July Scotland Web Analytics Wednesday Event

Date: Wednesday 12th July, 6pm - 7.30pm
Venue: TBC - followed by drinks at local pub

As requested by attendees at previous events, we have planned some more structured discussion topics for next month's Web Analytics Wednesday. If there are topics or questions you are interested in exploring in this and future sessions, please feel free to email us or contribute to the Scotland Group blog with your suggestions.

Stephen Budd of Highland Business Research will be reporting on the Customer Strategy and Management event held at the NEC in Birmingham last week. With the focus firmly on CRM and using data to identify profitable customers, this should add useful perspective to our previous CRM & web analytics discussions.

If you would like to lead a discussion topic with a 5 minute introduction, or have a success story or case study you would like to share , or you're doing great things integrating web analytics and CRM, we'd also love to hear from you.

Confirmation of the venue and discussion topics will be circulated prior to the event.

E-consultancy delivering web analytics training in Edinburgh

E-consultancy is delivering a web analytics training course in Edinburgh on the 4th July.

Neil Mason will be delivering the course. Neil will be a familiar face to those who've attended the Emetrics Summit and if you haven't heard him speak, I can heartily recommend him as a fascinating and knowledgeable practitioner, not just of web analytics, but of integrated business intelligence.

More details of the e-consultancy course can be found here:

http://www.e-consultancy.com/knowledge/events/1105/web-measurement-and-analytics--edinburgh-training-event.html

Next Web Analytics Wednesday Event

Next Scotland Web Analytics Wednesday Event

Date: 31st May, 6pm – 7.30pm
Venue: Edinburgh, Burns Room, Apex House (Scottish Enterprise) - then drinks at nearby pub!

As requested by attendees at previous events, we have planned some slightly more structured discussion topics for this months Web Analytics Wednesday:

1. Emetrics Summit Debrief

WAA Scotland group members Vicky Brock of Highland Business Research and Andrew Hood of Lynchpin attended the London Emetrics Summit earlier this month. At the next Web Analytics Wednesday on 31st May they will be sharing some of the ideas and latest thinking from the global web analytics community that were presented and discussed at this event.

2. Web Analytics and CRM

WAA Scotland group member Colin Munro will be leading a discussion on Web Analytics and CRM. Having been the Web Analyst and CRM manager for VisitScotland and managed the measurement of the many the web properties and complex campaigns under VS’s remit, Colin’s experience on this subject should lead us into some useful debate.

3. Events and Education

The Scotland WAA group is also planning a larger scale event for later in the year and is also looking to develop a set of online case studies, recommended resources and useful hints and tips for the local web analytics community. There will be discussion about this on Wednesday, but if you can’t attend please do email us or contribute to the Scotland Group blog with your suggestions.


After the discussion in the comfort of Apex House, we will decamp to a nearby pub. If you would like to attend the Web Analytics Wednesday event or just come along at 7.30pm for a drink, please let Vicky Brock know so we can keep an eye out for you!

Directions to Apex House can be found here: http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/edinburgh-how-to-visit.htm


Finally, we are looking for topics or questions you are interested in exploring in this and future sessions, so please feel free to email us or contribute to the Scotland Group blog with your suggestions.

Report from the 2006 London Emetrics Summit

WAA Scotland members Vicky Brock of HBR and Andrew Hood of Lynchpin both attended the 2006 Emetrics Summit in London last week.

It was a stimulating, full on event with participants from all over the globe.

It was encouraging to find out how much interest there is from countries across Europe in forming their own local groups, with much interest in building relations with the Scotland group.

Vicky's full report details can be found here: http://www.highlandbusinessresearch.com/emetricssummit2006.jsp

Babies and Bathwater - Re-gaining Business Intelligence Online

Web analytics is a young industry and by its nature, those working in it have arrived from numerous different routes - some from IT roles, some software or web development, some from marketing.

Personally, I fall into the direct marketing camp. It does not seem strange to me at all that within my own company, which deals with business intelligence in its many forms, web analytics services should sit very naturally alongside market research, customer insight and other forms of data analysis.

I spent many years in direct marketing working with clients to understand the exact impact that the position of a graphic on an outer envelope had in affecting open rates; how different propositions and calls to actions affected return on investment; the affect of the same message on different groups or the same message at different times - all with the overall client objective of ensuring that every penny of marketing spend worked as hard as it possible could to make sales and achieve business goals.

So this week, roughly 7 years on from my first fumblings with web analytics, I found myself delivering a couple of workshops where much of the discussion centred around defining the key goals, pinning down measures that matter, understanding what conversion is and how to action measurement to achieve business goals.

