Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
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The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics Dan Berlin Mike Ryan Bob Thomas May 28, 2008 Source: http://crazyegg.com/ . Reprinted with permission of Crazy Egg. Inc.
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Organizations today use web analytics tools to track hits and page views but a hit is only a line in a web log. What do you do with that data? Web analytics is no longer just about hits and page view traffic. Mechanisms are available that allow a practitioner to get a fully-rounded view of the user via their navigation behavior. In the realm of usability, we tend to concentrate on qualitative information, which serves us well. However, quantitative data can be more salient to clients. Web analytics provides this quantitative data and offers a perfect complement to usability studies. Demographics are only part of the equation. As Joseph Carrabis, Principal of Next Stage Evolution, states, “I know who you are within two seconds, but those are the cheap seats. That doesn't interest me anymore.” Companies want to determine how the online behavior of their website visitors aligns with their business goals and strategic direction. Or as Judah Phillips, Director of Web Analytics at Reed Business, says, “Web analytics refers to the collection, measurement, reporting, and analysis around qualitative and quantitative information related to the behavior of an online audience.” This presentation will inform usability practitioners about the pros and cons of incorporating web analytics into their work. It will discuss different approaches to web analytics, including: “Homepage hits” “Integration of website activity… with the offline business” “Navigation behavior of the visitor” “Psychological engagement of the visitor” “Physiological measurements of the visitor” “Return on investment (ROI), as measured by key performance indicators (KPI)” - Paul Legutko, Vice President of Analytics, Semphonics
Transcript of Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
The Convergence of Usability and Web AnalyticsDan BerlinMike RyanBob ThomasMay 28, 2008
Source: http://crazyegg.com/. Reprinted with permission of Crazy Egg. Inc.
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
Agenda
• What is Web Analytics
• How Organizations Use the Data
• Pros & Cons of Using Web Analytics for Usability
• Key Players
• Conclusions
• References
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
What Is Web Analytics
“Web analytics is the study of the behavior of website visitors [and] refers to the use of data collected… to determine which aspects… work towards the business objectives.”
- Wikipedia
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
What Is Web Analytics
• “Web analytics brings in the data to provide a 360 degree view of the customer.”
• Track demographics and behaviors through data modeling
• Inspect web log data and compare it to baseline historical data to draw out behaviors and demographics
An Exit point report may show you what visitors were looking for. (Source: http://www.summary.net/manual/tutorial/lesson7-1.html)
Before After
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
Demographics“I know who you are within 2 seconds, but those are the cheap seats. That doesn’t interest me anymore.”-Joseph Carrabis, Principal, Next Stage Evolution
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
Behaviors“Web analytics refers to the collection, measurement, reporting, and analysis around qualitative and quantitative information related to the behavior of an online audience.”-Judah Phillips, Director of Web Analytics, Reed Business
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
Statistical Analysis“The best web analytics… [provide] actionable insights into the online channel from all different perspectives.”-Paul Legutko, VP of Senior Research, Semphonic
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
How Organizations Use the Data
• Website optimization
• Actionable items and decision support
• Alignment with business goals
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
How Organizations Use the Data
• Website optimization• Compare data to databases
• Where are users going?
• What is their behavior?
• Target data to those who can use it
• Statistical analysis
• Sourcing, channel return on investment (ROI)
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
How Organizations Use the Data“Optimization concerns not only… how the page might be designed. It also has to do with things like… ROI.”-Paul Legutko, VP of Senior Research, Semphonic
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
How Organizations Use the Data
• Actionable items and decision support• Modeling is the key tool
• Can give logic/decision trees
• Can supply quantitative reasons for changes
• Always the client’s decision
• Websites can customize sites to users
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
How Organizations Use the Data“Give them action and reasons for the action, and best possible outcomes of the actions, so that they can make their own decisions.”-Joseph Carrabis, Principal, Next Stage Evolution
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
How Organizations Use the Data
• Alignment with business goals• Can’t collect the correct data without knowing
goals
• Business goals and rules are paramount
• Is the site achieving its business goal?
• How much are certain types of customers spending?
• What is the conversion rate?
• Give a fully rounded view of the customer
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
How Organizations Use the Data“What’s the reason the website exists? Without knowing the goals, it’s really hard to apply data to solve the problem.”-Judah Phillips, Director of Web Analytics, Reed Business
The Convergence of Usability and Web AnalyticsUsing Web Analytics Data
to Understand Usability Issues
• Pros• Tracks JavaScript events
• Behavior analytics
• Lots of data
• Confirm or deny data found in a usability test
• Form hypothesis to do usability testing
• Information architecture
• “Web analytics can tell you what’s working and not working”
The Convergence of Usability and Web AnalyticsUsing Web Analytics Data
to Understand Usability Issues• Cons
• There’s no human element• Intimidating amount of data• Isolated from users• Looking at data, not real behavior• Just current users
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
Cons“…usability studies that companies do tend to be divorced… from web analytics.”-Paul Legutko, VP of Senior Research, Semphonic
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
Key Players
Free Google Analytics
Web-Based Applications
compete.com crazyegg.com hitwise.com indexTools quantcast.com
Software Applications
ClickTracks Coremetrics HBX AnalyticsVisual Sciences WebSideStory
OmnitureDiscoverGenesisNetTrackerSiteCatalystTouchClarity
SAS WebHound
UnicaInsightNetTracker
WebTrends
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
Conclusions
• Overlap of web analytics and usability• Align with business objectives
• Incorporate both into iterative designbest practices
• Use both: one informs the other
• “Web analytics is not only a technology but also a way of mind”
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
References
• Web Analytics Companies• www.clicktracks.com• www.compete.com• www.coremetrics.com• www.crazyegg.com• www.google.com/analytics• www.hitwise.com• www.omniture.com• www.quantcast.com• www.sas.com• www.unica.com• www.websidestory.com• www.webtrends.com
• Web Standards Committee• www.webanalyticsassociation.org
The Convergence of Usability and Web Analytics
References
• Participants’ Websites• www.nextstagevolution.com• www.reed-elsevier.com• www.semphonic.com
• Blogs on Roundtable Discussion• Joseph Carrabis
www.bizmediascience.com/2007/10/visitors_truth_false_informati_1.html
• Paul Legutkolegutko.typepad.com/waa/2007/10/web-analytics-t.html
