eCommerce Simplicity

In a previous post, I discussed the new Google Analytics and how this version has placed a greater emphasis on path analysis.  For those who may be new to the topic, path analysis is the practice of reviewing website behavior relating to browsing tendencies, in an effort to better understand the effectiveness of copy, content, and information architecture.

One of the most important tools in being able to conduct effective path analysis is the ability to generate uder defined “funnels” for processes that exist on your current site.  For instance, as an eCommerce merchant, you may have the following processes that you want to track.

 Cart - Checkout Transaction process

Search Results to Order Process

Homepage to Email sign up process

Key landing page conversion funnels within PPC advertising

In these instances, when conducting path analysis, you want to create page progressions that replicate how a user will shop your store and identify the pages that are creating the most leakage.  Omniture, a web analytics software leader, provides the capaibilties to do this exercise by dragging and dropping pages within their PathFinder report module.

By creating these page progressions for path analysis, you can identify the pages within the progression that are losing high numbers of visitors.  By taking new approaches to layout, copy, creative, images, etc on these pages - you will be taking the steps necessary to be proactive in positively impacting convesrion rates through concrete web analytics data.

Web Analytics
eCommerce
eCommerce Usability

Migrating a blog from the new version of Blogger is not easy.  In an effort to test out alternative tactics for link building/SEO tactics, Trinity has migrated to this new blog which is run on the word press platform.

Needless to say it wasnt easy.  Hunting for WP plugins to handle the new Blogger version was pretty tough…

The tactic that we are integrating into our SEO methodology is called “Tag and Ping” - a process in which blogs serve as a mechanism to build authority status within defined categories.   Its progressive and not utilized by most SEO’ers or businesses

Interested in learning more?  Shoot me an email…

Del.icio.us Tags:
Tag and Ping

So I mentioned that Google Analytics launched V2 earlier today, but what I did not mention is how sweet this application is! Time after time I am blown away by the Engineers at the Plex‘, but this may be their best achievement to date.

Here’s the announcement on the official GA blog: http://analytics.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-version-of-google-analytics.html

At Trinity, a large portion of our time is spent analyzing client web data. We provide this service to help marketing executives better understand their visitor behavior/marketing spend and subsequently tailor new strategies to capitalize on these trends.

Needless to say, we are snobs when it comes to web analytics. If a business relies on a local log file program to decipher intelligence, we quickly scrap that notion and implement a enterprise level tool. Myself, I was always loyal to Omniture. The best interface, the most flexibility, the best filtering tools. Then there was the pack that followed: Web Trends, CoreMetrics, FireClick, and the emerging player of last year: Google Analytics.

As we all know, what made GA so popular was the price tag. To get the power it provided for free opened up new opportunities for websites and webmasters everywhere. Finally you could get the data needed to proactively manage a website or eCommerce business at no cost!

But GA was still not near Omniture IMO. Well, that’s becoming a moot point…

The new version of GA is a slam dunk. Its obvious that some of Google’s best programmers must have worked on this release and I am excited to show our clients the new functionality that the tool brings. Lets just look at some of the new functionality which makes this new release so cool…

Speed

The flash interface motors through report creation. A new tabbed based interface lets users quickly locate what data they need. For instance, when looking at monthly visitors, and drilling into the direct traffic segment (folks who typed your url) a GA user can now see site usage, conversion data, and ecommerce data instantaneously.

Segmentation

Now marketers can quickly find how users are navigating through the landing pages that they are directed. “Landing page” is now a variable for segmentation and marketers can see how their key pages are performing from a natural or paid perspective. As a SEO’er, this is a great new functionality to help gauge progression. Progress can be judged on not just keyword penetration but also page penetration.

Timeline Functionality

This a very cool enhancement which allows a user to determine the report timeframe using a dragging timeline. Not easy to spot - but take a look and you will find it.

