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Once your advisory firm has an online presence (including accounts on Twitter and LinkedIn), and is using­ search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to enhance its Web site, it’s time to see how all of those efforts are working. This is where Web analytics come into play.

According to the Web Analytics Association (WAA), Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage. In other words, they help you measure results of your online efforts and see where improvements can be made—ultimately leading to growth of your business.

Segmenting Analytics

There are two broad camps of Web analytics: off-site and on-site. Off-site analytics refer to online activity relating to your company, but happening away from your company’s primary Web site. They includes measurement of potential audience (opportunity), share of voice (visibility), and buzz (comments) that your company is generating.

On-site Web analytics measure a visitor’s journey once on your site. This includes examining how they found your site, which tabs they are most likely to click on, how long they stay, and how frequently they come back.

Five Steps

Adobe says there are five steps to achieve an effective measurement program. They are:

1. Measure. Recently, companies have moved away from measuring volumes of raw data that may provide little or no insight (number of clicks, for instance), and are instead focusing on measuring the impact on key business objectives. This requires selecting key performance indicators (KPIs), phrases that match up with your business objectives, such as geographic identifiers or services offered. When these terms are selected, you’ll be able to measure the strength of those search terms in getting people to your site.

2. Report. Once measurements are taken, you have to share the results—the positive and the negative—with your business partners. It’s also the best way to ensure that everybody remains on the same page, explains Adobe. Key measurements, when reported within the proper context,
will lead to better decisions.

3. Analyze. Once the data have been measured and laid out on the table, it is time to analyze which parts of your online strategy are working and which are not. Most analytics programs have dashboards and graphics (similar to many client management tools) that allow you to see at a glance how a particular campaign, advertising source, promotion, or other investment paid off in terms of immediate purchases, revenue, application rate, or lifetime profit. Being able to gauge quickly the ROI of any specific initiative helps you reallocate­ your dollars and realign your tactics­ quickly—before more time and resources­ are wasted.

4. Optimize. Armed with all of this meaningful information, it becomes much easier to make decisions about your business tactics; you know exactly what’s working and what’s not. The nature of online business allows for on-the-fly adjustments to your Web site or advertising and marketing programs.

5. Innovate. Adobe recommends that business owners should not be afraid to take some risks with their Web sites—nothing on your site has to be permanent, so try out different techniques.

Challenges and Other Programs

The most common challenge expressed by those undertaking a Web analytics program is not knowing what action to take as a result of all the collected data, according to Forrester Research.

The most widely used Web analytics, Google Analytics, is free. Tech critics say Adobe’s for-purchase solutions are more robust, yet they can be overly complex for novice users.

—Nicole Bliman