Web Analytics: Are We Losing Focus On What Really Matters?: PPC Blog | PPC News & Opinion

Stay Connected with SemGeek

« Paid Search: Measuring Keyword Intent Early In The Game| Main | Query Eyed for the Straight Keyword Results»

Monday, August 13, 2007

Web Analytics: Are We Losing Focus On What Really Matters?

Twit This Buttongreat free widgetsWidgetbox

Why is it becoming more and more difficult to go from "Point A to Point B" these days with regard to Web Analytics. Which is more important to you? Identifying what is working and what not is working? or whether you have sold 2 more blue widgets than red widgets and that those blue widget purchases came during a 1 hour time span served from 2 different search engines with totally different Ad/Creatives. Are you getting the point?

Well, unless you have an infinite amount of free time (which I doubt) or if you have (12) twelve interns working around the clock looking at this stuff in a high powered expensive analytics package, I would think it's more productive to identify the following:

Why did they buy?
Why didn't they buy?
How can I make more people buy?

My point with this article is that we have been consumed and taught (of course with fancy presentations and lots of chotckys) to take advantage of all of these "Top of the Line yet expensive bells and whistles that will tell you the world and predict everything about visitor that you could ever want to know. But why waste hours focusing on the intricate little details and more of the "why". At the end of the day, understanding the “why” is what actually moves the revenue dial. Also, how can we afford to get so deep in the weeds, when we have so many variables affecting the performance of Paid Search.

Here are just a few:

Site Performance
Product Inventory
Competitive Bidding
Offers/Promotions
Product Pricing
Customer Service

Trust me, that is enough to qualify for a MIDOL moment.

Lack of Simplicity:

In all of this, we have lost Simplicity. The simplifying of highly complex reporting and analysis that tells an over-arching, high level story. We need to focus on the obvious and fix the big things first, then focus on the smaller things that require the deeper analysis and the "kudos" from your bosses and colleagues.

Analytics – Giving you more than you need

Analytics companies strive on providing you more than what you could ever want so they can get that edge on the competition. But again, DO YOU really need everything? Here's my real-life analogy (I hope the master of analogies is reading this article - you know who you are!)

You can buy a Lexus because it has wipers on it's headlights. But does that really matter? Are these wipers affecting your ability to get from Point-A to Point-B? Ummn, I don't think so.

Technorati Tags: analysis, analytics, clicktracks, conversion, coremetrics, omniture, paid search, ppc, sem, strategy, web analytics

Posted at 06:00 PM in Web Analytics | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c904953ef00e3933b71748834

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Web Analytics: Are We Losing Focus On What Really Matters?:

» Google Analyzed from RichContent Guide to Universal Search
Now, before I start, this isn't about the typical metrics you expect to see in print. No graphs. No trend analysis. Not even Page Rank. This is a reflection on Corporate Culture by a man I believe is one of the finest and most sincere (and brilliant) w... [Read More]