http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/657/Determine-Analytics-Questions-In-Advance/ User submitted comments to Practical Ecommerce's article entitled Determine Analytics Questions In Advance en-us Copyright 2007 Confluence Publishing Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:17:50 -0700 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/rss/ Practical Ecommerce v2.0.1 Ecommerce kmurdock@practicalecommerce.com bgetting@practicalecommerce.com 60 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/657/Determine-Analytics-Questions-In-Advance/#comment4740 Another problem we often see is the use of sophisticated web analytics tools as nothing more than another reporting tool. In one recent client case, for example, all kinds of web analytics reports were being looked at on a regular basis --- but just as a sort of "nice to know" piece of information. Using metrics to understand how you're doing is nice, but it's missing the point. The real power in measurement comes from using the numbers and ratios to significantly improve your performance. To do that, you need to get beyond the "nice-to-know" factor and ask powerful diagnostic questions like: Is this level of performance good or bad? Why is this metric at this level of performance? What is causing this metric to change over time? How can I profitably influence this metric in a sustainable way? Once you understand the root-causes behind the metrics and the various elements that can have an effect on the numbers themselves, you have the keys to identifying profitable,... Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:17:50 -0700 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/657/Determine-Analytics-Questions-In-Advance/#comment4740 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/657/Determine-Analytics-Questions-In-Advance/#comment4738 Good advice Michael. As someone who regularly reviews these analytics I can tell you the biggest thing I'm concerned about is the ROI. How much are we spending and what are we earning as a result? That's the bottomline I like to start with. Next, I want to know what's working and what's not? What are our top 5 or 10 keywords in our PPC campaigns that are working? Those keywords tell me a lot about what more we could do to capitalize on those. I like to see those on a week-to-week basis to see if there are any changes or trends. I also like to see what our worst 10 keywords and see if we should remove them or tweak them. I like to see these on a week-to-week basis and not be too quick to react. It can take months to see a positive ROI so it's important to keep that in perspective. And you're absolutely right, the most important thing is to make sure your analytics are giving you the information you need to make business decisions. Without that, you're just... Thu, 24 Jan 2008 07:34:13 -0700 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/657/Determine-Analytics-Questions-In-Advance/#comment4738