June Dershewitz on Web Analytics

eMetrics Recap in 100 Words

Highlights from eMetrics SF 2008:

Tom Davenport’s keynote was inspiring. He communicates what we’ve known all along – the importance of analytics - straight up to our executives.

Jakob Nielsen’s presentation was captivating. His videos of user testing sessions drew laughter; we can all relate.

Industry Insights Day was 100% worthwhile. Sharp minds; lively conversation.  Similar in spirit to X Change.

Zero newsworthy vendor announcements. Google Analytics unveils “almost” real-time processing. Ho-hum.

WAW was a smashing success. My super co-host Eric Peterson applauds the feat – and fête.

Our Twitter backchannel was a fun experiment.  Let's do it again, Clint.

That's all!
 

 

Speaking, Listening, Partying, Learning and Otherwise Engaged at eMetrics SF

The eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit happens May 4-7 and I'm so looking forward it!  Although the conference is practically walking distance from home I still think of it as a Big Trip.  Here's what I'm excited about:

I get to speak.  James Gardner and I will do a modified reprise of the presentation we gave at eMetrics DC last fall, and we'll be sharing the hour with the inimitable Dylan Lewis and Mark Brooks.  The four of us have worked out a nicely-coordinated set of talks focused on career development and staffing in web analytics.  Read about our track.

I also get to listen.  With gusto I will attend as many sessions as I can.  After the conference I'll do a write-up on my blog.  If you just can't wait that long I may also post some juicy tidbits on Twitter (tsk, Twitter) so feel free to follow me.

And I am throwing a big party. Have you not heard?  Web Analytics Wednesday happens on May 6th and you're invited.  Muchas gracias to Eric T. Peterson, David Rogers, our fine sponsors (Coremetrics, SiteSpect, ForeSee, Tealeaf and eMetrics), our super volunteers and every single participant.  Sign up now if you haven't already. We already have more than 160 web analytics professionals signed up to attend!

If you're attending eMetrics and you'd like to meet, please introduce yourself - I still look like the picture on my blog, except I have a new short haircut.  If you are in the vicinity but you can't spring for an eMetrics ticket, don't despair!  There are 3 associated free activities during the week: Web Analytics Wednesday, the WAA Raucous Caucus, and the eMetrics Expo-Only pass.

Here's to eMetrics.  It's going to be a busy week but a lot of fun.

Web Analytics Data Reconciliation How-To Guide

I suspect that most experienced web analysts have done at least one data reconciliation project during the course of their tenure.  For something so common, however, it rarely gets discussed. 

Sure, it's not sexy like Angelina Jolie, but even Plain Jane likes a little attention now and then.

Data reconciliation is an important foundational activity because, when done well, it will inspire people to have confidence in the data that you share with them. Data quality will never be perfect, but it should be good enough for everyone to feel that they can make sound business decisions based on what's available.

Enough pep talk.  If you're on the brink of your first data reconciliation project, here's what to do:

1) Identify your two data sources

The need for data reconciliation arises when you have two separate systems that provide similar sets of data.  One of these sources - let's call it "Primary Source" - will necessarily be your standard web analytics application.  The other one - let's call it "Secondary Source" - can be one of several things, namely:

• An upstream system, like campaigns (banner, search, email)
• A downstream system, like commerce or downloads or form submissions
• A parallel system, such as when you migrate from one web analytics tool to another.  In this case I'd advise you to break your project into smaller chunks according to individual reports you care to reconcile.

2) Learn how your primary source gets collected

Read the documentation and talk to your internal tech team.  Be clear on the scope of the data you're collecting - ie exactly which pages are tagged, or exactly which log files are processed.  If you're using page tags, know whether the tag is placed at the top or the bottom of the page (this will affect when the tag fires, which in turn affects the level of data loss to some extent).  Make note of any special filters, transformations or business logic used here.

3) Learn how your secondary source gets collected

If your secondary source is a parallel web analytics system, repeat the process you followed in step 2, above. 

If it's an upstream system you're stuck with whatever documentation and lore you can glean regarding how that works. 

