AIMS Canada

Conversion Rates: Canada vs. US

AIMS member Robert Mendelson, Executive VP at Select Blinds Canada sends in the following question...

We operate a website marketing goods to Canada, and have a sister operation in the US doing the same in that market. We have noticed a lower conversion rate north of the border, even though both sites are very similar and use very similar marketing tactics and strategies. Wondering if anyone else who has a site serving both sides of the border has noticed the same?

Interesting question...anyone have some perspective? Please add it using the comments link below...

Web Analytics Industry Survey - Call for Participants

Posted by June Li, Founder and Managing Director of ClickInsight...

Are you a web analytics user, practitioner, vendor, and consultant?

Eric T. Peterson, on behalf of Web Analytics Demystified is looking for participants for a web analytics industry survey designed to identify the challenges faced when analyzing web sites.

This research will be used to create freely available industry benchmarks covering many previously un-examined aspects of the web analytics industry.

This survey is completely anonymous. Your answers will not be associated with your email address or any other personally identifiable information. As incentive, participants will receive a free copy of the aggregated survey results and a 25% discount on the cost of purchasing a package of two books by Eric T. Peterson.

Interested in participating in the survey?  Go to the survey page to take the survey.

WebWarp Speed

Posted by Peder Enhorning, President of Unilytics and a volunteer member of AIMS Web Analytics Council.

When was the last time you reflected on how fast the computer industry has changed over the past three or five years? Every time I look back I can’t believe how different things are. Computers are faster, smaller and just plain ol’ better. I get a new laptop every couple of years and it seems to always be outdated.

I guess I am dating myself, but I can remember when the power of my laptop was housed in a steel box the size of my desk and when systems were measured in MIPS (million instructions per second). The same acceleration has occurred on the internet. Just a few short years ago the internet was readily available but it was still mostly a curiosity. We surfed it, exchanged email and chatted online. But in the past couple of years we have begun to really use it. Now we can exhibit ourselves through podcasting, exchange videos and even our personal bookmarks. And we can visit a staggering 80 billion sites. It’s the first place we turn for current events, product research and shopping. Who today still calls their travel agent to investigate a vacation? Or if you need a new HDTV, don’t we first go to the net?

The internet has become the hub for marketers to deliver their message. And web analytics allows us to know what users are doing and more importantly what they want from a site. We may have spent thousands of dollars driving visitors to our site. But did they find what they were looking for and if not what web site improvement can we make to ensure they do next time?

I’m not sure what the internet will look like in three years, but I know that with web analytics marketers can ensure they are delivering what surfers want and will in turn help shape its evolution. And when we look back in 2010 we’ll be amazed at how far we have come from today’s internet.

Web Analytics: A Glossary of Terms

It seems that every business comes with its own set of acronyms and terms. I remember when I first joined the dot-com world and learned about 'sticky eyeballs'. A somewhat disconcerting visual unless you were in the business of measuring traffic to your website!

Web analytics has come a long way and it continues to evolve. But one thing that remains the same is understanding what commonly used terms really mean. WebTrends recently put together a glossary of terms that is incredibly useful for anyone new to internet marketing and analytics. And a great refresher if you've been in the game awhile. It covers the basics of 'ad view' versus 'ad click' but also defines things like 'return code' and 'user agent'.

It's a handy reference - http://www.webtrends.com/Support/WT/Glossary.aspx

Beware the Hidden Costs of Switching Web Analytics Products

Thanks to AIMS member and volunteer, June Li for this post about the hidden costs of switching analytics providers...

Web analytics applications are tools. And like many tools, there can be significant hidden switching costs. Forget Web analytics for a minute and think about cell phones. When you get a new cell phone, there’s more cost than just the cost of the phone. You have to buy new accessories, learn how to work the phone, download all your ring tones again, perhaps reenter your entire phonebook manually, and get used to the fact that the buttons do different things (I hate it when “send” and “end” are reversed!). These are your switching costs.

Getting back to Web analytics, are there good reasons to switch Web analytics products? Yes. You’ve outgrown the existing product you’re using. As with any other business tool, business strategy changes can lead to new requirements, and the business outgrows the tool. For example, it may be time for tighter integration between CRM, Web analytics and Business Intelligence processes. When this happens, the Web analytics tool may have to be upgraded, or a new tool sought out.

