Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
15.4 Analyzing Data
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
- Gain an understanding of data analysis and why it is important to eMarketing.
A number is just a number until you can interpret it. Typically, it is not the raw figures that you will
be looking at, but what they can tell you about how your users are interacting with your Web site.
How and What to Test
Avinash Kaushik, author of Web Analytics: An Hour a Day, recommends a three-prong approach to Web
analytics:
- Analyze behavior data that infer the intent of a Web site’s visitors.
- Analyze outcome metrics that show how many visitors performed the goal actions on a Web site.
- Test and analyze data that tell us about the user experience. [1]
Behavior Data: Intent
Web users’ behavior can indicate a lot about their intent. Looking at referral URLs (uniform resource
locators) and search terms used to find the Web site can tell you a great deal about what problems visitors
are expecting your site to solve.
Click density analysis, segmentation, metrics that define the visit, and content can all be used to gauge the
intent of your visitors.