It’s said that the successful use of web analytics requires asking the data the right questions. So where do you get the right questions to ask? Some questions start with data and some questions end with data. Recognizing a trend or change in the data can lead to a good question. This requires creating key […]
Content Marketing Quality Versus Quantity
You want to create some content (videos, info-graphics, blog posts, podcasts, social posts & tweets, etc.) in hopes that it will drive traffic, improve search rankings, give utility to your brand in the mind of the customer and sell stuff. But you have a limited budget. You had to decide between a little content that […]
Unintended Consequences Of Key Performance Indicators
Narrowly focusing on key performance indicators can have unintended consequences, optimizing for the wrong things at the expense of something else. For nearly every metric that an organization can focus on with web analytics, there is potential for backfire. Here are a few: Engagement is a buzzword these days that refers to making an experience […]
Finding The Real Source Of Website Traffic
With web analytics you can see sources of traffic via your traffic sources report, but it’s not really the sources of traffic. With this report you can see the different sources of traffic like search, direct, email, etc. and their associated metrics like revenue, visits and conversion rate. This is beneficial to be able to […]
Zach’s Best Of 2014
Best Movies/TV: (This year I watched 103 movies, a 17% increase over last year & 123 episodes of TV, a 43% decrease over last year) Prisoners Grand Piano Cuban Fury Edge Of Tomorrow Lego Movie True Detective Season 1 Silicon Valley Season 1 Newsroom Season 3 Best Books: (I read 40 books in 2014, a […]
Adobe Analytics: Hierarchies vs Site Sections
On the surface in Adobe Analytics, the hierarchy variable and capturing site sections with channel and traffic variables seem to accomplish the same thing, so why do both? It’s smart to do both because the reports look very different to the analyst and can help them achieve different goals. First of all, the hierarchy variable […]
Beware Of Filler
Studies show that people serve themselves in proportion to the size plate that they have been given. As a result, a person tends to over serve on larger plates. So, use a smaller plate and there’s less space to fill, and less food will be consumed. Increasing lanes on the highway does not decrease traffic. […]
Purchasing Channel Versus Decision Making Channel
94% of retail sales are still generated at brick and mortar stores. This stat is usually referenced to defend traditional retail when people see Amazon increasing their revenue from 2009 to 2013 by $50 billion, and state that the death of the traditional retail store is a foregone conclusion. The big effect that the internet […]
How Much Longer Do We Have To Tolerate Mobile Apps?
<rant> I dislike the whole premise of mobile apps. Why can’t I just use the internet on my phone? Why all of this app account logging in, downloading, updating nonsense? I have to believe that mobile apps will go extinct in the future. The only reason the idea of downloading applications on a mobile phone […]
Stop Telling Stories With Data
There are so many variables when it comes to ecommerce that I’m convinced that the idea of knowing why visitors do what they do is not really possible. All you can know is the results, not the why. But not knowing why doesn’t sit well with our human brains. We yearn for patterns, explanations and […]