When approached with clear intentions, web analytics can be a game-changing part of any online presence. It can inform massive redesigns, drive additional engagement, and spur continued site improvements. Despite its potential, the full power of analytics is often neutered by a misappropriation of priorities and resources, leading to a stream of sterile, uninspiring reports and dashboards. Learn to recognize these challenges, identify them within your own organization, and confront them head on. We’ll explore the distinction between ‘interesting’ and ‘actionable’ data, the downsides of monthly reports, and the importance of the 10/90 rule. Finally, we’ll identify a single word that will immediately push your analytics strategy in the right direction: “Why?”.

1. Stop Wasting
Your Analytics Budget
October 2016
Mitch Daniels
Digital Analyst at Viget

3. How’s our site doing?

11. ✘

12. Establish Meaningful Goals
Share Decision Context
Deliver Actionable Analysis
1
2
3

13. Establish Meaningful Goals
Share Decision Context
Deliver Actionable Analysis
1
2
3

14. The Problem

15. Common Requests
• We want to know how our site is doing.
• We want to know if we’re ‘moving the needle’.
• We want to be able to show progress / improvements.

16. Common Goals
• Increase traffic
• Increase engagement (pages / session; time on site)
• Reduce bounce rate
• Drive more email signups

17. Weak goals yield
weak results.

18. Common Goals
• Increase traffic
• Increase engagement (pages / session; time on site)
• Reduce bounce rate
• Drive more email signups

19. Effective goals are
clear, actionable and
meaningful.

22. Total Time Reading (TTR)

23. Goal Framework

24. Goal Framework
Business Objective
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
What are our the overarching
goals of our organization?

25. Goal Framework
Business Objective
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
What are our the overarching
goals of our organization?
“Don’t let
your dreams
be dreams.”

26. Goal Framework
Business Objective
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
What are our the overarching
goals of our organization?
• Increase Undergraduate Enrollment
• Grow Alumni Donations
• Improve Student Retention
• Recruit High-Quality Faculty

27. Goal Framework
Business Objective
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
What are our the overarching
goals of our organization?
• Increase Undergraduate Enrollment
• Grow Alumni Donations
• Improve Student Retention
• Recruit High-Quality Faculty

28. Goal Framework
Increase Undergrad
Enrollment
Site Goal SITE GOALS
How does our website
contribute to the objective?
• Communicate value proposition
• Provide path to application

29. Goal Framework
Increase Undergrad
Enrollment
Communicate Value Prop
Provide Application Path

30. Goal Framework
Increase Undergrad
Enrollment
Communicate Value Prop
Provide Application Path
KPIs
How do we measure progress
against site goals?
• Sessions viewing ‘Student Life’ content
• Interest email sign-ups
• Campus tour sign-ups

31. Goal Framework
Increase Undergrad
Enrollment
Provide Application Path
KPIs
How do we measure progress
against site goals?
Communicate Value Prop
• ‘Student Life’ sessions
• Interest email sign-ups
• Campus visit sign-ups

32. Goal Framework
Increase Undergrad
Enrollment
Provide Application Path
KPIs
How do we measure progress
against site goals?
Communicate Value Prop
• ‘Student Life’ sessions
• Interest email sign-ups
• Campus visit sign-ups
• Online application starts
• Online application completions

33. Goal Framework
Increase Undergrad
Enrollment
Communicate Value Prop
• ‘Student Life’ sessions
• Interest email sign-ups
• Campus visit sign-ups
Provide Application Path
• Online application starts
• Online application completions
Effective goals are
clear, actionable and
meaningful.