Navigational Summary

Nav/Path reports in the last version were clunky. Now the process is much more streamlined as a user has a direct link to see where users came from and where they went to from a specific webpage. Now GA provides a slick dropdown (like Omniture) and a search functionality to quickly locate the page you want to analyze.

As great as v2 is, there is one thing that I hope will be integrated in the near term…

Dynamic path analysis reporting is still not offered by GA and is now Omniture’s core differentiatorin the marketplace. When visiting Google last month, I mentioned this as an enhancement to potentially roll out in upcoming months. It was viewed positively and hopefully progress will be made towards incorporating such a tool.

Gotta jet - but look for an upcoming post in which Ill take a MUCH deeper dive into dynamic path analysis and why it is so fundamental to web analytics…

Till then…

Craig

GA V2

Back in the blogging saddle. Been away for a bit. Things are crazy here with new clients and trade show logistics etc. Not sure if you have seen but we just inked a partnership with Google Analytics.

Essentially, Trinity will act as an authorized consultant for clients who are looking for strategic and technical help with the Google Analytics software package.

I’m proud of our distinction! We had to go through a rigorous selection process and spent some time working and collaborating at Google headquarters. Kudos to the folks at Google Analytics. They make a great software solution even better with the new V2 GA launch, and, best of all, provide a website of any size the capability to track and monitor both marketing and user behavior.

 Tags:

Google Analytics
Web Analytics

Was doing a random spin around some of the eCommerce giants when I noticed the unique layout of Zappos.com’s homepage. Zappos has broken new ground before with there “all the time” free shipping and free returns, but now they were attempting new approaches with eCommerce web usability that I found very interesting.

The most obvious was a two boxed approach to on-site search in a unique location within their homepage. Typically, on-site search has always been at the top of a homepage or eCommerce template due to the fact that humans read vertically down as that is what we are trained to do.

Zappos takes a different approach with their new design. Zappos has embedded TWO on site search boxes near the bottom of the fold. Breaking all rules of eye tracking studies and delivering the user to the search box as quickly as possible, Zappos seems to want the user to read the promos before looking for the shoe they desire.

Its an interesting approach and Id love to see the data relating to goal progressions with the search tool.

Web Usability
eCommerce Usability

I was in heavy notebook shopping mode this afternoon. as Ive been sick of my heavy Toshiba dragging me down at every airport and tradeshow. I was in full research mode looking for the lightest laptop I could get with enough power to run my vital apps.

In doing so, I went to many web properties. I entered ” light laptop” numerous times. Now, when I went to Circuit City (directly, not through an ad), I was provided a enticing “promo” in the homepage of the primary real estate of the site for a notebook computer.

Almost automatically, I clicked the spot and was being merchanised to on the sub-category level. Data shows that once a user has progressed to this point in an eCommerce transaction, chances of conversion dramatically increase.

The question is - did Circuit City have some type of tracking software set in place and a program with other web entities so to present RELEVANT CONTENT AND PROMOTIONS to my needs at that current time? If they did, it worked and I was fully engaged in the user experience.

This is what I feel is the next big thing in eCommerce, not flash based merchandising designs which seem to be the hot thing at eCom trade shows.

My opinion, in this instance it was completely random. Circuit City did not have the processes in place to have their site present so intelligently. But you can replicate this type of targeting on our internal site and create a much more engaging experience for your visitors and customers with current technology available today.

Behavioral Targeting
eCommerce Targeting

PPC advertising can be an effective medium to drive sales - Other times, it can be an absolute albatross around your marketing campaigns due to its unpredictability and ROI spikes. What really drives me nuts however about PPC isnt the medium, but rather, the fly by night PPC only agencies that manage mult-million dollar paid search campaigns.

A Trinity client uses an alternative PPC management organizationwho boasts of ROAS of 300% on the latest campaign. When looking at the converting keywords however, its obvious that branded terms are driving the lionshare of the revenue. In situations such as these, the advertiser must strip out branded terms from ROI calculations to get the true performance of the PPC campaign.

Even though it is important to buy branded terms, lets be honest here…a monkey could do it.

Real efficiency in paid search management comes from bid management and the proactive testing of ad copy in efforts to increase quality score (ie. ad position). Even with active ppc management, success is not ensured. Key landing page creative must be tested and different offers messaged. Google’s web optimizer tool is perfect to tune your landing pages and is quickly becoming a key part of our client’s web marketing strategies.

tags:

Paid Search
PPC

Happy Easter everyone. As I have a few moments here, I thought I would blog a little about path analysis and how it can be such a powerful driver for conversion improvement. For those who are new to the term “path analysis” - essentially is the tracking, monitoring and strategic planning related to the primary online processes within your web site.

Any website that is established with the goal of monetizing traffic should conduct path analysis to properly gauge site performance. In conceptualizing a monitoring plan, the business should first outline the goals or scenarios that are to be monitored. In a basic eCommerce business - the following four processes should be monitored:

1. Cart to Conversion process (ie. after someone adds to cart, what percentage of visits are converting into sales for the business)

2. Search to Conversion (ie. after someone receives a search result, what percentage progress to the cart and then finalize the order process)

3. Site to Email (ie. What percentage of overall traffic that visits through the homepage is progressing to the email sign up option)

4. Spotlight Products to Conversion (ie. eCommerce sites usually “spotlight” 3-8 products within the homepage - how are these products doing from a conversion perspective?)

By seeing the percentage of traffic that progresses through these processes within your site, your business will be able to identify areas of the site that are causing visitor confusion or inhibting conversion rates in some form.

Knowing this data can set improvements in motion to hopefully reduce that leakage and drive incremental improvements.

Remember, if your conversion is 3% today - just getting one more person out of the 97 who didnt buy will impact your sales 33% on the upside! Optimize those sites out there!

Web Analytics
Web Path Analysis

Many of Trinity’s clients are new to the notion of tracking web analytics and are unfamiliar with how analytics can help the overall growth of their business. In working with clients, many times we are in the position of recommending and implementing a web analytics solution that is going to meet their needs. We always come to the question - Go with Google, or go with a paid solution…

When making the decision of which way to go, the first step is to understand the level of analysis needed. If the business just wants top line reporting on marketing campaigns and content effectiveness as it relates to the conversion funnel, then Google Analytics will be more than adequate. Google Analytics (previously known as Urchin for those new to the analytic world) provides a on-demand tool to track and monitor your key metrics. It is a great solution for mid-size companies and businesses who are new to analytics.

If your business is more proactive in leveraging analytics internally within your organization - Omniture may be the best bet for you. Due to its flexibility in constructing custom path analysis reports - Omniture provides a level of speed & insight that is un-paralleled in the analytic marketplace. Look for Google to try and become the market leader in this space by incorporating these type of dynamic capabilites, but until then, Omniture is still the king of the web analytics market.

Google Analytics

Its been a crazy last month. Catching up with old friends and making new ones is always a good time and this year’s Shop.org first look and Etail West was no exception.

It seems like the new “hot” thing in Ecom these days is flash and flex technology to provide a seamless experience for the shopper in both browsing & ordering. When saying seamless, I am trying to convey that pages are not reloading but rather its just one continuous flow throughout the store experience.

Im not sure however that the mainstream consumer is ready for these types of sites. Humans by nature are creatures of habit and we are hard to break of those habits, especially when we are comfortable. These new tech vendors who are promoting their technologies as the next big thing have to realize that both retailer and vendor adoption will be fairly slow. Retailers are going to be apprehensive in leaving the standard Home - Category - Sub Category - Product Page progression and consumers will need time to truly embrace flash within an eCommerce environment.

Flash can be great to utilize for merchandising at the category level, but having a complete site in flash can be a challenge at the Analytic and SEO level. Finding solutions to these hurdles is something Trinity is looking into right now - stay posted for more info…

 Tags

<a href=http://www.technorati.com/flash+seo rel=”tag”>Flash SEO</a>