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Analytics & Data

Our coverage of analytics recognizes that data drives ecommerce but collecting that data and interpreting it can be confusing. Our huge library of Google Analytics articles ranges from basic setup to the sophisticated interpretation of on-site activity of visitors and customers. We also analyze data security, blockchain topics, and ancillary tools such as Google Tag Manager and Google Data Studio.

Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: Configuring 10 Key Ecommerce Metrics

January 29, 2014 • Feras Alhlou

Meaningful analytics for ecommerce sites are different from, say, news sites. Ecommerce sites should track metrics that produce or prevent actual sales, after all. Which campaign generated sales? When did ...
Analytics & Data
3 Google Analytics Reports that Hinder Analysis

November 19, 2013 • Feras Alhlou

There is an abundance of analytics data for ecommerce businesses. Finding actionable insights, however, requires persistence and hard work. But it pays off handsomely. In this article, I’ll describe three standard ...
Analytics & Data
How to Measure Lift from Promotion and Advertising

October 22, 2013 • Armando Roggio

In marketing, “lift” represents an increase in sales in response to some form of advertising or promotion. Monitoring, measuring, and optimizing lift may help a business grow more quickly. It is ...
Analytics & Data
Holiday Analytics: 13 Tips to Prepare your Ecommerce Site

September 25, 2013 • Feras Alhlou

The holiday season is fast approaching. As you get your ecommerce products, promotions, and backend processes in place, take your analytics and optimization up a notch. Don’t just focus on ...
Analytics & Data
Using Google Analytics for Lead-generation Tracking

August 29, 2013 • Kevin Webster

If your lead-generation website is supported by paid advertising, it's important to attach a value to each lead. In other words, to turn web analytics into a decision-making machine, as opposed to simply a visitor counter, you have to tell Google Analytics what your leads are worth to you.
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: Site Search and Capital Letters

August 27, 2013 • Tim Wilson

The site search functionality on a website is a powerful source of information about what users are looking for. It’s the place where visitors actually use their keyboard to tell ...
Analytics & Data
5 Ecommerce Metrics You Should Be Tracking

August 8, 2013 • Feras Alhlou

When it comes to ecommerce analytics, business owners and marketing managers typically focus on metrics like conversion rates, number of transactions, and average order value. These are valuable, and should be monitored. After all, measuring such outcomes is what directly impacts reven...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: How to Avoid Data-wandering

July 17, 2013 • Tim Wilson

When it comes to Google Analytics, a common question users ask is, “Where do I start?” They have logged into the tool multiple times and stared at the default report with its default timeframe of the last 30 days. They have pondered whether there was anything actionable buried in that c...
Analytics & Data
Ecommerce Analytics for Multiple Devices, Channels

July 12, 2013 • Feras Alhlou

Many ecommerce owners use analytics to measure page views, traffic, and conversion rates. That is all well and good, but it is old-school. In today's multi-device, multichannel world, marketers are finding it challenging to connect the dots between the web, mobile, and their backend da...
Analytics & Data
2 Handy Google Analytics Features: Ecommerce Reports, Weighted Sorting

June 19, 2013 • Tim Wilson

Overall, Google Analytics has a clean and intuitive interface. But, somehow, useful capabilities sometimes get lost on the screen. Two such features are the "Ecommerce" metric group and "weighted sorting." The Ecommerce Metric Group Every standard report has one or more predefined “me...
Analytics & Data
3 Key Google Analytics Reports for Ecommerce Merchants

May 24, 2013 • Feras Alhlou

Ecommerce merchants know it’s important to track sales, customer activities, and marketing campaigns. They can do this in Google Analytics. When it comes to finding actionable insights, however, in almost every case merchants need to be comfortable with the concept of segmentation. Ther...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: 5 Custom Ecommerce Events to Track

May 14, 2013 • Tim Wilson

A friend recently asked me about event tracking on his new ecommerce site. He wondered if I had a comprehensive list of events to track. Well, in answer to my friend, this article is my list of five favorite event tracking customizations, using Google Analytics, for ecommerce sites. C...
Analytics & Data
Using Analytics to Adapt and Learn

April 16, 2013 • Tim Wilson

Everyone wants to be data-driven these days. But, what does that really mean? Using the classic “people, process, technology” triangle, it is tempting to see technology as the most critical ...
Analytics & Data
Effective Analytics: Using the Right Tool for the Job

March 19, 2013 • Tim Wilson

Web analytics platforms are rich sources of data for marketers and ecommerce managers. But it is a mistake to treat them as the only source of information. There are many others — many of which are inexpensive or free — that complement web analytics and are better at answering certain t...
Analytics & Data
4 Ways Big Data Can Help Ecommerce Merchants

March 12, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan

In "Understanding Big Data For Ecommerce," I provided a general overview of how online merchants can use Big Data. In this article I will describe in more detail how Big Data — i.e., large amounts of seemingly random data from many sources — can be used to create competitive advantages....
Analytics & Data
Locating 404s with Google Analytics