And I found myself wondering how the baby got thrown out with the bathwater during the move of business activity online. How come this web analytics industry ever got born, when in so many ways, the obvious facilitators of this business intelligence function were the direct marketing and advertising agencies.

Instead it seems to me that so much of the rigorous process of test, measure, refine that was occurring in direct marketing got overlooked as businesses rushed online. Then when clients caught their breath and again started to ask "how do I know if this is even working" and "how do we make this more successful", those questions were asked to their new media agencies, web designers and online marketing teams who in many cases had not grown up chanting "test, measure, refine" and had to undertake a discovery process of their own.

Naturally, new technology was needed to start to effectively measure performance online - and I know there was a time when even those of us committed to measuring effectiveness, testing approaches and actioning demonstrable improvements online were very frustrated. But this drove innovation and I think the industry has developed to the point that lack of measurement technology is not the issue (except perhaps, as Steve Jackson rightly points out, amongst mobile activity and newer delivery mechanisms). The data is better than it has ever been, in any other marketing medium.

Ironically, the catch up is instead in the "test, measure, refine" mantra and the detail focused, return on investment obsessed culture that lead some businesses to be so successful at direct marketing in the first place. The companies that once appreciated that the choice of a single word, or the careful positioning of a response mechanism could make or break a campaign, are re-engaging with the principles that of course they knew already. But this time championed by the web analytics industry.

I believe it was Bob Chatham of Forrester Research who said at the Emetrics Summit last year that web analytics will disappear as it matures - becoming instead simply "business intelligence". I would agree, because re-gaining business intelligence online by embracing some of the tried and testing principles of offline ROI measurement, data analysis, customer profiling and predictive modelling and combining that with new data sources and processing power available, has the potential to be an incredibly powerful business resource of a scale not yet seen.

(Personal opinions of Vicky Brock)

WAA Scotland, Nordics and England joint activity

Vicky Brock of the Scotland group and Steve Jackson of the Nordics group have been invited by the WAA to join Nick Sharp as co-chairs of the WAA International Committee.

A joint Scotland/Nordics summit took place in a hotel in Edinburgh on a rainy afternoon yesterday, (well Steve and Vicky sat down and drank beer and talked the hind legs off web analytics for a fair few hours) and in terms of development of the web analytics industry ahead of us, I think this is an exciting time and hope that in Scotland we can really share, enjoy and learn from the enthusiasm and wisdom of members in these other regions.

Those Scotland group members planning to attend the London Emetrics Summit in May (3rd - 5th) have got another reason to get their booking in fast. The International committee will be hosting a dinner for WAA members on the Wednesday evening and we would love to see you there!

The US Summit is already sold out, and London is booking very fast - so if you're interested, find out more here: http://www.emetrics.org/html/london_2006.html

Forthcoming Web Analytics Wednesdays dates so far for 2006 are:

1st March, Glasgow

Launch of the WAA and Web Analytics Wednesdays in Glasgow

6pm - 7.30pm, venue Scottish Enterprise, Atlantic Quay

• Enjoy some informal networking and problem solving discussion with others working with or interested in web analytics


• A preview of current web analytics thinking and technologies


• Find out more about the Web Analytics Association and the forthcoming Emetrics Summit


• Take the opportunity to get involved in shaping web analytics in Scotland

This event, sponsored by Scottish Enterprise, is free and particularly targeted to those working with web analytics, web services or responsible for working with company or public body websites.

For more information or to book, contact: info@highlandbusinessresearch.com

8th March, Inverness

Workshop on web analytics technologies and applying web analytics to improve usability, customer insight and return on your marketing investment.

3.30pm - 5pm, venue The Green House

• An introduction to current web analytics thinking and technologies


• Get results from analytics by measuring your online performance and identifying key web performance indicators


• Tips to help you isolate and test what's working and what's not

The seminar on 8 March is free and particularly targeted to those working in IT, web design or responsible for working with company or public body websites. Thanks to Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise for their support.

For more information or to book a place, contact: info@highlandbusinessresearch.com

Special Event:

"Closing the Loop: Applying web analytics to improve usability, customer insight and return on your marketing investment."

March 28th (venue tbc), Edinburgh.

• Understand current web analytics thinking and how web analytics can be applied as part of a usability management programme
  
• Get results from analytics by aligning your business goals and measuring your online performance
  
• Tips to help you isolate and test what's working and what's not
  
• Share web analytics lessons learned by online businesses worldwide
  

This is a joint event with the Scottish Usability Professionals Association . Presentations will be given by Vicky Brock of HBR and the WAA and Andrew Hood of Lynchpin.

