Web Analytics Management

Microsoft adAnalytics Bids Adieu

In contrast to the great expectations accompanying its beta to duke it out with Google Analytics, the end of the adAnalytics beta and product was announced quietly on March 12. While there hasn’t been an official reason given, it doesn’t seem like there was ever a really big following for the solution. While certainly not scientific proof of this, the lack of response to a feedback request on the adAnalytics blog back in July makes you wonder what the take up of the solution actually was in the end. In general, it was surprising that it was such a non-factor in the analytics space. Perhaps adAnalytics will be best remembered for its ability to provide a limited amount of demographic data on about 25% of users based on their MS Passport Live ID...an intriguing concept, but not complete enough to draw any meaningful conclusions about traffic to your site. While it may be entertaining to speculate on whether MSFT will pursue the analytics game going forward, I’m not sure what they would need to do so. Sure, companies such as Omniture, Coremetrics and WebTrends are all possible acquisition candidates, but I don’t think they have much reason to do so. If it’s data that they want, they can get that through the rest of their web and PC-based applications and services.

I also don’t see this as any type of rejection of free analytics…I see more and more organizations looking to integrate Google Analytics into their web analytics framework as a way to service low demand analytics consumers and cut down on page view charges associated with their fee based vendors. And while many in the market may be frustrated at the lack of availability of Yahoo! Analytics there will likely be more interest in direct proportion to access over the coming months. No, the adAnalytics marketing strategy just failed to materialize effectively, and Microsoft clearly saw no reason to keep a service that added little or no value to its bottom line.

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If you're anywhere between NYC and DC, lets meet up at JBoye's Philadelphia conference May 5-7. I'll be speaking on Strategic Techniques for Improving Your Web Analytics will show you how a well executed web analytics strategy leads to successful analytics solution implementations.

75 of 2009

It’s been a busy first few months of 2009 and I wanted to tell you about some of the things I’ve been working on…also wanted to pass along a discount to eMetrics, a reminder about the WAA Public Sector Survey and a heads up about an upcoming presentation I’ll be making in May.

• In mid-February, I finished up the CMS Watch 2009 Web Analytics Report. This is the third edition of the report, and I added coverage of video and mobile specific vendors. Also, in response to the WAA’s review of the 2008 report, I asked all vendors to provide their take on WAA Metrics Standards compliance. Out of the 20 vendors that were covered, 10 complied. It was heartening to see that both Google Analytics and Coremetrics went public with their compliance soon after I made the request…and disappointing that more vendors did not. You may have your opinions about the relative value of the WAA Standards, but I think the effort that vendors do or do not put into transparency speaks volumes.
  

• If you’ve been reading my blog posts since the beginning of the year, you’ve noticed I’ve become quite interested in the question of web analytics data privacy and access. To expand on this often overlooked topic, I’ve teamed with CMS Watch founder Tony Byrne to write Do You Really Own Your Web Analytics Data? I’d love to hear what you think about this relative to your vendor selection decisions.
  

•  I mentioned in my post last week about the WAA Public Sector Survey. If you haven’t taken it, there’s still time…in fact you have until Monday, March 23. So, if you’re a .gov, .org, .edu or .mil, take 10 minutes and contribute to the knowledge-base…I’ve been tracking the results and seeing some very interesting trends and findings. This leads me to…

•  eMetrics in San Jose. We’re hoping to have preliminary findings in time for the big, big show May 4-7. And if you use this promo code WAMANAGE12 when you register, you’ll get 12% off your registration. If you register by this Friday, March 20, you’ll get an even better deal with Early Bird pricing! Go to: http://www.emetrics.org/sanjose/2009/register.php

Finally, if you can’t make it to eMetrics, join me on May 7 in beautiful, downtown Philadelphia, where I’ll be speaking at the JBoye conference.  My presentation, Strategic Techniques for Improving Your Web Analytics will show you how a well executed web analytics strategy leads to successful analytics solution implementations. The conference runs from May 5-7.  To register and find out more, go to: http://www.jboye.com/conferences/philadelphia09/schedule.

Who’s Web Analytics Data is it Anyway…Part 3

Since I wrote Whose data is it anyway? and Whose data is it anyway? Part 2 I've started to dive a bit deeper into the subject  of web analytics data ownership as part of my vendor research for the just released The 2009 Web Analytics Report and because I'm managing a vendor selection process for a Federal government entity.