However, if there isn’t a business strategy change that’s triggered new requirements, and you just feel that you aren’t getting the insight you need from your reports, call your vendor account representative before you switch. This is especially recommended if your Web analytics tool is a “purchased” server side Web analytics version rather than a hosted service. There may be newer software versions from the same vendor with exactly what you need, or perhaps the capability is there and training is what's required. If you do have to upgrade, there will be upgrade costs, but these will often be less troublesome than switching costs.

One organization that I recently talked to was considering new analytics software because they wanted clickmaps (clickmaps are Web page overlays that show an image of the page, with percentages indicating how many visitors clicked on each link). Because this organization had not contracted for a maintenance agreement, they were not receiving updates when the Web analytics product evolved. They didn’t know that newer versions of the product did in fact provide clickmaps as a standard feature. By upgrading instead of switching, this organization will be able to get clickmaps and keep the knowledge they previously gained with the older tool.

If you’re using a Web analytics application hosted by a 3rd party, the switching costs are even higher. Consider the investments you’ve made:

1. Each page on your site is coded (tagged) with the JavaScript from your current vendor. If you switch vendors, you’ll have to replace existing script with new JavaScript. It’s not unusual for tagging rules to be different for different vendors, which means a new set of rules that your technology folks have to learn. Inappropriate tagging will lead to lost, unrecoverable data, which can be very costly.

2. You’ve invested in training your Web analysts to analyze data using your current application. Re-training is needed, and there may be a lag in reporting quality and analytical dexterity until they come up to speed.

3. You may have to re-tag all your ads and inbound links from other sites. Forget to do this and campaigns may be untrackable.

4. You have built up site traffic history, which you’ll lose when you move.

With Google Analytics being available free, some organizations have thought of moving away from their paid hosted applications to Google Analytics. It may be the right decision but make sure you count switching costs in your evaluation.

So if you are dissatisfied with your current Web analytics reports, before you abandon ship, call the representative from your Web analytics vendor and find out what can be done to improve the situation to give you more useful and meaningful reports that you can take action on. If it’s been a long time since you talked to a vendor rep, call the vendor’s toll-free sales line, explain to them you’re considering switching and I’m sure they’ll have someone contact you pronto.

What is the Typical CPM Rate for Banner Ads?

A fellow AIMS member is doing some research and sends in this question about ad networks and CPM...

1. Who would you say are the leading banner ad networks to align oneself with?
2. what is the typical/avg cpm rate nowadays for banner ads…… ballpark figure is aok

A bit of background...

• Banners would be posted on a gaming site/portal i.e. fun games
• Users would be across various demographics and not targeted in any particular fashion
• What would be the cpm rate that the portal owner could expect from an ad network they partnered with

Anyone have any metrics or suggestions?

Welcome to WebTrends – AIMS newest annual sponsor

Good news - WebTrends has joined AIMS as an annual sponsor.

It’s great timing as we lead up to the web analytics event later this week. If you’re attending the event please stop by and say hi to Paul Oude-Reimerink who will be attending from WebTrends, he’ll have a table top display in the lobby.

For those who aren’t familiar with the company – they’ve been helping marketers measure, test, and optimize their online initiatives for over 12 years. I’m looking forward to getting AIMS set up on the WebTrends solution!

As you know AIMS is a non-profit association and relies on the support of sponsors. If you’re interested in finding out more about what analytics can do for your company please support our sponsor and take a look at what WebTrends can provide.

From Acquisition to Developing Customer Relationships: Measure What Works

Stefan Eyram from Exact Target is an AIMS member and a volunteer on the AIMS Web Analytics Council. He sends in this post about acquiring customers, developing relationships, and measuring  success along the way.

I often get asked about renting email lists for acquisition programs. With recent statements by the large ISPs and webmail providers like AOL and Hotmail indicating that 85% or more of all emails they handle are spam, it is important legitimate marketers, like AIMS members, don’t add to the issue of spam. Unfortunately email list rentals do just that!

Even if a list owner captures permission to send third-party emails the recipients of these emails don’t often realize this when they receive these emails. Often they will consider this spam. If they are using one of the common webmail solutions they will often hit spam reporting button and the email is considered spam. In practice Spam is not what the legal definition is - unsolicited commercial email - but instead, whatever the recipient thinks is spam. This is often the case with email list rentals.

