Importance of Web Analytics and a Data-Driven Culture
Posted By Industrial Web Solutions Marketing Team on May 18, 2010
As we all know Web Analytics helps us to plan for the future by understanding the recent past. The beauty of web analytics is the immediacy of the data. Depending on the analytics application you are using, on demand and up-to-the-minute reporting is available to provide you with a birds-eye view into the online behavior of your website visitors as well as email marketing and online advertising respondents.
For a variety of reasons, typically time and a limited understanding of how to effectively use the data, many organizations have still not tapped into the value of their website analytics. They may have gotten as far as implementing say Google Analytics on their web pages but they really don’t do anything with the information that is just accumulating there.
This is really a shame because goal setting, strategic planning and on-going maintenance to improve results are so much more effective when based on reliable data. A couple of pioneers of web analytics believe so strongly in the efficacy of a data-driven culture that they have established services offered free of charge to non-profit organizations to help them implement analytics and learn how to set and achieve goals using the data.
In a recent Jim Sterne article for ClickZ “Nonprofits Profit From Web Analytics Volunteers” he talks about the noble work being done by Eric T. Peterson’s Analysis Exchange and Stéphane Hamel’s work within the Web Analytics Association on Web Analytics Without Borders (WAWB). Who would have thought that web analytics could have a philanthropic mission? Well Peterson, Hamel and their respective teams did and now they are helping hundreds of worldwide humanitarian organizations become more effective through the use of web analytics.
Philanthropic organizations have a difficult uphill battle because they have to convince their target audience groups of the value of what they are doing. They really can’t offer their supporters anything other than satisfaction, maybe a little publicity, and a bit of a tax deduction. So understanding the response to their message, programs, events and online media is critical to their survival. Web analytics is proving to be the resource that helps them to enhance their ability to help others.
Commerce endeavors have different challenges but can at least rely on the fact that they know they offer something that someone wants to buy because it fulfills a more tangible need or desire. Why not learn how web analytics can help you establish a data-driven culture in your organization that allows you to set goals and implement strategies based on measurable results?
I would suggest give Clicktale a try. I’ve been using it for 2 months and it is neat to watch what your users do, I learned a lot.
Thank you for the suggestion. Our readers are always happy to learn about helpful tools.