Recently a webcast presented to the members of the Web Analytics Association (WAA)* presented a forecast of the web analytics market in 2009. More than 600 businesses ranging from 5 to 5000+ employees took part and provided insights into their perception of - and spending intentions for – web analytics** products and services through 2009.
Web analytics - a necessary tool for any organization
While a relatively important percentage of organizations depends directly on the web to generate revenue, there is no exception to the rule that websites find their legitimacy of existence in fulfilling a specific objective such as in the form of providing news, putting people in contact with each other or generating leads. Without a clear objective in mind, maintaining a website becomes a hazardous undertaking at best and counterproductive to an organization’s mission at worst. This is to underline the importance of web analytics not just for ebusinesses, but for any organization that maintains a website: governmental agencies, corporations, non-governmental organizations, charities, foundations and of course, ebusinesses.
Knowing who is watching you, where they are located, what specifically they are looking at on your website, what path they are taking to get there and how long they stay on your website becomes crucial strategic information to achieve the objectives that your organization is hoping to see fulfilled.
What can we learn from those that use web analytics already?
In this context , it might be interesting to learn what organizations have to say that use web analytics already – from early adopters some six to eight years ago when web analytics were still in their infancy to companies that have added web intelligence to their portfolio only recently.
Web analytics to improve website functionality and conversion
In 2008, Over 75% of companies indicated that they used web analytics to improve website functionality in the context of conversion. Conversion is anything from downloading a document to filling out a form or making a sale. Conversion represents the fulfillment of a specific objective that has been defined beforehand and that must be taken into account for the design of web functionality, usability and visitor path to name just a few.
For example, if your objective would be to collect email addresses from people that are potentially interested in your product or service, you could decide to write a white paper about your industry sector and demonstrate how well your product or service answers existing needs in this industry sector. You would then place a banner on your homepage and send people form that banner to a page that allows you to collect your visitors name and e-mail addresses before they are allowed to download the white paper. The number of downloads of that white paper would be your conversion.
75% of companies indicate that website functionality in the context of conversion optimization is their main purpose of using web analytics. This is to underline how many companies have understood that, of course, it is not enough to have a website and hope for the best, but how much more important it is to have a website that achieves goals. Web analytics helps us to better understand how our website attracts and hopefully keeps eyeballs. Turning eyeballs into assets is an integral part of that process when it comes to achieving precise goals. These assets may come in various forms: increased readership, more product inquiries and higher sales volumes.
In my next blog, I will be continuing my analysis of answers to important questions in relationship to web analytics, such as: What type of solutions are available? How much do they cost? How satisfied are users with their solutions? Stay tuned…
* For more information on the Web Analytics Association, please visit: www.webanalyticsassociation.org
** Web analytics include the measurement, collection, analysis and interpretation of online marketing metrics for purposes of understanding and optimizing web site usage.
About the participants of the web analytics survey:
