Log-File Analysis

In terms of log-file analysis, you should know the following:

• Log files are normally produced by Web servers, so the raw data are readily available. Page tagging, however, requires changes to the Web site.
• Log files are very accurate—they record every click. Page tagging can be less accurate. If a user’s browser does not support JavaScript, for example, no information will be captured.
• Log files are in a standard format, so it is possible to switch vendors and still be able to analyze historical data. Page tagging is proprietary to each vendor, so switching can mean losing historical data.
• Log files record visits from search engine spiders—useful for search engine optimization.
• Log files record failed requests, whereas page tagging only shows successful requests.

Page Tagging

In terms of page tagging, you should know the following:

• JavaScript makes it easier to capture more information (e.g., products purchased or screen size of a user’s browser). You can use log-file analysis to capture this information, but it will involve modifying the URLs (uniform resource locators).
• Page tagging can report on events, such as interactions with a Flash movie, that log-file analysis cannot.
• Page tagging can be used by companies that do not run their own Web servers.
• Page tagging service providers usually offer a greater level of support. This is because it is a third-party service, whereas log-file analysis software is often managed in-house.

Because of the different methods of collecting data, the raw figures produced by the two services will differ. Sometimes, both are used to analyze a Web site. However, raw figures not matching up should not be a problem. It is through interpreting these figures that you will be able to understand how effective your eMarketing efforts are.

Web site analytics packages can be used to measure most, if not all, eMarketing campaigns. Web site analysis should always account for the various campaigns being run. For example, generating high traffic volumes by employing various eMarketing tactics like SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay per click), and e-mail marketing can prove to be a pointless and costly exercise if the visitors are leaving your site without achieving one (or more) of your Web site’s goals. Conversion optimization aims to convert as many of a Web site’s visitors as possible into active customers.

Building Block Terms

Here are some of the key metrics you will need to get started on Web site analytics:

• HitEvery request to the server is recorded as a hit, mistakenly used in Web analytics as an indication of a successful Web site.. A request to the server (and a fairly meaningless number on its own).
• Page. Unit of content (so downloads and Flash files can be defined as a page).
• Page views. The number of times a page was successfully requested.
• Visit or session. An interaction by an individual with a Web site consisting of one or more page views within a specified period of time.

• Unique visitors. The number of individual people visiting the Web site one or more times within a period of time. Each individual is only counted once. Types of visitors can be categorized as follows:

  • New visitor. A unique visitor who visits the Web site for the first time ever in the period of time being analyzed.
  • Repeat visitor. A unique visitor with two or more visits within the time period being analyzed.
  • Return visitor. A unique visitor who is not a new visitor.

These are the most basic Web metrics. They tell you how much traffic your Web site is receiving. Looking at repeat and returning visitors can tell you about how your Web site creates loyalty. As well as growing overall visitor numbers, a Web site needs to grow the number of visitors who come back. An exception might be a support Web site—repeat visitors could indicate that the Web site has not been successful in solving the visitor’s problem. Each Web site needs to be analyzed based on its purpose.

Visit Characterization

The following help characterize the visit to a particular Web site:

• Entry page. The first page of a visit.
• Landing page. The page intended to identify the beginning of the user experience resulting from a defined marketing effort.
• Exit page. The last page of a visit.
• Visit duration. The length of time in a session.

• ReferrerThe URL that originally generated the request for the current page.. The URL (uniform resource locator) that originally generated the request for the current page.

  • Internal referrer. A URL that is part of the same Web site.
  • External referrer. A URL that is outside of the Web site.
  • Search referrer. The URL has been generated by a search function.
  • Visit referrer. The URL that originated a particular visit.
  • Original referrer. The URL that sent a new visitor to the Web site.
• Click-through. The number of times a link was clicked by a visitor.
• Click-through rate. The number of times a link was clicked divided by the number of times it was seen (impressions).
• Page views per visit. The number of page views in a reporting period divided by the number of visits in that same period.

These are the terms that tell you how visitors reach your Web site and how they move through the Web site. The way that a visitor navigates a Web site is called a click path. Looking at the referrers, both internal and internal, allows you to gauge a click path that visitors take.

Content Characterization

The following help characterize how visitors move through the Web site:

• Page exit ratio. Number of exits from a page divided by total number of page views of that page.
• Single-page visits. Visits that consist of one page, even if that page was viewed a number of times.
• Bounces (single page-view visits). Visits consisting of a single page view.
• Bounce rate. Single page-view visits divided by entry pages.

When visitors view a page, they have two options: leave the Web site, or view another page on the Web site. These metrics tell you how visitors react to your content. Bounce rate can be one of the most important metrics that you measure! There are a few exceptions, but a high bounce rate usually means high dissatisfaction with a Web page.

Conversion Metrics

Other metrics that apply to eMarketing tactics include the following:

• Event. A recorded action that has a specific time assigned to it by the browser or the server.
• Conversion. A visitor completing a target action.
• Impression. Each time an advertisement or a page is served.
• Open. Each e-mail that is deemed open. Usually if the images are loaded, an e-mail is considered open.

In order to test the success of your Web site, you need to remember the TAO of conversion optimization:

• Track
• Analyze
• Optimize

Using your goals and KPIs, you’ll know what metrics you will be tracking. You will then need to analyze these results and take appropriate actions. And the testing begins again!