Web Analytics Training

At Bruce Clay, Inc., we are in the process of developing a web analytics
training program and will let you know when this training
class becomes available. In the meantime, we can offer one-on-one counseling
to subscribers.

An educational program that we provide is our SEO training course, which will give you the background
you need to select the right web metrics for analysis that will improve your
website and marketing campaign performance.

Data Collection

Good web analytics tools collect data from your server log files through page tagging with JavaScript cookies. There is a lot of raw data available in your log files but some of it may not even be useful. The challenge is to know what to measure and why, analyzing only the data that matters.

You have to know how to select and then analyze the right data relationships to get actionable metrics that can be used to improve performance for your website and marketing campaigns. These metrics can then be tracked over time for continuous improvement.

Do Marketers Know What Data to Collect?

Some marketers haven’t a clue about what data to measure and analyze, much less how to track progress for continuous improvement. Sometimes the most popular indicators are not the best metrics to focus on.

With today’s analytics solutions, you get a wide variety of reports that analyze data from every possible angle. Marketers find themselves with highly sophisticated reports and sometimes have no idea what the numbers mean. In fact, many marketers don’t know what their customers do once they enter the homepage.

An SEO vendor can suggest what a site owner should be looking for, but that may not yield the best actionable data because only the site owner knows the priorities of his/her business goals. For instance, an increase in pageviews or search engine referrals sounds like very good news. But are these the metrics needed to improve your website’s performance?

Suppose a content site sees a drop-off in newsletter readership and wants to address this problem. Does the number of pageviews or search engine referrals tell them anything? What they need is to examine is the path taken by visitors when navigating the site. This can be done with a conversion funnel, identifying the bottleneck that prevents the final action from taking place. It might be that everything works well up to the point where the prospect must send the sign-up form, and that’s where abandonment takes place. A review of the form could reveal that it requests too much personal information, and users get cold feet. In that case, the number of pageviews and search engine referrals are moot.

Web Analytics Counseling

It is important for the site owner to set objectives based on their business goals, then select the right metrics for analysis. Analytics experts know how to dictate these choices. If a company does not have analytics expertise within its staff, it’s important to know that your web analytics solution can provide training in the form of optional counseling. This contract option for web analytics assistance comes with an Analytics Analyst assigned to your project, as well as tool setup, recommendation of best practices, report configuration and report interpretation.

A good understanding of your business objectives and the analytical tools to achieve them will help identify website problems for improvement resulting in enhanced site performance. But it is necessary to select the right metrics and reports from an abundance of available statistical data in order to make efficient use of your analytics tool.

A good analytics tool will illuminate your understanding of bottom line metrics at the macro level while solving problem areas at the micro level to improve performance. You can automate this process by implementing an analytics continuous improvement program.

The Digital Analytics Association & UBC Award of Achievement

The Digital Analytics Association (DAA) provides training through the University of British Columbia (UBC), issuing the UBC Award of Achievement upon completion. This is the only educational program of its kind.

The DAA partners with UBC to offer courses, webinars, events and a certification in digital analytics that can support your professional development.

For other educational options, the DAA has compiled a list of colleges and universities that offer courses in digital analytics on its Analytics Programs and Courses page.

Introduction to Web Analytics

A website can be a core business and communication channel that provides a direct link to current and potential customers. Unique to this medium is the ability to quantifiably measure and define the nature of the client interaction through web analytics. Successful organizations today are leveraging the power of web analytics to realize the full potential of their websites, developing and maintaining deeper client relationships that create measurable value to the business. In an introductory course, students will be exposed to the key concepts, tools, techniques and practices of digital analytics. Drawing extensively from case studies and rooted in practical application, participants should understand how web analytics can drive higher profits and improve the customer experience. Participants will also be exposed to techniques they can use to successfully advocate and promote the use of web analytics in their organization.