Paris | October 5-7, 2009 Beyond website optimization Web analytics

Paris | October 5-7, 2009

Beyond website optimization

Web analyticsWeb analytics

Unica 2009 Marketing Innovation Summit. © 2009 Unica Corporation. Distribution prohibited without Unica’s prior consent. 2

IntroductionIntroduction

Most of us are already familiar with web analytics as a

marketing tool, to optimize transactions and realize

maximum ROI from campaigns.

But web analytics data can be used throughout your

company to make data-driven decisions.

Unica 2009 Marketing Innovation Summit. © 2009 Unica Corporation. Distribution prohibited without Unica’s prior consent.

WHO AM I?WHO AM I?


About MeAbout Me

Angie Brown, Web Analytics Manager at Elsevier Health Sciences

– 90+ web sites implemented with Unica’s NetInsight

– Lead analyst for flagship MD Consult product

8+ years web analytics experience

– Vendor (IBM SurfAid, Coremetrics)

– Practitioner (Elsevier)

Co-chair of Web Analytics Association (WAA) Standards Committee


About ElsevierAbout Elsevier


World’s leading publisher of science and health information– Elsevier Science & Technology, HQ

Amsterdam

– Elsevier Health Sciences, HQ Philadelphia

Headquarters: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

> 7000 employees in 24 countries

Publisher of 2,000 journals and 19,000 books

– 2,000 new books each year

About ElsevierAbout Elsevier


Some Health Sciences ProductsSome Health Sciences Products

7


My web analytic toolboxMy web analytic toolbox

Analytics tools

– Web analytics tool: Unica’s NetInsight

– Continuous surveys: ForeSee Results

– Multivariate testing: Optimost

Other tools

– Excel

– Firefox

Access to other data in my company

– Back-office databases (reports, SQL access)

• Customer management

• Subscribers / transactions

– Financial reports

– Raw server logs


WHO USES WEB ANALYTICS DATA?WHO USES WEB ANALYTICS DATA?


Who uses web analytics?Who uses web analytics?

Executives / Strategy Group

Product Managers

Sales / Account Managers

Content Providers

Online Marketing

Direct Marketers User Experience Customers (B2B)Information Technology


COMPANY EXECUTIVES / STRATEGY GROUPCOMPANY EXECUTIVES / STRATEGY GROUP

Web analytics users…


Executives / Strategy GroupExecutives / Strategy Group

Support good decision making on a corporate or business unit level

Use web analytics to…


Two ways to view dataTwo ways to view data

Key performance indicators (KPIs)– Historical

– Bottom line

– Performance-driven

Proactive analysis– Show how/where visitor

behavior supports executive strategy (or not)

– Identify new opportunities that support corporate goals


Segmentation is keySegmentation is key

Marketers – both online and direct – are accustomed to segmenting customers into strategic groups

– New customers, low/high value customers, at risk customers, etc.

Web analysts use additional segmentation for executive-level insight

– Product or product line

– Business unit

– Customer segments

– Along financial reporting segments


Strategic reporting: cross-product KPIsStrategic reporting: cross-product KPIs

Allows for benchmarking across many different websitesInforms decisions about investment in different websites or online products


Strategic reporting: product-level KPIsStrategic reporting: product-level KPIs

The Bottom Line

Overall (M) Seg 1 Seg 2 Seg 3

Cash Sales (M)

2009 YTD

2008 YTD

Δ %

Goal

(Subscr. Only) Overall (M) Seg 1 Seg 2 Seg 3

Sessions

2009 YTD

2008 YTD

Δ %

Goal

12-mo Rolling

Var 0.2%

Var - 2% Var 11.0%

Var - 9%

Overall Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3

YTD Revenue Growth vs. Goal

Overall

Segment 1

Segment 2

Segment 3

YTD Sessions Growth vs. Goal

Var 3.7%

Revenue Growth

Sessions Growth

Shows how a specific website contributes to the company’s strategic priorities.


