June Dershewitz on Web Analytics

Advancements in Mobile App Tracking [Or, the Mini-Me of Web 2.0]

When I got into mobile analytics a couple of years ago, I quickly realized that there were several very different ways to interact with (and therefore, to measure) the medium: there's the mobile web, and then there are mobile apps.

Mobile web - even though it's fraught with data collection problems - is easier to come to terms with as a web analyst because it's like the Mini-Me of the existing desktop (or "fixed") web. We know exactly what to expect from the mobile web, it just has a smaller-than-normal screen and lame browsing technology.

Continuing with the Austin Powers analogy, mobile apps are like the Mini-Me of Web 2.0. Since the "Web 2.0" buzzword can mean several things, in this context I am referring to rich internet applications. When RIAs first became popular on the fixed web, analysts had to shift our thinking away from measuring page views to measuring events. The same holds true with mobile apps, where we now have no tiny page views, just tiny events.

When I've written about measuring the mobile web in the past, I've always intentionally stepped around the issue of mobile apps because they seemed like a bit of an edge case. Well, those days are over. With the rise in popularity of the iPhone and similar devices, we see an increased awareness of and interest in mobile apps. You get your new phone and immediately you want to download apps. Back in September 2009 Apple announced that more than 2 billion apps have been downloaded from their app store. Wow.

As a web analyst, this is why I care:

Every time a new mobile app is born, there will come a point when the marketing managers and usability specialists and business executives want to know how customers are interacting with their mobile app. They will then turn to their resident web analyst and ask the classic, "So, how'd we do?" to which the web analyst will likely reply, "Uh ... we're not tracking the app."

The "we're not tracking the app" excuse won't fly much longer. There are many ways to track your mobile app, it's just a matter of realizing that you need to have a plan and convincing your development team to implement it. Unlike tracking a static page on the fixed web, it's not as simple as tacking on a snippet of javascript code. As stated earlier, it's more like tracking a Flash app on the fixed web - you have to use real brainpower to determine which events you consider significant, and then you need to embed the tracking within the app so that the appropriate events are logged as they occur.

In the past I've been involved in Semphonic client projects where we used the Omniture data insertion API to push mobile app activity to SiteCatalyst alongside related fixed web and mobile web activity. Omniture is definitely a viable solution for tracking mobile apps; within the past 6 months they've expanded the list of smartphone platforms whose apps they're able to measure. I have also recently learned about stand-alone mobile app tracking applications like Flurry and Pinch. I welcome your blog comments if you've used these products or others like them.

The big news, though, is that Google Analytics has entered the running as a mobile app measurement solution. Last month GA announced a set of new features, including the ability to measure iPhone and Android mobile apps. GA doesn't cover as many smartphone platforms as Omniture (yet), but then again it, uh, costs a lot less than Omniture. In another recent official GA post highlighting app tracking, they offer up a video clip case study:

The video interviewee says mobile app tracking has led to insight about popular features, which in turn has informed product development and usability initiatives. It's a useful story no matter which tracking tool you happen to use (or plan to use).

Lesson: the minute you get the idea to build a mobile app, take a breath and then think about how you're going to track it. You have a number of options. None are super-simple, but they're all manageable and will meet an important need down the road when your business executives want to know, quantifiably, how customers are using the app. Good luck!

[PS For those of you following my blog post series on functionalism, I will get back on track in my next post. I could not resist this tangent.]

Functionalism Works Because People "Get It"

Back in one of Gary Angel's original blog posts on functionalism, he wrote this about why functionalism works so well compared with other web behavioral analysis techniques:

"When we explained [Functionalism] to channel marketers and site designers, they got it immediately. We could see the lights go on. 'Ah – I get it. This page is supposed to move people here and it isn’t doing the job and I can even understand how you proved it isn’t doing the job.'"

In short, functionalism works because people "get it."

