Overview of web analytics for nonprofit news organizations

Dana Chinn

1. What is web analytics?2. Defining goals 3. Basic site metrics4. Social media metrics5. Mobile metrics

November 2011

Improving a site starts with identifying what needs to changewith identifying what needs to change

Start here

not here

2

Three types of decision-making

HIghest Paid Person’s Opinion-- Avinash Kaushik Google-- Avinash Kaushik, Google

Decision-making with bad data too much data Decision-making with bad data, too much data and/or no goals

Decision making with data in a Decision-making with data in a continuous improvement process

3

Web analytics is the analysis of data “to drive a continual improvement of the online experience…which translates into your desired outcomes.” y

Just one part of web analytics

4from Web Analytics 2.0 by Avinash Kaushik

Is this site successful?

Our site has 5,000 monthly unique visitors.

Last Tuesday that story got 20,000 page views.

Our iPhone app was downloaded 10 000 times

We have 5 000 Twitter followers

Our iPhone app was downloaded 10,000 times.

We have 2,000 Likes on Facebook.

We have 5,000 Twitter followers.

It depends.

Not all traffic is equal

5

q

Questions for a e-commerce company

Who came to our site? e.g., previous vs. new; high vs. low potential

How did they get here?

What did they look at?

Were they successful in getting what they wanted?

A simple e-commerce data story“Current and potential customers who typed in “t-shirts” in Google arrived on our t-shirts landing page.

1.5% of them made a purchase.”

6-- Corey Koberg, Cardinal Path

The questions for a news organization are the same…

Who came to our site? e.g., previous vs. new; high vs. low potential

How did they get here?

What did they look at?

Were they successful in getting what they wanted?

h i h i l ll hi lik hi…so why is the typical story usually something like this?

Our site has 5,000 monthly unique visitors.Last Tuesday that story got 20,000 page views.y y g , p g

The average time spent on our site last week was 24 minutes.

We have 5 000 Twitter followers

Our iPhone app was downloaded 10,000 times.We have 2,000 fans on our Facebook page.

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We have 5,000 Twitter followers.

Traditional mass media business model:Eyeballs to advertisers

Advertisers pay to spray their messages to everyone…p y p y g y

….and pray it reaches the right people

The metrics used to define success are based onThe total number of people reachedThe percent of people reached in a specific geographic areaMarket share vs other radio competitorsMarket share vs. other radio competitors

Everyone in the audience is equally important.

Internet business model:People can get news whenever they want,

h th t d lti l d i

Advertisers pay to reach only the people they want

wherever they want, and on multiple devices

Advertisers pay to reach only the people they want…

d l h l h ’ h di l h l…and only the people they can’t reach directly themselvesor through other targeted ways

The metrics used to define success are based on The metrics used to define success are based on the percent of people reached in a specific interest group andwhether those people were engaged enough to deliverthe results the advertiser wants - sales, sales leads, sign-ups, etc.

“The more insight a publisher has into its audience, the more it can charge advertisers.” Alan Pearlstein, Cross-Pixel Media, Ad Age, 8/8/11

Questions for a nonprofit news organization

Is Alhambra Source reaching people in Alhambra?

How many?How many?

How often?Population: 85,000

Is it reaching people of all types? Businesses?

Is it growing?Is it growing?

Do people need it? Value it? Like it?

D i h i fl ?Does it have influence?

What’s working? What’s not?

What would it take for Alhambra Source

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What would it take for Alhambra Source to be successful?

Defining success starts with defining a target audience

Everyone Alhambra Source could serve: 85,000 -- adults and children-- Asian, Latino, Caucasian/other-- Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish,

English, other

Who Alhambra Source can serve NOW with current resources* - less than 85,000-- adultsadults-- English-speaking-- Internet access

11* One FT journalist, volunteer community contributors, web only. Does not have the staffing to produce everything in three languages.

Is Alhambra Source successful? Could it be?Is Alhambra Source reaching people in Alhambra?

WhoAlhambra?

How many? in its target audience of xx,xxx

How often?

Is it reaching people of all types? Businesses?How engaged are they?

in its target audience

How engaged are they?

Is it growing? in its target audiencein its target audience

Do people need it? Value it? Like it?

Does it have influence? in its target audiencein its target audience

What’s working? What’s not?in its target audience

What are its audience goals if it gets more funding? Less?

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What are its audience goals if it gets more funding? Less?Is its business plan achievable?Does it have what it will take?

A site for a traditional news organization needs different audience goals, definitions of success – and metrics

Is WBUR.org (Boston public radio)A site that’s a supplement to its radio programming?orA stand-alone news site that competes against

other 24/7 Boston news organizations?