Email is not an acquisition tool! It is a relationship tool. Something you use to develop a “conversation” with a prospect or customer. In fact, as Jim Nail, Former Senior Analyst with Forrester, said in a recent report: “One of the real strengths of email is its ability to finish the customer acquisition job started by media advertising….Once the customer has been attracted to the web site, email can move a prospect through the consideration and preference phases all the way to purchase...”

Email finishes the customer acquisition job and moves prospects through the sales cycle!

How do we acquire these customers or prospects? That’s where mass media and advertising comes into play. And online acquisition has to include SEM.

Surprisingly, I recently came across a stat that says only about one-third of companies with a website are doing any form of SEM. That means 60-70% of marketers that are online are missing a valuable opportunity. Why have a website if you don’t want to get people on it?

We have the AIMS web analytics event coming up and it’s all about measuring what marketing tactics are working, including SEM/SEO and email.

If you are not doing SEM now I came across a complimentary SEM event in Toronto on Wednesday, November 29. It seems to be aimed at all marketers but more for those that are looking at starting SEM. More info on this event from non-linear creations can be found here… http://www.nonlinear.ca/pages/51_1815.htm. It looks as if their main focus will be to educate people about the real value that SEM can bring to their company, and make a case for adding it to the marketing mix.

I believe SEM is critical when it comes to online acquisition, just as email marketing is key when it comes to finishing the job of acquisition. In fact, before a website visitor makes their first purchase there is a high degree of defection. In his book “The Loyalty Effect”, Frederick Reichheld tells us that only a 5% reduction in defection rates can increase profits by 20% or more. Once you get people on your website good email marketing helps reduce defection, increase loyalty and drive both top and bottom line results.

For online marketers SEM and email marketing go hand in hand…and web analytics helps you determine what parts of these tactics work.

See you at the AIMS web analytics event Nov. 30.

The Use of Web Metrics in the Marketplace- An Interview with Steven Goldhar Part 2

Sara Scurfield, Online Program Manager at Advantex Marketing International is an AIMS volunteer and blog correspondent. She posted her first interview with Steven Goldhar late last week. This is the second and final part of her interview...

Following up on the first Q & A post with Steven Goldhar, I have included a few more of his insights that just needed to be shared. Please feel free to add your comments. I am sure Steven will be happy to address them on the 30th.

SS: What are some of the industries that are most advanced in their integration of digital marketing and web metrics into their marketing mix and what can other industries learn from them?

SG: Industries that are most advanced in their use of web metrics are the ones that possess many of the following characteristics;

• They are very competitive with similar offerings between companies
• Potential customers use the internet to research, buy or sign up for a given product or service
• Companies are able to develop successful sales channels via their website
• Have higher than average profit margins
• Have higher than average keyword search engine bid costs (also known as the average cost-per-click or average CPC), generally over $5 U.S. and often as high as $15 U.S. per click.

Applicable industries include those that deal in mortgages and many other financial products and services, debt consolidation, legal services especially those involving class action lawsuits and those dealing with online gambling and pornography.

Some important strategies that can be learned from these industries are;

• Attention spans are extremely short - have a clear call to action (the main campaign objective) on EVERY page if possible
• Aim to have the desired or relevant content on the landing page or within one click away of it
• Use summarized or bulleted style content to prominently highlight key positive features
• Search marketing requires good skills in a technical, creative and analytical capacity. Begin by having a knowledgeable and experienced SEM company set up and optimize your campaigns to bring them quickly into profitability. Very few companies with less than one year of in-house SEM experience set up and manage their own campaigns. Most companies outsource this task on an ongoing basis to achieve consistently higher than average industry results.
• Except where brand identity exists, internet marketing success is often more driven by perception than reality. Don’t underestimate the ability of physically smaller competitors to achieve enormous internet success. It’s brain over brawn when it comes to internet marketing. Aspirational and lifestyle marketing is one of the most successful approaches used by incorporating effective imagery, colours and features that focus on positive emotions.
• One or more better and more aggressive online marketers can appear in your category overnight and reduce your share of the pie significantly. There may be a better medium for your online marketing efforts than the one currently used. Continue looking at other forms of online marketing for additional and better ways to increase more qualified traffic, achieve higher site conversion rates and ROI and lower marketing costs. After getting your search marketing campaigns running smoothly, look into SEO, affiliate marketing, PR marketing, blogging and forming strategic partnerships to generate more low cost qualified traffic.

