Must-reads from the Google Evangelist
by Alasdair Peoples, originally posted on March 30th 2016
Avinash Kaushik is one of the most recognisable voices in the world of analytics and digital marketing. This popular so-called ‘Google Evangelist’ has been ruffling feathers and deciphering search engine mysteries for over a decade now. He’s an expert in extracting meaningful stories from data, and then turning these thoughts into actionable insight.
“He’s a legend because he brings the fairly dry subject of analytics to life.” — Simon Bennison, Head of Creative at Caliber.
Kaushik’s blog, Occam’s Razor, is a goldmine of web analytics and data intelligence. And like all good blogs, Occam’s Razor engages in a dialogue with its readers. Kaushik’s insights are always energetic, inspiring and practical. Here are 5 articles you must read:
See-Think-Do: A Content, Marketing, Measurement Business Framework
In this article, Kaushik sets out his SEE-THINK-DO-CARE marketing framework. This distils his thinking about the centricity of the customer in the age of content marketing. Each stage of the framework represents a different stage of your online audience’s transactional journey, and some they’ll experience after converting, too.
“By shifting the focus onto human attributes, he encourages you to think about the stories behind the data. He’s also an advocate for simplicity. Fix the basics before getting carried away with the advanced stuff.” — Simon Bennison
Using this framework allows businesses to identify gaps in their content strategy — armed with SEE-THINK-DO-CARE, they can ask themselves, ‘do our marketing initiatives fully reflect each consideration stage?’ The idea is simple, but therein lies its power. At Caliber, Kaushik’s SEE-THINK-DO-CARE framework is integral to our thinking about user journey.
Rock Analytics More: Obsess About Goals And Goal Values!
‘If you don’t have goals, you are not doing digital analytics. You are doing I am wasting earth’s precious oxygenalytics.’ — Avinash Kaushik
This typical Kaushik opener, confrontational but completely on the money, grabs your attention before his post takes you through five analytics goals that every business should set up and monitor.
These range from destination and engagement goals to micro- and macro-outcome goals. He also looks more generally at the key reasons why you should be identifying goals and their economic value.
The Biggest Mistake Web Analysts Make… And How To Avoid It!
You could call Avinash Kaushik the analyst’s analyst. This article shows how experienced insight professionals can bring more focus to their digital analytics work. Whether you work for an SEO agency or a London-based bank — or simply manage your own blog — you’ll be hard pushed not to find some glistening pearls of wisdom here.
“There’s something in Occam’s Razor for everyone really — from beginner to expert.” — Simon Bennison
Multi-Channel Attribution: Definitions, Models and a Reality Check
In this article, Kaushik outlines the challenges and potential solutions to multi-channel attribution-related problems faced by marketers.
At the time of publication, multi-channel attribution was just emerging as a key factor for many digital marketing campaigns. With hindsight, it’s no surprise that Kaushik had clocked onto it early.
Today, multi-channel attribution is just as important, and marketers are ever-keen to accurately measure the impact of their efforts. The more precise your data, the more useful it will be for making those all-important strategic decisions.
The 10 / 90 Rule for Magnificent Web Analytics Success
Understandably, there’s nothing more important to Avinash Kaushik than ROI. In this final article, Kaushik talks us through how to get the highest value from web analytics. This is imperative at enterprise level, where the amount of website data collected can be staggering and difficult to navigate even for experienced professionals.
The key takeaway is that when it comes to data, businesses need to invest in people more than technology. There is little to no point in having reams of data if no one can analyse it and use it to make critical business decisions.
If you can’t already tell, we’re big fans of Avinash Kaushik here at Caliber. He encapsulates two things which we admire in the business — truth and beauty.
Take a look at our work and see how Smart Organic Marketing compares to the values set out by the man himself.