Strategic analytics example*Strategic analytics example*

Subscription site with the following types of

content

– Journals

– Books

– Drug Info

– Practice Guidelines

Sells to the following customer types

– Medical Students

– Doctors

Students are strong users of the book content

Usage is increasing rapidly in Europe

Executives want to increase focus on selling

books to European students

Is this wise?* Segments and numbers are made up for this example

2006 2007 2008 2009

Usage by geography

N. AmericaEuropeAsiaS. AmericaAustralia


Strategic analytics exampleStrategic analytics example

Web analytics can be used to support this decision-making process

Metrics

– Relative usage of different content areas

Relevant segments

– By customer type (student/professional)

– By geography

– By type + geography together


Strategic analytics exampleStrategic analytics example

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Stud

ents

Prof

essi

onal

s

Euro

pe

Wor

ld

St, E

ur

St, W

orld

Pro,

Eur

Pro,

Wor

ld

Type Geo Type & Geo

Segmented usage for example site

Guidelines

Drugs

Books

Journals

Do findings support the strategy?

Students are indeed heavy users of books

However, European growth has been driven by journal interest, and European students are interested in book and journal content equally

Conclusion:

Targeting books to European students could be a mistake; dive into their usage more to understand their true needs

Bonus: Non-European professionals are relatively interested in Guideline content: could be a hidden opportunity Other geographic areas were left off the example; would include

all relevant geographic areas in a real situation


PRODUCT MANAGERSPRODUCT MANAGERSWeb analytics users


Product managersProduct managers

“CEO of the product,” business owner responsible for success of product throughout its lifecycle

– Product strategy

– Product branding, positioning, marketing

– Development priorities

– Improvements / enhancements / problem detection

– Financial health

In Elsevier, “products” and “websites” are often the same

– Many are subscription-based content sites

For other types of sites, the business owner of the website has many of the same responsibilities


Product managersProduct managers

• Show how their website contributes to corporate goals

• Understand how their customers interact with the site

• Find barriers to customer success, in order to improve the experience



Two ways to view dataTwo ways to view data

Key performance indicators (KPIs)– Same as KPIs rolled up to

executives, plus– Other metrics that show the

“health” of the site in more detail• Sections/features utilized• Customer satisfaction• Usage of up-sell offerings• Percent visits encountering

errors• “Engagement” (time on site,

content to navigation ratio, print previews, downloads, etc.)

– Marketing metrics (campaign performance, transactions, conversion rates, etc.)

Ad hoc analysis– Often exploratory in nature

• Who is using the site? How?

– Look for deeper customer understanding

– Seek out problems before customers find them

– Gage effectiveness of development efforts

– Prioritize projects


Segmentation is keySegmentation is key

Segment in the same manner as rolled up to executives, plus…

Segment by content type

– Compare/contrast groups of pages that represent similar content or functionality

Exploratory analysis can require segmenting on anything/everything available

– Used for troubleshooting, or exploring new opportunities

• Which segments behave significantly different than others?


PM example: content groupsPM example: content groups


PM example: content groups by segmentPM example: content groups by segment

Informs decisions about:• Up-sell

opportunities• Product

expansion• Branding /

messaging among different customer types

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Site

wid

e

Stud

ent

Prof

essi

onal

Rese

arch

er

Aca

dem

ic

Smal

l Fir

m

Med

ium

Fir

m

Larg

e Fi

rm

Sear

ch

Cust

omer

link

Soci

al M

edia

Dir

ect E

ntry

All Account type Type of Company Source of Traffic

% C

onte

nt P

age

Vie

ws

Segmented Content Usage

Content 9

Content 8

Content 7

Content 6

Content 5

Content 4

Content 3

Content 2

Content 1Why is this content so

appealing to students, and no

one else?

Visitors from larger firms are more focused.

What are people saying about

these features? Is it bad or

good?