Can WBUR attract the new Boston-area audiences it needs for donations and sponsorships if its site is focused on serving its current radio audiences with nonexclusive NPR and non

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nonexclusive NPR and non-Boston content?

WBUR should segment audiences by channel behavior to understand how to target them effectively

- Listen to live stream

Level of engagement

to understand how to target them effectively

- Listen to radio podcasts

- Use web content

- Listen to live stream/radio programming and use web content

- Interact due to radio content

- Interact due to radio and web content

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Metrics are for decision-making, not marketingg g

You had to cut one reporter How You had to cut one reporter. How should the others re-arrange their time?

You got new funding! What should be covered –something new or something more?something more?

Should you partner with another organization?organization?

Nonprofit news orgs with clearly defined, targeted local audience goals probably will not find much worth in partnering with a traditional mainstream news org.

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g

Internal metrics External metricsfor

Strategic Planningfor

Marketing, Advertising

• Census data100% of all visitors, visits, page views, etc. in a site

• Panel, toolbar dataActivity from a sample of self-selected people. Usually not relevant for small sites.

• Analysis, decisions, actions, evaluation

• Marketing, trending, competitive analysis

• OmnitureGoogle AnalyticsWebTrendsetc

• comScoreNielsenCompeteetc.etc.

• Web Analytics Association

etc.

• Interactive Advertising BureauBureau

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Step 1: Understand the clickstream,Step 1: Understand the clickstream,or every action relevant to site goals

Behavioral research

What people did h hwhen they came to your site,

as captured by

an action taken on a keyboard or mouse

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What actions indicate engagement?

Vi it l l Visit

R d/ i l

, regularly

Read/view content, a lot

Interact oftenInteract, often-- rate, print, vote, take a poll, click on an ad-- share, e-mail, comment, contribute

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Story count vs. traffic by topic gives info on what content is working or not given how resources are allocated Any info input by a user gives

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y p y ginvaluable information on what people want – and what it expects the site to have

Ask people for info that allows you to engage them on ONLY the topics they want…

…and which can be used for targeting advertisers/sponsors and allocating news resources

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U i i it

Basic site metrics

Unique visitors

visit sites

and generatepage views

21

Total visits:One indicator of overall site performance One indicator of overall site performance

A i it i o ted A visit is counted

every time

someone comes to a site

Visits: the strongest metric available

An increase in visits is always good.-- More people are coming to your site.-- Returning people are coming more often.

A decrease in visits? Always bad.

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Strong vs. weak metricsg

Strong metrics are useful tools that give clear indications that give clear indications

of what’s successful or not

Weak metrics…-- are conceptually flawed

“so what?” counts of things

c. Kyle Taylor

-- are technically flawedmetrics calculated byweb analytics systems c. Kyle Taylor

in ways that give unclear indications

…could be so misleadingthey could lead to bad decisions

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Really weak metric #1: Unique visitors

A unique visitor is really a unique computer.

Unique visitors are either over-counted…

…or under-counted.

library, school, I t t

You’ll never know which or by how much.*

Internet cafe

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* It doesn’t matter anyway….better to measure outcomes (did people do what you wanted?) than the number of people who came to your site.

An increase in page views can be good - or bad *

Really weak metric #2: Page views

An increase in page views can be good - or bad.*

Bad design navigation site architecture?Bad design, navigation, site architecture?Lots of page views, annoyed users

A redesign improved usability? Fewer page views happier users? Fewer page views, happier users

Content that should be there but isn’t? Lots of page views, annoyed users?

Dynamic content? Fewer page views, happier users (probably)

* d ’ b (d d l d h d ) h

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* It doesn’t matter anyway….better to measure outcomes (did people do what you wanted?) than the number of pages people went to when they came to your site.

Really weak metric #3: Time spent on site

An increase in average time spent on site can be good –or bad.*

Bad design, navigation, site architecture?g , g ,Lots of time spent, annoyed users

A redesign improved usability? Less time spent, happier users? p , pp?

* d ’ b (d d l d h d ) h

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* It doesn’t matter anyway….better to measure outcomes (did people do what you wanted?) than how much time people spent on your site.

Systems only measure the time spentin between pages on a site soin between pages on a site, so…

The time spent of a user who goes only to one

?p g y

page is NOT included in the average time spent calculation. ?