It’s a complex issue and one that often gets overlooked during web analytics vendor selection and contract negotiations. Many analysts and web managers whom I speak to at large organizations either don’t read or don’t have access to their vendor contracts…and generally don’t ask about data ownership during the vendor evaluation process.  Many people just assume that they own their web analytics data.

So what does data ownership really mean? Is it simply a “concept”, or does it translate into anything of business value? Well, it depends on your vendor…what they say, what they don’t say and what they put in writing.

Let’s look at the four aspects of "data ownership":

Use of Your Data

As we’ve already written, Google Analytics and Yahoo! Web Analytics state in their contracts that may use your data for a variety of commercial purposes. Not all, but a few of the fee-based vendors state that they’ll use the data for benchmarking or industry average information. This seems to be a more palatable pill to swallow for large, security-concerned enterprises, such as those in government and financial services.

Data Security

All of the largest web analytics vendors have gone to great lengths to ensure the safety of your data from the perspective of storage, access, and redundancy and server failover. Yet if there’s a data loss, you’re on your own. All agreements absolve the vendors of any liability. So, in this case, what does data ownership really do for you? Not much.

Data Retention

Being able to run reports on historical data and having access to unaggregated data as far back as your contract runs may be considered to be a sign of data ownership, and one that many take for granted, but it is nothing of the sort. There are basically two types of web analytics data you can retain: data that is used in creating summary tables used for the reports you run in the core solution, and unaggregated data that makes up your web analytics database. The length of time that this data is kept may or may not be in the contract. We find this to be part of your service agreement, and can be completely negotiable. Your vendor will have a default length of time for both types of data…typically 12-36 months. You want more than the default, you can pay for it. We know of one fee-based vendor that breaks out default retention on an hourly, daily, weekly and monthly basis…just a bit more complicated and just another way to add to your cost of ownership.   The upshot of this: Data retention has real meaning for what “data ownership” is all about…or does it?

Data access- API or file extraction of core data tables for export to another system.

Before you get all excited about making a deal for keeping your data for 36 months, you have to think about how you’re going to export the data out of the web analytics solution. While it may be easy to pull old reports, what if you want to extract the unaggregated data to export to another database, or what if you want to use it with a business intelligence tool? How do you get it? Vendors that provide a data warehouse capability, are happy to sell you this capability and therefore your underlying data is available and extractable…typically through APIs. But if you don’t purchase a data warehouse capability or your vendor doesn’t offer one, you could get your unaggregated data in a state that is really hard to deal with…it could be unprocessed, meaning that the data is in a “log file” state, or it could be in a CSV format. In either case, you’ll have a lot of work to do to get the data in a state that is usable.

So, what’s “data ownership”? I think you have to figure out what elements of data ownership make the most sense. From my perspective, making sure that you can get your hands on your web data when you need it and with as little interference as possible are prime considerations. Security and privacy are paramount, but if you choose to go with an on-demand solution, you’ll need to be assured that the vendor meets your criteria, knowing that if there’s a data loss, you’ll have little recourse.

Whose data is it anyway? (Part 2)

I wanted to spend a bit more time on the subject of web analytics data usage per my post last week, or rather spend some time discussing the comments I received from Stephane Hamel and Jacques Warren.

Jacques makes the point about lack of transparency into “free tools”:

The fact that I can't have access to the raw data, the logs, has bothered me everytime I came across a problem. I just cannot accept that the only validation criterium of the numbers I'm seeing is... the brand! “It's right, because Google says so.”

Now, it is true that Jacques, who is one of the smartest web analysts out there, probably understands the intricacies and nuances of web data more than most people, but what I find ironic is that issues around data trust are common to many organizations, and it is often articulated by managers who have no background in web analysis. They simply don't understand how web analytics works. So, if you use Google Analytics, how do you address core data accuracy questions? Is it easier or more difficult to do than with a tool that has more apparent data transparency?

I also find it interesting that many organizations use Google Analytics to “audit” their fee based tool. I don't quite get the logic in this. How about doing an audit of the data collection for the fee-based tool that has already received investment?

In an odd turn of events, I have to wonder if companies' dual deployment of Google in addition to the fee-based solution has actually helped perpetuate poor implementations of fee-based solutions. Perhaps it is coincidence that it used to be that when organizations got frustrated with their analytics solutions, they'd be more prone to switch solutions, but it now seems that they simply use Google Analytics in tandem. I've got nothing other than anecdotal evidence to prove this, as well as using Stephane Hamel's WASP, but I'd be curious to hear what you have to say about this.

