Online Mini-MBA™: Web Analytics

Introduction to Web Analytics

Avinash Kaushik and John Marshall provide a comprehensive overview of the foundations of Web Analytics, focusing on the challenges of Web Analytics at a conceptual level and outlining the ways which, in the upcoming curriculum, each topic plays into the next.

You Will Learn:

·   What metrics are worthy of being a key performance indicator.
·   Why aggregate data has no insights and how segmentation overcomes this problem.
·   Why your reports should contain different information depending on your audience.
·   The number of survey responses you need for a statistically significant result.
·   How multi-channel analytics allows for the efficient allocation of the marketing budget.

Introduction to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

In this video series Avinash explains the four attributes of a great KPI, and gives six examples of common KPIs, explaining what makes them great metrics. Additional focus is on selecting the most appropriate KPIs for your business and how to present them to your team as actionable directives.

You Will Learn:

·   How to identify great KPIs that are uncomplex, timely, relevant, and useful.
·   The difference between macro and micro conversions.
·   How to present KPIs to drive action.
·   How segmentation can make your KPIs more useful.
·   How to set up the ideal dashboard.

Advanced KPI Analysis Techniques

Learn to go beyond your initial KPI training with four unique metrics. You'll also discover multiple ways to improve your KPI's by changing how they are presented, simplifying them into their most basic forms, or combining them with other metrics.

You Will Learn:

·   How to limit the presentation of your data to create greater insights.
·   How to utilize raw numbers to clarify the meaning of percentages.
·   How to set up proper incentives.
·   How to avoid compound metrics.
·   How to avoid averages and what to look towards instead.

Segmentation: Introduction and Advanced Segmentation Techniques 

In this introduction to Web Analytics segmentation, Avinash shares his tips for easily segmenting your data and why it's an excellent strategy for gaining insights into your visitors. You'll learn five easy ways to segment your data using analytics software from Google Analytics, ClickTracks, and IndexTools and what actions you can take with your new insights.

You Will Learn:

·   Why segmentation is so important.
·   How to do basic segmentation in Google Analytics, ClickTracks, and IndexTools.
·   How to segment by new vs. returning users and how this allows you to customize user experiences.
·   How to segment based on search traffic.
·   How to segment by referring sites and how this allows you to optimize your acquisitions.
·   How to build micro segments.

Google Analytics Features: Segmentation

Avinash walks you through the more advanced capabilities built into Google Analytics and explains why they take analytics data to a whole new dimension.

You Will Learn:

·   How to use motion charts in Google Analytics to analyze multi-dimensional data.
·   How to see how your data changes over time.
·   How to use the custom reporting feature in Google Analytics.
·   How to use the segmentation capabilities in Google Analytics.
·   How to use the ecommerce reporting in Google Analytics to track affiliate data.

Generating Engaging and Actionable Web Analyics Report

Avinash shares his absolute favorite web analytics reports, each one guaranteed to give you actionable insights. They'll help you look at your Search data much more effectively, identify all your "home pages", understand "conversion behavior", revisit the linking strategy for your core pages and help you isolate emerging trends in your data.

You Will Learn:

·   To match your keywords to the right search engine for the right purpose.
·   Why your home page is less important today than it was in the past.
·   How to segment by days- and visits-to-purchase to understand customer purchase behavior.
·   How the "time to page" report can make you revisit your linking strategy.
·   How you can use Greasemonkey to add a "What's Changed Report" to Google Analytics.

Generating Valuable Date From Internal Search Analytics

Learn to read your internal data and set context around trends that are driving usage of search on your website. Start understanding why it's critical to access and analyze this all-important data from your website and incorporate it into your Web Analytics process. Learn four different types of analysis that you should be doing with your internal search data, including "What are people searching for?" and "How good is my search results quality?"

You Will Learn:

·   Why internal site search is important.
·   The two things that are critical to getting benefits from your internal site search data.
·   How you can get your hands on internal site search data.
·   What internal site search metrics you should focus on.
·   How to segment your internal search data.

Website Surveys Part 1: The Basics

Learn why surveys are a key component of your web analytics strategy and how you can gain tremendous insight into your website visitors by asking three simple questions. Avinash explains the types of surveys you should be running on your website, the strengths and weaknesses of each type, and how to invite users to fill out a survey without sending them running for the back button.

You Will Learn:

·   Why surveys are a key component of your web analytics strategy.
·   Why web analytics is good at the "what?" and bad at the "why?"
·   Which survey invitation methods are most effective.
·   Three simple questions to ask your visitors.
·   Three golden nuggets of information you are looking for from surveys.

Experimentation and Testing: Why You Can't Survive Without It

In this section you'll learn how to unlock the power of testing. You don't have to guess what makes a great site experience; you can "ask" the people who are on your website!

You Will Learn:

·   Why you are at a strategic disadvantage if you are not testing.
·   The three questions you should be asking your visitors.
·   The greatest challenge for any marketer.
·   Why relevancy is most important to improving conversion rates.
·   The enormous benefits of experimentation and testing.

Experimentation and Testing Demystified: A/B and Multivariate Testing

There are two main types of testing, each right to solve a particular set of problems. After reviewing this module, you will never be confused about how to use A/B or multivariate tests on your site. In fact, you'll be able to go out and teach others!

You Will Learn:

·   The definition of A/B testing.
·   The pros and cons of A/B testing.
·   How multivariate testing works.
·   Who the major multivariate testing vendors are.
·   The pros and cons of multivariate testing.

Multi-Channel Analtics: Going Beyond the Website

Not all campaigns originate and finish online. As a result, it's important to understand how to test, measure, and join your offline activity with your online data. Learn four ways to measure the effects your offline marketing has on your online goals to finally overcome that nagging fear that you're bleeding data.

You Will Learn:

·   Why multi-channel analytics is so important to your business.
·   The challenges that you face in measuring multi-channel activity.
·   Four ways to measure how your online channel is benefitting from offline activity.
·   How to use unique coupons and offers in offline campaigns.
·   How to correlate traffic patterns with offline campaigns.