PM Example: content groups by entry locationPM Example: content groups by entry location

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Content Consumption by Entry Point

Content 5

Content 4

Content 3

Content 2

Content 1

Informs decisions about:• Cross-linking

between different areas of the site

• Cross-promotion

Similar analysis can be used by program managers (for promotional programs at a bank): shows how efforts at cross-sell/up-sell are doing


PM Example: local search troubleshootingPM Example: local search troubleshooting

“Zero results” searches higher than anticipated– Site contains well over 10 million pages of content

– Requires subscription: unlikely someone would reach it by mistake

– Site measures high in customer satisfaction

• Customers who use search are generally more satisfied than those who do not

• Lots of specific feedback for “bad” searches, but no obvious patterns

Track % zero results search visits as KPI: try to lower


PM Example: local search troubleshootingPM Example: local search troubleshooting

No clear pattern of issues emerged with available data: zero-results search terms, site feedback, user testing

Exploratory analysis: Do any customer segments have higher-than-average zero-results searches?– Segment by country, entry page, customer type, referrer, etc.

No problem

Search issues, relatively few users affected

No problem

Who uses search a lot?

Wh

o g

ets

a lo

t o

f n

o-r

esu

lts?


Use search a little Use search a lotFew

not

-fou

nds

Man

y no

t-fo

unds

PM Example: local search issuesPM Example: local search issues

Latin American countries!

Analysis led to very specific recommendations for improving search, and better customer understanding.


SALES TEAMS / ACCOUNT MANAGERSSALES TEAMS / ACCOUNT MANAGERS

Web analytics users


Sales / Account ManagersSales / Account Managers

• Identify at-risk customers• Look for up-sell opportunities• Assist with pricing / discounting decisions



Sales / acct mgmt exampleSales / acct mgmt example

Informs decisions about:• Priority

attention from account team

• Price increases or discounts

• Retention marketing

Territory 1

Territory 2

Territory 3Territory 4

Territory 5

Territory 6Territory 7

Territory 8

Territory 9

Territory 10

Territory 11

Territory 12

Territory 13

-100%

100%

-100% 100%

(bel

ow a

vera

ge)

<

----

-YT

D g

row

th

---

-->

(a

bove

ave

rage

)

(below average) <--- Growth over same month last year ---> (above average)

Usage Growth by Account Territory

Getting Better

Slipping

Needs Work

OK

Axes cross at site average


CONTENT PROVIDERSCONTENT PROVIDERSWeb analytics users

34


Content providersContent providers

Authors

Editors

Publishers

Consultants

Subject matter experts

Direct marketers creating content for campaigns

Anybody who writes or sources the content that is on your site


Content ProvidersContent Providers

• Find out what resonates with customers

• Inform decisions about adding, modifying, or removing content, both online and offline



Can use online data to inform offline decisionsCan use online data to inform offline decisions

When content is offered in multiple channels, use online data to help inform offline decisions

– Print books

• Areas to focus on for next edition

• Where to cut, if necessary

– Newspapers

• Which stories are most interesting to readers online?

• Can position better in print

– Corporate brochures / handouts / white papers / other printed documentation

• What information are your customers after the most?

– Test out marketing messages online before committing to print


Content provider example – top articlesContent provider example – top articles


Content provider exampleContent provider example

View ageing of content overall

Determine where to cull if necessary

Investigate old articles are being viewed

– Redirect to new content?

– Revise?

– Update links?

– “Classic” content that stands the test of time? 20

0910

2008

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1999

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1998

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10

Page views by cover date


Content provider exampleContent provider example

View ageing of specific titles

– Lag between publish date and usage?

– Is content used to keep current with latest news? Or is it used as a reference?


Content example: online data informing offline decisionsContent example: online data informing offline decisions

Print version of Cecil Textbook of Medicine

– “The granddaddy of general internal medicine texts” (JAMA)

– 3120 pages

– 11.2 pounds

– 467 chapters in 28 sections

Online

– Full text online in two different products

– Broken into1574 “pages”

• Chapters, sections same as print


Cecil Medicine online usageCecil Medicine online usage


WRAP-UPWRAP-UP


ConclusionConclusion

“Boundarylessness”

Increased customer focus, andbetter business decisions

Online MarketingExecutives /

Strategy GroupProduct

ManagersSales / Account

ManagersContent Providers


Online MarketingExecutives /

Strategy GroupProduct

ManagersSales / Account

ManagersContent Providers


Documents

Paris | October 5-7, 2009 Beyond website optimization Web analytics