In web analytics - a discipline often plagued by complexities and misunderstandings and so many "huh?" looks - it's refreshing to find something that people "get" so readily. As we strive to popularize and evangelize web analytics it really helps to have such palatable material. Try it, you'll like it.

So obviously you can see that I'm a convert. Here's how I got my start with functionalism:

Not long after I joined Semphonic, I took on a client project that involved a functional website analysis. I set out by reading Gary's white paper and reviewing some other previous projects and talking to my new colleagues about it. And my initial impression was, as in the quote at the beginning of this post, "Yeah, I get it. That makes total sense."

I felt as if I had been doing this type of analysis all along, but this just helped put a name and a structure around the activity.

These days, when I explain functionalism to new colleagues and new clients, I often say that the analysis part is very very simple, it's the methodology for the analysis that benefits from some study. Functionalism is a methodology for web measurement. It takes a bit of discipline to apply this methodology to an otherwise unstructured analysis task, but it pays off in the end because it gives a common language for all analysts and also all intended recipients of the analysis.

Are YOU ready to get started? Great. In the next post I'll explain the basics of functionalism.

[This post is part of my series on Functionalism.]

Functionalism Blog Post Series

How do you actually do web analysis?

I'm not speaking rhetorically here. I mean, if you're a web analyst, and you set out to make sense of the web site behavioral data that we all collect in web analytics applications like Omniture SiteCatalyst and Webtrends and Google Analytics, how do you frame a typical analysis project?

When I do web analysis I often turn to functionalism.

The concept of functionalism was developed several years ago by Gary Angel, Semphonic's founder and CTO. In essence, it is a framework for doing web site behavioral analysis. First, web pages are categorized into types depending on their function, and then specific KPIs are applied to each page type. I'll explain more later.

Although functionalism was Gary's "baby," over the past few years it has become the common language we all speak at Semphonic. It is now one of our web analytics consulting product offerings, and at any given time we've got someone in the office doing functional analysis. We're spreading the word through training, too; I recently taught a class on functionalism at the X Change 2009 Think Tank.

Since I believe functionalism is so useful for web analysts, I have decided to write my own blog post series on it.

I will begin by telling you how I got started with functional analysis and explaining why I think it's worth the effort. In subsequent posts I'll lay out the basics of functionalism, give a number of examples, and describe how you can run a functional analysis project of your own. I'll file everything in the Functionalism category on this blog.

As background material I recommend reading Semphonic's white paper on functionalism, as well as Gary's own blog series on the topic:

• Functionalism White Paper (pdf)
• Gary Angel's Blog: Functionalism and Web Analytics Part I
• Gary Angel's Blog: Functionalism and Web Analytics Part II
• Gary Angel's Blog: Functionalism and Web Analytics Part III
• Gary Angel's Blog: Functionalism and Web Analytics Part IV

 

5 Industry News Tidbits from the First Half of the Year

In an effort to get myself all caught up on what happened in the web analytics industry while I was on leave, I've been sifting through posts and press releases from the first half of 2009. Here are 5 noteworthy items:

1) Microsoft adCenter Analytics beta closes

The already-slim web analytics vendor market loses another player. Here's the development team's announcement from March.

2) GA launches certification for individuals

The new Google Analytics Individual Qualification test costs just $50 USD - and all of the course materials are public domain. Will it become a must-have bullet point on a web analyst's resume?

3) Twitter reaches critical mass

Somehow in the past 6 months every web analyst and their dog joined Twitter, Eric T. Peterson whipped up this incredibly popular Twitalyzer tool, and even Omniture says via press release that they can measure brand activity on Twitter.

4) New web analytics books

Dennis Mortensen and Steve Jackson - both very smart gentlemen - have published new web analytics books this year.

5) Web Analytics Association elects 7 new board members

It's an honor to have such a qualified set of WAA board members; I look forward to working with everyone over the next year.

Hello Again!