SS: What would you say are the most common reasons users abandon once they reach a website? What can sites do to reduce abandon rates?

SG: The main reason that users abandon once they reach a website (also known as the bounce rate) is due to the issue of content mismatch or relevancy. When the user gets to the landing page and does not navigate any further into the site then some possible reasons for this are;

• The content was not what they were expecting or told from the ad
• There was a weak or unclear offering therefore not worth their time going further
• It was taking too long to find or navigate to the information they desire
• The web page was taking too long to load

Here are some good best practices to reduce bounce rates:

• Develop a landing page strategy that directs users to web pages with relevant content based on the keyword, ad, referring website or search engine they come from
• Have the most important and relevant information clearly visible without scrolling.
• Keep the message of the landing page focused on just a few or ideally one relevant idea
• Remove ALL unnecessary links, buttons, graphics or content that could distract, confuse or reduce the impact of the main focus
• Have a clear call to action or next steps that clearly leads to achieving the users objective

The bounce rate measurement is an indicator of how well the theme or ideas around a keyword, search engine ad and landing page are integrated. It’s usually the first indication of a relevancy issue that should result in

• Modifying or eliminating the keywords shown by the analytics to elicit higher bounce rates.
• Modifying or eliminating the ads that are unclear to or set up erroneous expectations to the content on the landing page
• Modify or ad an additional landing page which contains more relevant, clear and easily identifiable content

Bounce or site abandonment rates always vary between different referring sources (website or search engine) and source attributes (keyword, ad or landing page). Good use of proper conversion based web analytics with search engine marketing is your best tool to be able to determine the exact causes of the higher bounce rates or how many different sources or attributes are part of the cause.

A good way to illustrate the importance of analytics in search engine marketing would be to use the analogy of the way a sluggish car is diagnosed and repaired. One way is to begin replacing parts, trying to find the one, two or three (sources and attributes) that makes the difference or perhaps just writing the whole car off (the landing page or entire campaign). Another way is to hook the car up to the proper computer which would isolate any and all parts that contribute to the problem. Just like in repairing a car, using the right tools will reduce costs and increase performance generating higher returns on your campaign investment.

SS: Thanks for your insights Steven. We look forward to hearing more from you on November 30th. Details and registration are on the AIMS website - http://www.aimscanada.com/Default.aspx?pageId=322&eventId=413&mode=2

Decoding Web Metrics for Marketers- An Interview with Steven Goldhar Part 1

Sara Scurfield, Online Program Manager at Advantex Marketing International is an AIMS volunteer and blog correspondent. She sends in the following Q&A interview with Steven Goldhar...

Steven Goldhar is the President and Chief Technology Officer at Sundance Media. He is also a member of the SEM and Web Analytics committees at AIMS and will be one of the presenters at the upcoming Web Analytics event on November 30th at the Diesel Playhouse.

In anticipation of the event, I took a moment to ask Steven a few questions that give us more opportunity to learn from one of the trailblazers in the area of decoding web experiences, attracting and directing website traffic and converting visitors into consumers. Today, he will answer one of the questions. Stay tuned for a few more early next week.

SS: What is the biggest misconception surrounding marketers’ approach to using web metrics? How does it affect a marketing strategy?

SG: The biggest misconception, in my opinion, is not realizing the versatility of these tools in their ability to measure accurate bottom line performance amongst all types of online marketing and many offline traditional media. Web analytics tools were initially created to assist in the optimization of search engine marketing campaigns. The measuring methodology used will isolate and track every aspect of a paid search campaign from the referring traffic source details, through every step of a user’s session and right through to a unique final action taken. It will then tie all of these items together to explain the whole story behind a series of user choices and actions taken along their journey. Ironically, this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how it can actually be used the same way for so many other types of marketing campaigns.

Imagine being able to measure the cost or revenue associated with generating each sale or lead through a website, side by side, apples to apples generated from SEM, SEO, an email campaign, referring website, affiliate program, blog, toll-free numbers, print campaign, mobile marketing, radio, television or billboard ad.

How much of your current advertising budget do you think is really driving your bottom line? 50%, 70%? You may be very surprised with the results. Whatever the amount is, those marketing dollars can either go back into the coffer or redirected to campaigns and media that produce better results and higher returns.

More from Steven Goldhar early next week...stay tuned!