One of the biggest problems with web analytics these days is the almost limitless ability to create reports. While this can be great fun for we analytics junkies, it doesn't do much good to the person receiving the report if it's not presented in a fashion that they can understand it.

So, with this in mind, I've developed a short list of recommendations for helping others get the most out of web analytics reports.

1. Do not overwhelm them. Start with basic, but important measures that will segue into more important points later. Look at unique visits, conversions, revenue from your ad campaigns. Notice I said campaign and not keywords. Do not force a manager to look at 400 PPC keywords in an initial report. At worst, show some examples of the best and worst performers, and your course of action based on their results. That's enough.

2. Especially in your initial reports, speak their language, but start teaching them yours. Give them definitions in terms they can understand, but introduce them to terms to let them "into the club". Empowering and educating your audience can only help spread understanding within the organization.

3. Remember where you started. Take your initial KPI measures and burn them in their minds. Make reasonable goals and a plan to achieve them. Make sure they have a tangible, realized effect on the bottom line. Clearly define what that is in dollars and cents.

4. Be clear about context. Metrics can be deceiving. Time on site may decrease, but what is this a function of? Easier navigation or less user interest? If you don't know, you don't know. Be clear and honest, and then find ways to get answers.

5. Be smart with how reports are delivered. Size up the recipients. When they "get" it, let them have more. Otherwise, present information in digestible chunks. Powerpoint can be a good method, it will force you to condense data one slide at a time, rather than overwhelming someone with a mess of tables and graphs. As a colleague of mine once said, "If you have more than twelve slides, you're doing something wrong." Know your audience, and know when to use restraint. Don't let them suffer from paralysis by analysis, make sure you set proper intervals to give your changes time to show real results. Too much analysis too often can cause more harm than good.

Keeping these elements in mind can help set you or your clients up for successfully using web analytics. How you deliver your reports can help establish the right relationship and environment for analytics to support the long term success of your website and online marketing efforts.


About the Author:
Adam Henige is Managing Partner of Netvantage Marketing, a SEO, PPC, and web analytics consulting firm based in East Lansing, Michigan.

Submitted by netvantage