I have spent the past few months offline - welcoming my new baby - and now I am making a gradual return to the professional world. I plan to work part-time at Semphonic through the summer and then go full-time in September 2009 when my daughter enters daycare.

Ever the analyst, I have recently occupied my time with child-rearing data geek tools like the Itzbeen (it goes everywhere I go) and Trixie Tracker (oooh, pretty charts). Now, though, I am ready to pick up where I left off with the web analytics industry. I look forward to exploring all sorts of data and writing about the experience here on this blog.

It's great to be back. Thanks for reading.

Taking a Break

As of February 1st, 2009, I am officially on maternity leave from Semphonic. My blog will remain dormant while I'm away; I intend to pick it back up again when I return to work later this year.

In the meantime I hope you get some value out of what I've written. This blog has been a great learning experience, as much for me as for the readers who've found their way here.

If you're looking for a place to start in the archives, the 5 most popular posts are:

1. Real-World Challenges of Tracking Mobile with Page Tags (plus a whitepaper I wrote on mobile analytics and CEM)
2. Web Analytics Data Reconciliation How-To Guide
3. What is the Career Trajectory in Web Analytics? (plus a little advice for newbies that I wrote for the WAA)
4. Tracking Downloads with Page Tags, Just the Basics
5. The Dreaded 404 Not Found: Three Ways to Find Broken Links

Enjoy!

Mobile Analytics Whitepaper: Written by Me, Available Free

I'm pleased to announce that - as a joint effort between Semphonic and our partner, Tealeaf - I have published a whitepaper on mobile analytics and customer experience management (CEM). You can get the whitepaper at Tealeaf's site or write to me directly (june@semphonic.com) if you want to know more.

Working with Tealeaf has given me a new appreciation for the value of CEM, and I believe they've got a very unique offering when it comes to mobile web usage analysis. So have a read through the whitepaper. I welcome your feedback either privately or as comments on this blog.

Looking Forward to 2009

I haven't blogged much lately (shame!), I will miss a few Web Analytics Wednesdays this spring (unheard of!), and I'm skipping Omniture Summit 2009 (how could I!). But I have a really good excuse: I'm due to have my first child on February 22nd.

Yesterday someone asked me if I would Twitter from the maternity ward. Uh, no. But I am bound to post a few baby pictures on Facebook, so you can friend me there if you'd like.

I plan to maintain my Semphonic duties and my obligations to the Web Analytics Association Board of Directors through early February, then I will take a break. You can expect to see me back online professionally starting in June of next year.

I look back over the past 12 months and am amazed at just how much has happened. I look forward to the next 12 months and know that there are even more surprises in store.

I wish you all a happy holiday season and a fantastic new year. Here's to 2009.

The Best of eMetrics DC 2008

I have recently returned from a highly informative, thoroughly enjoyable and action packed week at the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit 2008 in Washington DC. Since then people have been asking me, "What did you think? How did it go? What did you learn?" so here it is in writing.

Big Successes

eMetrics would not be complete without a sampling of client-side case studies, and I knew that I would catch some at this conference. However, I was not expecting the case studies to be quite so inspiring and so motivating as they turned out to be.  I had two favorites, both rightfully featured on the big stage as keynotes: James G. Robinson from the New York Times, and Joe Megibow from Hotels.com.

James from NYT explained how the work he's doing in the online channel has influenced the offline channel at his company, and how his team has managed to convey the importance of web measurement to that wider audience.  For instance, they found that they could use daily page views (yes, page views) on their web site to accurately predict the number of print newspapers they'd sell the following day. Pretty simple, yet a very effective way to encourage cooperation across diverse groups and spread the word about web analytics.

Joe from Hotels.com described how his team has managed to fuse customer feedback and session-level customer experience data to identify and correct commerce flow problems on the web site. He gave great examples, and it's something that anyone with an online form (and isn't that everyone?) really ought to be doing at their own company. Joe also highlighted the work of his colleague Vernon, in the audience, as an ace developer of applications that the analytics team has been building in order to monitor their systems and notify them of problems. Now everyone wants to hire Vernon, or some rare individual just like him.