Objectives from first web analytics Scotland meeting

The WAA Scotland group had its first meeting on the 28th November 2005. A key area of discussion was where the web analytics industry in Scotland is now and the challenges it has to overcome. In a nutshell these could be described as:

1) Engagement with the business community - the communication of the benefits of web analytics and general level education relating to web analysis.

2) Engagement with interactive and marketing agencies – communication of the greater measurability options available and the ability to identify online campaign ROI.

3) Education – improved training, problem solving and knowledge sharing amongst the small existing web analytics community.

4) Actionability – advice, hints and experience sharing for turning insight into action and delivery of website improvements.

5) Resources – the move towards defined web analytics roles and web analytics consultancy, instead of this being a small sub-remit of marketing or web development teams.


These are key factors that the Scotland group of the WAA is initially looking to address in the coming months. It has been suggested – and we welcome member comments – that future events should focus on further engagement with the business community and interactive/marketing businesses.

While the challenges faced by the Scotland web analytics community are not unchartered, they are distinct from the current US and UK wide challenges. It could be argued that the Scotland community still faces justifying the value of analytics, while other markets are subtlety shifting towards specific deliverables.

For example, the London Emetrics Summit 2005, led by Jim Sterne, was a global gathering of web analytics practitioners and vendors. It was a useful and lively exchange of the latest thinking and practical issues facing the web intelligence industry and at the time I wrote this personal take on just 10 of the 24 key issues identified during the 2005 Emetrics Summit.


“1) Actionability
The Number One problem highlighted by web analysts during research by Forrester last year was translating insight into action. Our discussions certainly showed this to be a case with many attendees this year. Web analytics should produce actionable information, and often involves making changes to the website or processes. If you cannot apply your insight and make changes to your website for whatever reason, then the value of web analytics diminishes to virtually nothing and can be a very frustrating endeavour.

Discussions returned time and again to circulation of information, the importance of clearly demonstrating the value to the bottom line and showing the price of inaction to management. Literally putting the money on the table had got results, as had always applying the question "So what?" before bursting forth with your insights!

Where politics and lack of resources are major obstacles, lessons learned have included:

- Not trying to tackle everything
- Controlling data circulation to minimize overload
- Prioritising on small but effective wins with demonstrable savings or increases in conversions

2) Clearly defined goals
Clearly defined measurement goals aligned to the business are critical. And we soon came to agree we're not talking KPIs but Key-KPIs (KKPIs was the new acronym of the week!) Defining those critical few measurements and agreeing how to apply them is essential from the outset.
And there is no single list of measurements to suit all - there are some that come up repeatedly but the key factor is to align your measurement with your specific business objectives.

3) You are not the customer
Your boss, your designer, the analyst - are not the customer! The only way to discover what the customer wants, thinks or does - is to ask, to watch and to test. Evaluation of user experience and satisfaction is a critical measure. And if you're having a hard time convincing your colleagues, why not try usability testing on the cheap, with the "five random guys" test. Seeing how real people undertake specific tasks on your site - such as making a complaint - can be a major eye opener!

4) Testing, testing
Making changes without testing or measuring them is at best, a guess. A/B testing is one method of making side by side comparisons of a variable, by serving different versions of the same page. This allows you to measure what works best and roll out the change.
The Chief of Data at Yahoo gave an example of how A/B testing on the position of the search box on the page had lead to a 2% increase in searches. That's seriously substantial revenue on a worldwide scale! His examples of how the applied use of data mining has allowed them to segment and target customers according to search interest and behaviour were of interest. They were also an example for the way forward for intelligent segmentation of customers and greater personalisation of sites according to unique user behaviour.

5) Asking prospective vendors the difficult questions
The importance of looking not just at the features of a web analytics vendor's product, but the specific needs of your reporting KPIs, the technical issues of your unique site and thereby asking the difficult questions was highlighted.
Several speakers told frank tales of disaster after appointing the wrong or a series of wrong providers. The lesson they imparted was to examine your site, understand the things that make it different and address those factors with vendors rather than settle for an out-of-the-box solution.

6) The trouble with averages
This has made the top 10 as it is a personal bugbear of mine! As a fellow 'meanophobe' I found myself in complete agreement with Neil Mason of Applied Insights who cautioned against the reliance on averages when talking about things like time spent on site, visits and numbers of pages viewed. So often in web analytics, averages hide meaningful differences in behaviour and work against the process of understanding how different segments of users behave. The average visitor does not exist.