Stephane's comment makes a good point regarding the concept of web analytics maturity within an organization and use of the “right” solution. This is something we've sought to educate readers of the Web Analytics Report through the use of business and resource commitment scenarios. I also share Stephane's concern that “as the power of Google increase, the options are becoming scarcer.”

Then again, while this economy may impact companies well recognized in the analytics space, I think that there will be a growing number of organizations and analysts who will mature into appreciating the value of fee over free.

Whose data is it anyway?

One of the more interesting threads that I read over the last few months was on the Web Analytics Association Yahoo Forum. Called Why do we still need Omniture?, the discussion's starting point was based on how Omniture could differentiate itself in light of Google Analytic's new features.

The ensuing discussion had dozens of posts with most of the focus on reporting features and capabilities.

But it was what didn't get mentioned that caught my attention: no mention of data usage as a differentiator.

Google and Yahoo! use the data it collects from your web site as fuel to develop new products, services, offerings and marketing programs. Omniture and all other fee based vendors do not use the data it collects.

Both Google and Yahoo clearly state how they use the data in their Terms and Conditions. Then again we all know about carefully reading the fine print.

I just find it surprising that folks tend not to mention data usage as a differentiator in the many The World vs. Google Analytics/Yahoo! Analytics discussions or vendor evaluations that occur...maybe "free" makes that ok.

A Baker's Dozen of X Change Huddles

X Change is just over a month away, and the rush to sign up for Huddles is on. There's a ton of good stuff and it's hard to narrow down the choices.  Perhaps predictably, I'll be focusing my Huddle choices on two areas that I've been writing about over the last few years: new analytics tools and vendors (CMS Watch Web Analytics Report), and the use of voice of customer and audience research methods in conjunction with web analytics (The Executive's Guide to Web Site Measurement and Testing). But as I do more work with the Federal government, privacy issues are also becoming more prominent on my radar screen. So here's my X Change "short list" so far:

• Web Analytics and Data Privacy - Bob Page, Yahoo
• Emerging Trends in Online Video - David Cronshaw, MSN Video
• Justifying the Need for Advanced Visualization Tools - Dennis Bradley, Charles Schwab
• Managing Expectations: Panel-Based and Census-Based Methodologies - Jim Hassert, AOL
• Integrating Online and Offline (Market Research) Data - Rachel Scotto, Sony Pictures
• Measuring Web 2.0:Widgets, Gadgets and Social Networks - Rachel Scotto, Sony Pictures
• Integrating Customer Experience and Marketing Data with Web Analytics - Ron Pinsky, AIG
• Knowing When You've Outgrown Your Current Web Analytics Solution - Judah Phillips, Reed Business Interactive
• The Mobile Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities - Bob Schukai, Turner Broadcasting
• Mobile Technology: Development, Deployment and Measurement - Bob Schukai, Turner Broadcasting
• Using Real-time Survey to Improve the Customer Experience - Jared Waxman, Intuit
• Competitive Intelligence Tools and Methodologies - Jared Waxman, Intuit
• Measuring Social Media and Its Enterprise Impacts - Marshall Sponder, Monster

Well, that's a "baker's dozen." Won't be able to take them all in, but it'll help me arrange my dance card. Have you registered for your Huddles yet? With this many choices, it's probably a good time to start sorting it out. And if you haven't yet registered for X Change, it's definitely time. Go to
http://www.semphonic.com/conf/registration.asp and register now!

 

Planning a Successful Omniture Implementation

How do you approach a Site Catalyst implementation?

How do you decide what data collect?

How do you know what to do first

Gary and June have already written about Semphonic's recently released Omniture Implementation Toolkit and the value it can bring to understanding the complexity of SiteCatalyst tags.

I wanted to write a bit about the Project Management and Implementation Management documents included in the kit.

Project management is probably one of the least favorite activities among analysts. After all, you want to spend your time analyzing data and finding fascinating insights. So, in the Implementation Toolkit, we've made it easy. We've put all of the steps into an Excel spreadsheet project plan template that walks you through the page tag implementation process from start to finish, and notes task dependencies, resource requirements based on role, as well as call outs on where to find detailed information within the guide so you can fill in the dates you need to track. We think you'll find this to be a huge management help.

How do you develop a paper trail documenting what happens from report requirements to tag building to report creation? We've put together an Implementation Management worksheet that brings you through the entire process and gives you a convenient "all in one" repository for keeping track of this complex relationship. Especially important when maintaining and updating your SiteCatalyst implementation.

So, yes, knowing how to build the SiteCatalyst tags will optimize your return on investment in Omniture; understanding how to plan for a successful implementation will ensure that you complete the project on time and within budget.