I hope that someone (ahem) will post videos of the keynotes online. These stories need to be shared.

Getting Executives to Listen

As a theme I've seen evolving over the past couple of years, web analytics professionals are working hard to get buy-in from our executive teams. At this conference there were a couple of really articulate and important presentations on this topic. 

First, all-around great guy Eric T. Peterson gave a presentation entitled Competing on Web Analytics.  It's an extension of Tom Davenport's 2007 book, Competing on Analytics, applied specifically to the online channel. Since his time as an industry analyst I've always felt that Eric has had a clear view of how the practice of web analytics can evolve, progress and grow within a company, and this latest presentation continues to build on that theme.   

Also, Liz Miller from the CMO Council gave a compelling presentation on The View from the CMO's Office.  I hope she returns to eMetrics, because she's got an important message we should all be listening to as we attempt to capture the attention of our CMOs.

Talking to Everyone

Those who know me know that I love to meet people, and I always stay up late in the Lobby Bar, talking shop while eating fine Belgian chocolates. I recognize that networking is one of the primary reasons that people attend conferences, and there were plenty of opportunities to do so at eMetrics (not just in the Lobby Bar). 

My personal favorite networking event, Web Analytics Wednesday, was as lively and well-attended as always - thank you Coremetrics, WebTrends and eMetrics for generously sponsoring us. After years of rogue and covert operations we were honored to have WAW make it onto the official eMetrics agenda for the first time.

Also, as a member of the Web Analytics Association Board of Directors I had a hand in organizing the WAA Community Meeting and Speed Networking session in DC. Based on feedback we'd gotten from our members we decided to help everyone meet each other by conducting this speed networking experiment - it was loud and chaotic and we might make some refinements next time but I'd still call it a success.  Here's a picture from speed networking:

 

That's Janet Park (WAA Membership Committee volunteer extraordinaire) on the left, introducing herself to June Li (my doppelganger, the "other" June of web analytics) on the right.

If you went to eMetrics DC, lucky you - I'm sure that you left feeling as inspired as I did. If you missed out, I do hope to see you at one of the 2009 events.

Book Review: Click by Bill Tancer

I love data. No, no, I mean it. When I saw Bill Tancer speak at a conference a little over a year ago he closed with that sentence, in fact a clever plug for his corporate blog: ilovedata.com. I gladly took the bait. Recently, when I heard that Tancer had published a book about his beloved data, I snapped that up, too.

The book is Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why it Matters. It is, chapter by chapter, a collection of analyses focused on a single data set, namely the search and clickstream behavior of 10 million US-based internet users. 

On the surface Click has genuine pop culture appeal, with coverage of topics like porn and fashion and phobias and rock bands. In that respect it's readable by anyone who uses the internet and wonders what we - the collective "we" - are doing online. At the same time I believe there's extra value for those of us who work with web activity data for a living. 

As an analyst there is nothing quite so satisfying as taking some data, asking and refining and asking questions, turning the data over and over until interesting observations pop out. Tancer writes about his observations, but he also writes about the processes leading up to his observations. In no way is Click meant to be an instruction manual for data analysts, and yet it does a pretty good job of describing the act of analysis. If you want to know what it's like to be a data analyst, read this book.

Some reviews I've read assert that Click is a plug for Hitwise and its own slice of competitive intelligence data. I disagree. Taking a step back, I think that smart analysts can draw from the book and relate it to whatever data they happen to have at hand. In particular, site-side web analytics data from tools like Omniture and Google Analytics, while offering a fundamentally different view of the internet, can still be used effectively to uncover trends in search behavior a la Tancer's approach. Simply ask and refine and ask questions, then present your observations with the same enthusiasm that Tancer does in Click.

Now that I've written this review I can hand off the book to my fellow Semphonic data analysts.  There's a waiting list. We all love data.