7) Click Fraud
The presentation on click fraud was an eye opening discussion for anyone committing revenue to pay per click advertising. Artificially or maliciously generated clicks drive up advertising costs and drive down conversion rates. Human perpetrators go beyond a few spurned lovers and disgruntled employees, to large numbers of organised workers paid to click on ads all day. Advertisers would do well to ensure their web analytics teams are looking for data anomalies such spikes in click volumes and increased clicks with zero conversions, as well as factors such as new competitors in the mix.

8) Conversion
It is not just those businesses selling online who should care about conversion rates. Conversion is not just about buying, but the ratio of visits that convert to a desired action. It all comes back to goals and what your website is trying to achieve - whether savings by diverting enquirers away from the phone or support to sales that will complete offline. Understanding the 'cost' and 'value' of your content may be a neglected measure, but one requiring attention if non-sales sites are to deliver greater returns.

9) Information overload vs. getting personal
Data volumes are growing massively and the sheer volume of potential material to measure, along with the sheer range of facts to be learned about customers, is leading to data overload. Identifying your critical few measures is essential - but what about when you want to move beyond trended data and examine user behaviour at a micro level? Yahoo, Lastminute.com and others talked about complex data mining to deliver highly tailored content. Other speakers told of the need to closely control the volume and type of data being circulated to avoid misinterpretation and confusion.
Clearly, one of the challenges for the web analyst will continue to be getting the right insights into the right hands - and ensuring those insights are meaningful and actionable.

10) Tools are not the same as answers
Buying a web analytics package - even the very best on the market - will not give you answers. They are the tools to help you interpret your data and support you in drawing insights. Skilled human resources are required in the process - in terms of interpretation, insights, testing and applying changes. Consider carefully what resources you are able to commit to the web analytics team prior to selecting a vendor - and (cheap plug!) don't forget that that you can outsource your web analytics if you don't have the skills you need in house. “


The Scotland web analytics group is perhaps still at an earlier stage in the process – we are still trying to justify our value and demonstrate to businesses and agencies why online measurability is so important. Web analysts are facing knowledge and education gaps and one of our challenges in Scotland is to find appropriate home-grown ways to address that.

We welcome your comments and input into the way forward and suggestions for the areas the web analytics group in Scotland should be focussing its attention on. Please feel welcome to submit articles, events or comments to this blog - simply contact vicky@highlandbusinessresearch.com

WAA Scotland Launch Press Resease

This month sees the Web Analytics Association (WAA) launch in Scotland. Founded in February 2005 in the USA, the WAA is the worldwide professional body for those working in the web analytics industry and is dedicated to promoting the understanding of web analytics and developing the interests of those involved in measuring the success of online business initiatives.

Scotland co-ordinator for the WAA, Vicky Brock of Highland Business Research, says, "Ninety eight per cent of large businesses in the UK now have a website. The result of this is an emerging group of people working to analyse how effective these websites are, understand visitor behaviour and ensure those businesses are getting the best return from their web investment."

Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage. It is a fast growing industry, with the UK sector expected to grow by 25% in 2005.

Vicky Brock continues, "Web analytics is a very young industry in Scotland and the WAA provides an excellent opportunity for members to develop their skills and to aide organisations to become increasingly effective online."

Jim Sterne, President of the WAA states; "We're creating a collaborative environment to help this industry achieve the success and recognition it deserves and it is fantastic that Scotland is taking an active part in that.

"More than ever before, marketers are required to justify expenditure based on results. Since the web is a great medium for measurability and optimisation, it’s no wonder that marketers are drawn to the online world.

"But many organisations still don’t realize the value of web analytics or aren’t in a position to take action. The WAA sets out to promote issues like education, advocacy and standards to strengthen and stabilize the growing web analytics industry."

Vicky Brock adds, "The Scotland Group of the WAA will provide members with opportunities to network and enjoy brainstorming and problem solving with colleagues in the same industry. They’ll also have the chance to be involved in defining best practices, share learning from WAA members throughout the world and develop a national body of web analytics knowledge."

The Scotland Group of the WAA will hold its first meeting in Edinburgh on Monday 28 November, 6.15pm - 8.30pm. The meeting is open to all those working with web analytics in some form and provides an opportunity to network and find out more about the WAA. This event has been sponsored by Scottish Enterprise and will be held at: Apex House, 99 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, EH12 5HD – for more information visit http://www.webanalyticsassociation.org/en/cev/?31

Future WAA activity in Scotland will not be limited to Edinburgh, with events also planned in Glasgow and Inverness. For more information about the WAA in Scotland contact Vicky Brock at vicky@highlandbusinessresearch.com.