Time spent = 0and not included in average calculations

The time spent on the last page

1 minute

and not included in average calculations

The time spent on the last pageof a site isn’t counted at all.

minute

10 Time spent = minutes Time spent = 1 minute

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Site X

Three types of site metrics that can be usedto segment visitors by behaviorto segment visitors by behavior

1. Visitor acquisition: How did people get to the site? Is your marketing working?

Trafffic sources: direct, referrals, search engines, campaigns (e.g., e-mail newsletters, ads)

2. Site behavior: What did they do once they got to the site? “I came. I saw. I puked.”-- Avinash Kaushik on bounce rate

Bounce rate of a landing page – did people leave after seeing only one page?Visits that included internal searchVisits that went to a particular type of content

3. Outcomes: Did people take the actions essential to the organization’s success?

Visit frequency and recency Sign-up for an e-mail newsletterBuy a benefit dinner ticketDonate; sign up for membership

The bounce rate of a landing page is much more actionable than the bounce rate of the entire site

Start by looking at the top landing page, or the page where most visits start

100%

Home page bounce rate: 43%51%

8,331

16,304 visits

Home page bounce rate: 43%visits started on content pages

57%4,547went to

43%3,426

left the site without going to another

pages

49%7,973

visitsat least one other page

to another page

started on the home page

Action: Let’s try

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Week of Sept. 11, 2011 changing the home page

The percent of entrances to the top landing pages indicates WBUR.org may be seen more as a radio supplementthan as a stand-alone news source

Home page: wbur.org OnPointradio show site

26%15% Radio-

Percent of entrances to

26%Live stream pop-up

28%

Radiorelated pages

7%Listening center

28%And bounce rates to radio-related landing

Here and Nowdi h it

3%related landing pages are higher

Not actual WBUR numbers

radio show site

3%

If WBUR’s goal is to be a 24/7 news site,it should also calculate bounce rate based on those who bounce from the live stream page.p g

A visit that enters the site through the home page…

…and goes only to the live stream and live stream and radio content…

…is not counted as a “bounce” in web analytics systems.

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BUT it should be interpreted as a visit that’s not interested or engaged with web content.

Visitor site behavior metrics – landing page, topics visited, pages per visit, bounce rate, etc. – vary based on how people entered the site

75%Percent of visits that left immediately after coming to the site by traffic source

A high bounce rate from search

entered the site

to the site, by traffic source

55%

from search engines may indicate you don’t have the right content

A low bounce rate from rate from referring sites usually indicates you have a good link strategy

A high bounce rate from direct

20%o d ect

traffic may indicate your current audiences aren’t

Direct Referrals Search

engaging with you

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To understand what content is working, categorize each story with multiple classifications by content topic, geography, type (text, video) and source (staff, wire)( , )

Staff

ElectionsCrimeSportsO i iStaff-

produced Editorialabout Cambridge school lunch nutrition

OpinionSchoolsHealth

Not staff-produced

BostonCambridgeNewtonNew Hampshire

Most news orgs use traditional media content categorizations that are too b d t t l d t d i it i t t d i t t broad to truly understand visitor interests and intent

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Attitudinal research is essential for nonprofit organizations to assess site success and other program goals such as the level of civic program goals such as the level of civic engagement

“What was the purpose of your visit today? Did you find what you wanted?”

U it l l Use site or page-level pop-up surveys to calculate task completion rates

Market Motive/Avinash Kaushik

Social media

Not only are the technologies new, but the metrics are as well.but the metrics are as well.

--Online Media and Marketing Association Metrics and Measurement program, June 2009

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We know about “spray and pray” business models…

The social media ‘provide and pray’ model

Not having a purpose for social media efforts “….often leads to a worst practice we call ‘provide and pray.’

Leaders and managers provide access to a social technology, and

then pray that a community forms and that community interactions somehow lead to business value.

In most cases, adoption never really materializes; communities may form, but their activity is not considered valuable to the organization.”

“Social Media Success Is About Purpose (Not Technology),” by Anthony J. Bradley and Mark P. McDonald, Harvard Business Review, Nov. 1, 2011

Why should news Why should news and nonprofit organizations…

…have a Facebook page?

…tweet?

How important are either in achieving their goals?

“Effectively measuring social media,” Susan Etlinger, Altimeter Group webinar, April 2011

How important are either in achieving their goals? Are either of them essential, given

--a large part of the target audience may not be on Facebook and/or Twitter?on Facebook and/or Twitter?

--extremely limited resources?

Social media metrics are just as important as site metrics.

