The Ingredient for E-commerce Success

Web Analytics

San Diego Business Journal - August 14, 2006

Imagine coaching a football team in the Super Bowl and not keeping score. The coach has no idea what plays worked or what strategies may beat the competition.

Some companies run their e-commerce business that way, losing many opportunities to increase leads, sales and profits. To ensure that a company gets the highest return online, it needs a quality Web analytics tool to keep score.

Web analytics is the collection, reporting and analysis of activity on a Web site, which provides information and strategies to achieve maximum revenue per visitor. The value of analytics grows exponentially when providing accurate and real-time marketing data to track online behavior, measure conversion ratios and knowing exactly how buyers found the site.

Ultimately, good analytics gives the information companies need to get the highest return on their e-commerce store. In addition, it will tell why people are buying from the company and just as importantly, why they are not. Analytics are also the key to reducing shopping cart abandonment rate.

There are many Web analytics programs to choose from, so finding the right package for a business is an important task. Companies will want a program that is easy to use, accurate, real-time and most importantly, provides key marketing metrics, including campaign tracking, conversion rate, revenue and ROI.

Things to consider when selecting the right package for a business:

Define Web goals – both quantitatively and qualitatively. Determine key metrics and ensure that the analytics tool provides an easy to use format.
Does the business have a webmaster to install the scripts and add tracking strings to its marketing campaigns?
Look for a company that will take the time to listen to the needs, explain how its solution will benefit the business and provide initial support for no additional fees.