February 19, 2013 • Tim Wilson

404 error pages are bad. On the list of “Bad Things on Your Site,” 404s easily crack the top five. Yet site owners frequently have no idea how often 404s occur on their sites, much less monitor and address them. Can you answer the following questions? How many visitors to your site l...
Analytics & Data
Understanding Big Data For Ecommerce

January 14, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan

The term "Big Data" was the Internet buzzword of 2012. The use of Big Data promises to become more prevalent in 2013, as merchants large and small who use Big Data analytics can gain a significant competitive advantage. What is Big Data? Webopedia defines it as "a massive volume of bo...
Analytics & Data
Configuring Google Analytics, Part 2: Advanced Capabilities

January 10, 2013 • Tim Wilson

Editor's note: This is "Part 2" of a 2-part series on how to know if you are fully using Google Analytics for your ecommerce site. The first installment, "Configuring Google Analytics, Part 1: Are You Taking Full Advantage?," we published previously. In "Part 1: Are You Taking Full Adv...
Analytics & Data
Configuring Google Analytics, Part 1: Are You Taking Full Advantage?

December 20, 2012 • Tim Wilson

Editor's note: This is "Part 1" of a 2-part series on how to know if you are fully using Google Analytics for your ecommerce site. "Part 2: Advanced Capabilities" we published later. One of the first things I do with a new Google Analytics clients is log in to their accounts and do a q...
Analytics & Data
Analyzing Mobile Traffic in Google Analytics; 5 Questions

November 16, 2012 • Tim Wilson

According to published reports, there were 20 million iPhones, 18 million Android-based Samsung Galaxy S3s, and 17 million iPads sold in the third quarter of 2012. The mobile channel, as such, can’t be ignored. But, “mobile” is complicated. It covers a wide range of devices and experien...
Analytics & Data
How to Measure SEO Performance

November 14, 2012 • Jill Kocher Brown

Search engine optimization may be a mix of art and science, but it’s as measurable and accountable as other online marketing channels. Knowing what key performance indicators to measure for SEO is the first step. Establishing a regular routine for monitoring and measuring performance wi...
Analytics & Data
Creating Custom Segments in Google Analytics

October 24, 2012 • Tim Wilson

In "Understanding Segmentation in Google Analytics," my previous article, I explained the concept of analyzing traffic to a website in separate groups. This process is called "segmentation." Google Analytics offers several default segments, to automatically track common groups of vi...
Analytics & Data
Understanding Segmentation in Google Analytics

October 19, 2012 • Tim Wilson

Gary Angel, one of the sharpest digital analytics practitioners, regularly cites the benefits of segmenting traffic in Google Analytics. He says, “In every case, as you think about [specific metrics for your site], segmentation is an excellent first step for choosing the right explanat...
Analytics & Data
How to Measure Website Load Times

August 28, 2012 • Tim Wilson

Consumers are increasingly impatient when it comes to waiting for their web browsers to load content. Measuring and monitoring how long it takes pages on your site to load — from desktop computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones — enable you to take corrective action when any one of d...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: 3 Tests to Ensure Your Checkout Process Is Working

July 13, 2012 • Tim Wilson

There’s a reason that an ecommerce site’s checkout process is one of the most popular analytics topics. Once a person initiates a checkout, she has self-identified herself as a visitor with a high intent to purchase. Chances are, you’ve already spent money acquiring that potential custo...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics Jumps into Mobile Metrics

July 11, 2012 • Jaime Brugueras

Google Analytics is finally jumping into mobile data metrics. Google recently launched "Mobile App Analytics" as a part of its Analytics web app suite. Analytics is already used by almost a fourth of Internet Retailer’s Top 500 online retailers and more than half of its “Second 500.” Wi...
Analytics & Data
Integrating Google Analytics with Site Search to Drive Conversions

May 21, 2012 • Tim Wilson

There are two broad types of data you can collect about visits to your site. "Behavioral" data is about what visitors actually do on the site, while "attitudinal" data is about what visitors want to do. Both are valuable sources of information, and they complement each other in many way...
Analytics & Data > Merchant Voice
10 Web Analytics Solutions for Ecommerce Merchants

September 26, 2011 • Armando Roggio

Web analytics tools seek to monitor and report on the interaction between Internet users and specific websites or marketing initiatives for the purpose of improving those interactions. This definition is a ...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics Adds Social Data

July 25, 2011 • Armando Roggio

Google Analytics has added social-media-related data to its reports. Google +1 button data is available by default. Facebook "Like" and Twitter "Tweet" sharing statistics can be added with some setup and additional tracking code. The new Google Analytics "Social" report tracks what Goo...
Analytics & Data
Understanding ‘Traffic Sources’ in Google Analytics

July 18, 2011 • Armando Roggio

The Google Analytics "Traffic Sources" section can help ecommerce marketers understand how well campaigns are working and how better to invest in site content, advertising, or other forms of engagement. Google Analytics is a free service that uses cookies — which we explain in "Cookies...

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