34. Goal Framework
Increase Undergrad
Enrollment
Communicate Value Prop
• ‘Student Life’ sessions
• Interest email sign-ups
• Campus visit sign-ups
Provide Application Path
• Online application starts
• Online application completions

35. Establish Meaningful Goals
Share Decision Context
Deliver Actionable Analysis
1
3
2

36. The Problem

37. Decision Context
• Priorities
- Risk aversion
- Appetite for change
- Politics vs data
• Constraints
- Development resources
- Budget
- Stakeholder approval

38. Media Spend Optimization
SITE GOAL
Facilitate MBA applications
KPI
Number of started MBA applications

39. Media Spend Optimization
How can we grow our MBA application numbers
using our existing budget?
Decision Context
• Timeline
- Budget approved annually
• Constraints
- Maximum total budget
- Minimum spend on certain outlets

40. Identify constraints,
priorities and resources.
Be realistic.

41. Establish Meaningful Goals
Share Decision Context
Deliver Actionable Analysis
1
2
3

42. Establish Meaningful Goals
Share Decision Context
Deliver Actionable Analysis
1
2
3
>>> Configure tracking

43. Analytics budget
10% on tools / tracking
90% on analysis

44. Configure tracking
KPIs > Tracking Requirements

45. Establish Meaningful Goals
Share Decision Context
Deliver Actionable Analysis
1
2
3

46. Typical Web Reporting
• Year-over-year, visitors increased 18% from 8,951
to 10,562
• Page entrances to the homepage increased 26% from 6,718 to
8,468
• Page entrances to the /solutions pages decreased 15% from 491
to 419
• Page entrances from Google increased 8% from 6,718 to 7,235
• Contact Us form submits decreased from 17 to 16

47. Typical Web Reporting
Traffic Source Visits Bounce Rate Avg Time on Site
{redacted} / referral 79,976 22% 1:37
Google / sem 34,797 54% 0:56
{redacted} / referral 21,697 34% 1:20
Facebook / social 17,901 78% 0:53
paid.outbrain.com / referral 14,996 77% 0:35
Twitter / social 12,299 83% 0:24
(direct) / (none) 10,913 45% 2:26
Undertone / display 7,299 69% 0:42
google / organic 2,013 42% 2:42
uni-watch.com / referral 1,570 25% 1:02
TOP TRAFFIC SOURCES
Device Visits Bounce Rate Avg Time on Site
Apple iPad 27,973 54% 0:56
Apple iPhone 21,457 76% 0:36
Samsung Galaxy S 9,669 76% 0:48
TOP DEVICES

49. “
Avinash Kaushik
Digital Marketing Evangelist at Google
If you see a data puke then you know you are
looking at the result of web reporting …
If you see words in English outlining actions…
then you are looking at the result of web data
analysis.

50. web reporting
• tables, charts, graphs
• something happened
• past tense
web data analysis
• paragraphs
• why something happened
• Forward looking
• Recommendations

51. web reporting web data analysis
• informs (hopefully!) • inspires action

52. web reporting web data analysis

53. Why?

54. So What?

55. We should…

56. Typical Web Reporting
Year-over-year, visitors increased 18% from 8,951
to 10,562
Why?
Google organic traffic landing on /admissions.
So what?
These sessions bounce 10x more often than average.
We should…
create a CTA on the /admissions page to engage this
growing audience.

57. Web Data Analysis
Create a CTA on the /admissions page to engage the
growing Google organic audience.
Bonus!
If 5% of these sessions convert, we’ll see up to 500
additional applications in the next year.

58. Recommendation Level of Effort Priority (1-10) Status
Create stronger CTA on
admissions page
Medium Low Implemented
Link to Student Life more
prominently in the main nav
Low High To-Do

59. (a word of caution)

61. Recommendations Status

62. Recommendations Status
to-do
✔
✔
✘

63. Recommendations Status
to-do
✔
✔
✘

64. Recommendations Status
to-do
to-do
to-do
to-do
✔
✔
✘
✘

65. Recommendations Status
to-do
to-do
to-do
to-do
to-do
to-do
✔
✔
✘
✘
✔
✔

66. Deliver Actionable Analysis
• Use your goals and decision context
• “Why?”,
• “So What?”
• “We should…”
• Align reporting to your organization’s speed

67. Establish Meaningful Goals1
Share Decision Context2
Deliver Actionable Analysis3
>>> Configure tracking

72. Thanks!