Mist 7500 Midterm

Dr. Piercy MIST 7500

Rachel C. Lee October 15, 2009 MIDTERM

Web Analytics Definition: Web Analytics is defined as the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of internet data for purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage (Wikipedia). What is typically being measured on a site depends on which of two kinds of web analytics is being utilized. Off-site web analytics measures a website's opportunity, visibility, and comments, while on-site web analytics measures a visitor's journey through the site. History: There are some varying explanations as to just how web analytics truly got its start. According to an article by Justin Harrison ()internationally recognized internet marketing expert) on the history of web analytics, “Web analytics is known to exist since the origin of web. Initially the main focus of web analytics was on the technical front of the web. However, today, the focus has also shifted to the web marketing.” (History). In contrast, an article by Ballardvale Research explains the history and progression of the web as going through three stages. It says that the web analytics market grew from 1995 to 2000, experienced “market consolidation” and “product standardization” from 2001 to 2003, and became “part of a process ecosystem” starting in 2004. Benefits: There are three major benefits of using web analytics: •

It helps monitor your visitors and users

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It can help you optimize your website

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It can help you formulate a sales and e-marketing plan

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Web Analytics Tools In regard to tools currently available to measure web analytics on my blog, Google Analytics is a popular option and readily available for those who have a Google account. It provides insight into web traffic and marketing effectiveness. Though the latter is not of great importance in my scenario, knowing about web traffic can be very helpful. Knowing about web traffic trends as they relate to my site/blog can provide useful insight into strengths or weaknesses. Furthermore, this information can help me decide if, how and what I need to change, as well as if these changes do or do not prove to show progression and improvement. Yahoo also has their own web analytics tool, offering real-time user behavior and information on the demographics and category interests of your site visitors. It uses IndexTools software to gather this information. However, it does not seem to be as freely available as Google Analytics. Another tool is Piwik which is a downloadable, open source PHP MySQL software program. It says openly that it aims to serve as an alternative to Google Analytics, and it seems to offer more detailed information such as visitor languages and key words used.

Website Attractiveness Web pages can be made to look more attractive and appealing by considering several factors that will initially attract, as well as keep the attention of viewers. You can make your site more aesthetically pleasing by using a particular color scheme that will arouse positive emotions, changing the layout to be more user-friendly, or altering the messages and titles to fit those that will draw in the visitor. Many people think that SEO and SEM are the same thing, but they are slightly different. In actuality, while SEM (Search Engine Marketing) increases website traffic and "stickiness" by increasing its visibility in search engines, SEO is different in that it accomplishes this via unpaid, "natural" methods. All in all, the main purpose of SEO/SEM is to put a website higher on a list of 2

results, increasing the chances that it will be chosen. Those searching for the most "popular" or "legitimate" site typically expect to find it at the top of their search results, ignoring sites at the bottom of the page or the pages that follow. Other design elements that can contribute to the attractiveness of a website include: 1. Audio/Music - adding an audio/music file that plays upon entering the site can aid in setting the intended theme or mood. 2. Font - Readability is essential in encouraging visitors to read the content of your site. While it may initially look nice to have an elaborate cursive font, it loses a great deal of functionality when it comes to reading. 3. Form/Shape - You must decide if you want objects and shapes on your site to be sharp and harsh, or if you want them to be smooth and flowing. Sharp lines can be used as an abrupt and shocking way to draw in site visitors, or you may use the latter to foster a tranquil experience.

Interpreting Analytics When I first set out to analyze my blog via reports from Google Analytics, I had problems interpreting the various numbers, charts and diagrams, and wasn't sure if I should be impressed or discouraged by the results. Having never used a web analytics tool before, I initially was blind as to how I could best utilize the reports in order to improve my site. In search of some wisdom and out of my desire to make the best of the very little time I had to make improvements, I browsed some information pertaining to the uses of web analytics. Top web analytics expert Avinash Kaushik explains that you should “start with your desired outcome”, not with reports (e-commerce). He also assures readers that you don't have to come out of pocket to get a hold of a great analytics tool. There are several free tools that will get the job done. There are some great lists of free web analytics tools such as the following: 3

1. Woopra – easy to use interface, framework for expansion, open API 2. Google Analytics – most popular free web analytics 3. Clicky – real time statistics, version for iPhone 4. Piwik- downloadable open source, displays users keywords & search engines 5. Yahoo! Web Analytics – demographics and category interests of visitors 6. Wordpress.com Stats – basic stats and graphs, easy to use 7. FireStats- basic but quick and useful 8. GoingUp – referring URLs, search engine traffic, graphs keyword positions 9. Blog Tracker – basic information and easy to use 10. Reinvigorate – similar to Google Analytics, alerts when changes occur on site (List) Kaushik's article aided me in having greater confidence in the Google Analytics tool I had chosen. With these words of wisdom in mind, I set out to affectively assess my site. As directed in the midterm assignment, I conducted an initial analysis of my blog to serve as the baseline for my efforts to improve. I then took a fresh look at the results. In effort to put Kaushik's advice to good use, I determined what my goal report would look like, instead of being discouraged by the numbers. This is when I realized that I may need to narrow my goals or prioritize which improvements are the most important. For example, in my opinion I was far more concerned about the length of time visitors would spend viewing the site than the number of visits. In addition, I decided that seeing a consistent decline in the bounce rate was more important than the number/percent of new visits. For my purposes, it doesn't particularly matter how many new individuals are viewing my blog. This would be important to those who are trying to get visitors to register or purchase a product, not for my weekly entries. I thankfully did some research through the google analytics page on why bounce rates can be high. 4

It explains that a site with only one page will naturally have a high bounce rate (Bounce Rate). I am not sure why I had not realized this initially. Though my blog site does have other pages that can be visited, mostly everything can be seen on the home page. You don't have to click “read more” to view the entire content of the most recent blogs, and the older blogs you do have to navigate to are more than likely of far less interest. The links that I have on my left sidebar are sites that visitors probably frequent already, giving no reason to click those.

Google Analytics Below is a screenshot of the Google Analytics report for my blog site.

Improvements (Phase 1) One of the first things I did to improve my blog was to change the color scheme of the page(s). I changed the black background to a light lime color, considering that lighter backgrounds and darker fonts are more eye appealing to viewers. Thankfully, blogger.com displays a box filled with colors that 5

“match” or coordinate well with the current colors in the blog. In this way, I am provided with a prearranged color pallet to select from. I made all major titles darker than the background for easy reading and clarity (as well as navigation). The title of the blog was enlarged slightly and changed to a dark purple. I then changed the remaining links, minor titles, footer, etc. to colors that tastefully complimented what I already had. Changing the font style of the various texts also proved to make the site more eye-appealing. Between Arial, Georgia, Trebuchet, Courier, Times and Verdana, I was able to switch up the look of the text, which I hoped would draw readers' attention further down from the initial blog title. This helped to eliminate the look of redundancy. Changes/Results (Phase 1) In just one day, my number of visits jumped from 5 to 12, my page visits from 11 to 21. The bounce rate (the percentage of single-page visits or the number of visits in which the viewer left from the start page) had not shown a consistent increase or decrease. Since the 6th of October, it had gone from 50% to 100%, back to 50%, back to 100% and most recently 40%. The average time on site had actually shown a steady decrease, falling from 12:59 to 6:25, down to 00:07. However, this may have had more to do with the level of interest visitors have in reading the content of the blog, and less with the recent changes I have made. The topic, length, etc. of my blogs varies greatly from week to week, so I must consider the possibility that my more recent material may not be as interesting to visitors. This would make sense as my earlier posts were more about me and my experiences as well as opinions, whereas my most recent posts are largely presenting facts and research.

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Improvements (Phase 2) After viewing my analytics results, I came up with a plan of action to improve the numbers even further. I decided to add images to each of my blog entries. When deciding which images to use, I determined it was important for me to choose those which would essentially provide a visual synopsis of that entry. For instance, I chose for my most recent blog entry “Website Attractiveness” a picture of someone peering through a store window at a display of colorful and stylish sunglasses. Though I saw it was not necessary to chose a picture that was quite so literal, it seemed best to select something which would hint at the content of the entry, persuading visitors to take a closer look at a topic they think “might be interesting” based on the cool, funny or thought provoking photo.

Changes/Results (Phase 2) Finally, I could see some positive and consistent results from the changes I had made. My

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number of pageviews doubled overnight, the average time on site for visitors also went from 6:10 to 17:01, and pages/visit reached 4. The only thing I could not seem to shake was the bounce rate. It has yet to show any consistent increase or decrease over time, continually bouncing day to day from 0% to 100%, down to 50%, back to 100%, back down to 0% and most recently reaching 75%.

This is what I have gathered. My changes were able to draw visitors to the site, and even helped some with encouraging them to visit other pages. But I still have a considerable number of visitors who open the link, take a look around and leave. It is encouraging to know that the time spent on the site has increased so greatly in such a short period of time, but I still can't fathom how the most important goal/priority I set is the one still lacking. There must still be a need for me to understand bounce rates even more, as well as to understand what techniques I should make visitors want to click other links on the site. Google Analytics Review Having used Google Analytics for my blog site, I can now see how using Yahoo could have

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been of some benefit. With Google Analytics, I'm getting some helpful numbers, but I am still in the dark as to why visitors may only view the initial webpage and perhaps only for a few moments. What I am lacking is greater knowledge of visitor behaviors. Yahoo could provide insight into trends and tastes of those who visit the site. From here, I would be able to make my blog into one that appeals to those most prevalent and particular interests.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bounce Rate - "Analytics Help". Google. 10/07/09 http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=86131

E-Commerce - Maguire, James. "How to Use Web Analytics, Part 1". ecommerce-guide.com. 10/05/09 http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/solutions/customer_relations/article.php/3616281

History - Harrison, Justin. "A Brief History About Web Analytics". GR8 iDEAS. 10/10/09 http://www.gr8ideas.com.au/invention-development-advice/getting-your-invention-sold/part-cmarketing/3061-a-brief-history-about-web-analytics

List - Barros, Sebastian. " Know Your Numbers: 10 Free Web Analytics Tools For Your Website". Penn Olson. 10/07/09 http://www.penn-olson.com/2009/09/13/know-your-numbers-10-free-web-analyticstools-for-your-website/

Wikipedia - "Web analytics". Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia. 10/10/09 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_analytics

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