #1 issue with pictures (in my opinion) is that they’re too small. It can be hard to distinguish features and detail. This is doubly true if you sell clothes and people want to inspect patterns, stitching and other nuances.
2. Offer Multiple Angles - Front, back, sides, top, bottom. Make it easy for people to see your products from every side. It also helps reduce return rates, because there are no unexpected surprises.
3. Scan and Review Details - Think of scanning as an advanced zoom. It lets you get very close to the product and pull the zoom up and down to review the product as if you were holding it. The finer the detail, and the bigger the price, the more people will want to examine closely.
4. Packaging - If your product features an especially interesting package, as is often the case for jewelry or any well designed product, consider showing the packaging as well. It sells the whole purchase experience.
5. Product in Use - Demonstrate how the product works in picture. Help people visualize themselves using it.
6. Product in Settings (usage ideas, aspirational settings) - Furniture retailers have this one down perfectly. I love Room and Board for all of their design ideas. They understand the aesthetic of their
7. 3-D Rotation - Sometimes static pictures don’t tell the hole story of a product, especially detailed ones like collectibles.
8. Paired with Other Products (cross-sell/up-sell) - Show the ideal pairing - a great wine with a wine glass, the perfect shirt with a pair of pants, or a Vespa in a great Italian city.