To take a closer look at the Toolkit, go to: http://www.semphonic.com/analytics/impgutr.asp

Top 5 Reasons Web Analytics Managers Like Their Vendor

I've just finished writing the latest version of the Web Analytics Report for CMS Watch.

While it's cool to see what the vendors are doing, I enjoy the research because I speak to lots of web analytics managers who are using the solutions in many different scenarios...for e-commerce and marketing, for distributed reporting and for extranets, and so forth.

I thought I'd share with you the top 5 common themes web analytics managers expressed when talking positively about their vendor:   

1. The most satisfied customers are those who believe their vendor has listened to them, and delivered on requirements that are quite customized. "Even though the tool doesn't do "so and so" out of the box, the vendor worked with us to customize a solution that no one else could." 
2. Managers like a solution that is really easy for their stakeholders to use. This seems obvious, but if it was the "status quo" people wouldn't keep making the point. As one manager said about the solution his company uses, "We like it because report creation is very simple for simple reports," or "It has a very user friendly UI…trainees often figure it out themselves." 
3. Managers believe they're getting a good value for the money they are spending. "The vendor was able to do the customization at a reasonable price." 
4. Managers have a clear idea of why they're using the solution. They've carefully determined organizational and metrics requirements prior to purchase. They've focused on the type of business partnership they can have with the vendor on a long term basis. As Bob the Builder says, they're using "the right tool for the job."
5. Managers are happy with technical support.  Yes, it can happen. The point is, responsiveness counts. "Support is wonderful; very prompt; we have a good account manager."

Notice that technological superiority or features didn't make it into the top 5. From the vendor it's about service, value, and relationships. From the customers, it's about planning, and having a firm notion of requirements. Food for thought as you come up for contract renewal, and for planning analytics projects for the coming year.

How do you pick a web analytics consultant?

How do you pick a web analytics consultant?

It's a question you'll likely need to answer if you manage web analytics, marketing, e-commerce, or web content.

In Forrester's recent Where to Get Help With Web Analytics,there are 91 firms claiming to have expertise in web analytics consulting; 51 in North America alone.

I was surprised to see so many; then again web analytics is hot right now, so lots of folks are eager to hang a shingle. In addition, Omniture's move to add certified consultants is also contributing to the growth in the ranks.

Maybe it's a good news/bad news scenario...a few years ago it was easier to choose because there weren't as many consultants, but you couldn't be assured there was an organization that met your requirements. Now there's more to choose from, but how do you select between the top 2 or 3 that meet your requirements.

While price still matters a great deal, I've always found that intangibles count for a lot...to be able to communicate in plain language, to understand your business, to recognize and appreciate the relationship between technology and business,and to have the ability to bridge gaps between stakeholders with varied agendas.

I've hired and worked with a diverse set of consultants over the years...and I've been a consultant as well. Whether its web analytics, or mortgages, successful engagements are built on communication and relationships.

Industry thought leadership, and a long list of speaking engagements are simply pre-requisites for consideration. Get to know your potential consultants a bit more than what is reflected in the proposal and meeting. Figure out how they'll work with you and your stakeholders. When you talk to references, find out how consultants worked with their client teams, not just whether they were proficient in building page tags. Get a sense for how they handle mistakes, or surprises.

If you take these extra steps, you'll find that you'll be selecting a business partner who you'll be able to depend on and grow with for a very long time.

“Car Talk” for Web Analytics

Tom and Ray Magliozzi won’t be there...sure, we tried to convince them, but they wouldn't leave the garage and join us at Semphonic Central...

Nevertheless, Ask Semphonic is going to be even more informative and more entertaining...about web analytics.

If you haven't already signed up, read Gary and Joel's posts, and know why you can't miss this.

If you've been procrastinating and waiting to the last minute to sign up...well, we're approaching the last minute...

Ask Semphonic is on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 11:00AM Pacific / 2:00PM Eastern.

The time to register is now...just go to: https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/320201650

If you don't know about Ask Semphonic, the 25 word or less summary is that it is a free, online, interactive webinar series with the Semphonic team... where you get to ask your questions and get no-nonsense, no-sales answers.

The theme of the first webinar will be the Omniture acquisition of Visual Sciences and what it means to customers and the vendor landscape.

Looking forward to having you join us!

WHEN: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 11:00AM Pacific / 2:00PM Eastern

To Register: Please visit https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/320201650

For more info: http://www.semphonic.com/analytics/asksem.asp