Two different types of communities

A traditional news org website

yp

A social media service

serves participants

A traditional news org website A social media service

has content

whothat it distributesto people

-- group themselves

who are

-- have the same interestswho are

in the same geography

-- have conversations

-- contribute content

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Understand how to measure Twitter,and you’ll understand how to measure social media

Content

FollowersFollowers

39not demographics or other typical mass media audience metrics

User- Tweet-centricmetrics

centric metrics

“Twitalyzer and TweetReach – A Symbiotic Pairing for Twitter Analysis,” by Tim Wilson, March 8, 2011

Measurable tweets haveMeasurable tweets have…

1. A call to actionGo here…look…tell me

2 A link that you track with link (e g bit y) 2. A link that you track with link (e.g., bit.y) and web analytics tools

RT - retweet

3. #Hashtags and/or keywords MT – modified tweetVia or HT – heard throughFavoriteLists

4. Topic or person-specific handles

120 or fewer characters not 140!

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…120 or fewer characters, not 140!

Tweetreach gives some understanding of the importance of a topic and a news org’s reach through Twitter vs. other users

I th Is the news org an influencer in the conversation?

Topsy can help identify if influencers by topic

Twitalyzer assesses whether an org should cultivate an influencer

Impact: number of followers, unique references and citations, frequency of unique retweets, update frequency

E R i f l f d b h h b f l Engagement: Ratio of people referenced by the user to the number of people referencing the user

Influence: Likelihood that a Twitter user will retweet what this user has written or reference this user.

Are each of this journalist’s followers worth $2.50?

PhoneDog claims it was damaged because its former editor didn’t transfer his Twitter handle after he quit.didn t transfer his Twitter handle after he quit.

It says each of its Twitter followers were worth $2.50.

“Can a Twitter Account Be a Company Trade Secret?” by Jeff Roberts, PaidContent.org, Nov. 2011

On his own, he’s still “influential”

And PhoneDog is not And PhoneDog is not

“Using Facebook Insights…is complicated by poor documentation unclear definitions inconsistent naming and

F b k I i ht

documentation, unclear definitions, inconsistent naming and frequent updates.” --Nestor Archival Jr., Stratigent

Facebook Insights

No. of active users

No. of likes

No of commentsNo. of comments

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“Facebook Page Analytics: Using and Integrating Data from Facebook Insights,” by Nestor Archival Jr., Stratigent, May 2011

Be honest with the metrics

Do 538 people REALLY “Like” this?this?

O d h j Or do they just want another sweepstakes entry?entry?

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Nov electionNov. electionEncourage lots of active users to avoid dominant commentators who might constrict interaction

Have different pages by topic to encourage participation, understand which topics

Higher education

understand which topics generate the most comments

All 3 comments on these two subjects are from the same person

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“What matters is everything that happens after you post / tweet / participate….The ‘so what’ matters!”

1. Conversation: “Social means talk and listen and discuss. So why not measure that?”

2. Amplification: “The rate at which your followers take your content and share it through their co te t a d s a e t t oug t enetwork.”

3 Applause: “What does your audience like?”3. Applause: What does your audience like?

“Best Social Media Metrics,” by Avinash Kaushik, Oct. 10, 2011. Chart designed by Erik Ohlen

Mobile is more than apps

Mobile web Augmented reality

Mobile applications

Mobile commerce

y

Near-field communicationMobile commerce

SMS or text Mobile barcodes / Quick Response (QR) codes

Location-based services

p (Q )

Proximity marketing

52Greg Dowling, Semphonic, Oct. 2011

“Mobile…metrics are nascent at best.”

Some mobile web metrics--Page views, visits, visitors, new/repeating--Length of visit, bounce rate, depth of visit--Sources: search, referrers, keywords Some mobile app metrics, , y--Campaigns: responses, goal completion--Geographic locationetc.

Some mobile app metrics--Downloads--Active user rate--App starts and closes

In app events--In app events--Sessions--Trial to paid upgradeetc.

And everything differs by--Device (screen size, audio/video capabilities, etc.)--Manufacturer--Operating systemetc.

Greg Dowling, Semphonic, Oct. 2011

Audiences and actions differ by channel……so there are completely different metrics for each!

SOCIAL

And you need to report them all separately – you can’t add them up to get a total audience number

SITES MEDIA

Totals

MOBILE

1. Who? How many?In target audience?

2 f i i ?

? ? ? ? ? ?

3. What did they see?

2. No. of visits? How often? ? ? ? ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? ?Did they get want they wanted?

4. Did they interact?

? ? ? ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? ?

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yWhat did they do?How much?

? ? ? ? ? ?

Using data for decision-making

1. Define a measurable audience.

2. Set specific goals across all channels; map metrics to goals. Measure

3. Set up your site to measure actions that indicate

Optimize WebAnalytics

ReportAct

actions that indicate engagement

Analyze

Don’t forget about Voice of Customer

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