More clarity through web analytics
Sometimes it changes very quickly: One minute the virtual shopping basket is overflowing, the next minute the purchase process is cancelled. But why?
What at first can only be suspected can be proven with data and subsequently optimised, thanks to web analytics. Dennis Looks, Junior Marketing Analyst at ecx.io — an IBM Company — explains in an interview how companies can lay the foundations for digital marketing using web analytics, and which insights lead to better visibility in customer and purchasing behaviour.
Mr Looks, at ecx.io you carry out web analytics amongst other things. Can you sum up what web analytics is?
Looks: At ecx.io, web analytics is part of Insights Management. Web analytics is the basis for data-driven online marketing. It is used for collecting, analysing and interpreting data, identifying optimisation potentials at the end of the process and making recommendations for action. It is essential for businesses to understand surfing behaviour and thereby improve the digital customer experience.
What services are offered within the framework of web analytics?
Looks: Web analytics focuses on the website as a whole. First we look at the current picture and then we provide our customers with direct access to the analysis tool kit for their website. ecx.io is very well established in the digital domain — beginning with the identification of the different tools in the market. Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics and Webtrends are only a few. Our advantage is that we are not locked in to any one tool, but can adapt ourselves individually to each customer. We work with whichever tool our customer is using.
Another plus is our workshops, which show what can be achieved with web analytics. Through these, companies that so far have had little experience in this area can take their first steps. In workshops, we explain the basics of the common definition of objectives and performance indicators and the evaluation of the data collected, as well as how to work with the various tools.
What insights can be gained from web analytics?
Looks: For a better understanding I would like to use the example of an online shop. Web analytics provides the insights for data-driven online marketing in order to satisfy the customer and retain him in the long term. For this reason, we accompany the whole customer journey. In order to attract and retain customers, it is important to learn how to convert users into customers, so we specifically ask: Via which channel has the user come to the online store — is it google or Facebook? How does he navigate within the site? Which keywords are relevant to him? Which product groups attract his interest? Ultimately web analytics also helps establish why a buying process is aborted. With the help of web analytics, we can also tell which products generate the most revenue, how high the average transaction value of the user is, and how well or badly individual products sell. Web analytics reveals revenue potential for the shop operator and gives him the opportunity to revise his range.
When is web analytics useful?
Looks: You can’t generalise about a right time — the time is always right. Web analytics needs to be seen as a continually ongoing process which should be repeated again and again. Regular analysis and regular testing is necessary because external influences are always changing rapidly, whether through new user channels or new competitors. Web analytics as an instrument of control is therefore a component of continual improvement and contributes to long-term success. A complete web analysis usually takes an average of two to three days.
What are the goals of web analytics?
Looks: They can be quite different depending on the strategic direction and the type of website concerned. The basic question to be answered is why a company presents itself and offers its products and services on the web. If we stay with the previous example of an online shop, growth in revenue and increased sales of a particular product are the most relevant objectives of the web analysis. Further goals could be the generation of contacts, more traffic on the website and the testing of the online marketing efforts. Often it is about directing more traffic to the online shop, showcasing the product range in the best possible way and supporting the purchase process in particular. This includes, for example, using web analytics to keep ordering processes as simple as possible in order to optimise the usability for the end customer.
What challenges arise in web analytics and what trends do you see in the future?
Looks: The increasing integration of the customer is the dominant theme, forcing web analytics in the future to be ever more inclusive and cross-channel. Generally speaking, the challenge is to not lose focus because of the ever increasing complexity and large number of suppliers.
Interview with Dennis Looks (Marketing Analyst, ecx.io — an IBM Company)