If it's a downstream system you'll need to identify the group within your business that owns that system, then grill them on how they do data collection and how they transform the data into the metric you're trying to reconcile.  There's a lot of variability here, especially if your downstream system is homegrown, so be sure to do a thorough investigation.  As in step 2, make note of any special filters, transformations or business logic used here.

4) Compare data sets

Pick a sensible date range and granularity level, then pull corresponding data from both sources.  A good default would be daily totals for a month.  If you're dealing with really high volume you may want to isolate a subset of your data based on some attribute that you can reliably pull from both sources, like a single URL (for downloads) or a single product (for commerce).

Now put your data sets side by side in Excel and calculate the delta.  Compare the trends over time and see if you can explain the differences.  Ask yourself, are you comfortable with the differences you see?  If not, consider fine-tuning the way you pull data from your primary and/or secondary source in order to account for those differences.

Reality check: you're never going to get a perfect match.  This is a good exercise, but know when to say when. Do not obsess!

5) Document and share your findings

This is the most important step.  Write a report about what you've done and what you've found.  Now go talk to people - give a verbal presentation of findings to your web analytics colleagues and your concerned data stakeholders. 

At this point you should be able to speak with confidence about the differences in the two data sources, and your goal should be to pass this confidence on to the people around you.  Save your report for future reference, as newcomers are likely to ask the questions you've already answered.

6) Plan to revisit if necessary

If reconciliation is part of tool migration, you are now done.  Good work.

If your secondary source is an upstream or downstream system, plan a periodic audit to make sure your findings are still valid.  If your systems are stable you can get away with doing this maybe once a year, but if you have any appreciable changes - like a major site redesign or a shopping cart overhaul - you may wish to do another quick round of reconciliation at that time.

Podcast Interview on the Aquent Talent Blog

Matthew Grant of the Aquent Talent Blog recently conducted a podcast interview with me; I invite you to listen to it here.  If you haven't got time for the whole show, skip straight to the highlight at 11:45, where I somehow manage to divert our conversation from web analytics to goats.

Aside from that one sidetrack we did actually talk a lot about web analytics, and, in particular, web analytics careers.  You'll find the podcast interesting if you're a newbie web analyst, and I'd also recommend it if you're thinking about taking contract work in web analytics (as I'd done prior to joining Semphonic).

I met Matthew earlier this year through his Aquent colleague, James Gardner.  James and I gave a joint presentation at eMetrics DC last fall on career management for web analysts, and we'll do a reprise at eMetrics SF next month.

Where to Put Integrated Data: 7 Helpful Questions

Web analytics data integration goes both ways.  When you marry clickstream data with other business data, you can put the combined result either inside or outside your web analytics application.  The trick is, if you can put it either place, how do you decide which place is best? 

Here are 7 questions to consider as you make your decision:

1. Is this a once-off or will you need an ongoing feed?  Say you're working on a deep-dive analysis project, or you're preparing a data set to use for data mining.  You're probably pulling activity from a discrete period of time.  If so, integrate outside your web analytics application, where there's less overhead for a one-time task.  If, on the other hand, you're going to want this integrated data to be available at moments notice for all eternity, you're best off integrating wherever you can most easily automate your feed, which brings me to my next point:


2. How much effort will it take to automate, in vs. out?  Call me lazy or call me practical, sometimes the right answer is the the easiest one (that's Occam's Razor, right?). The major commercial web analytics vendors have built-in integration tools, like Coremetrics Connect and Omniture Genesis.  If the data you need to integrate falls within the realm of what your web analytics application can handle, use the wizard and take a feed in.  If, on the other hand, you want to integrate custom data that's not wizard-able, take a feed out instead - but make sure you've got IT resources to help you automate the load into the destination system.


3. Which analysis tools do your data consumers prefer to use?  Maybe you've got a favorite data visualization application (like Tableau), or predictive modeling software, or another business intelligence tool that people at your company like to use.  Yes?  Then integrate your data in a place where it will be easy to get at using that tool, most likely outside your web analytics application.  If you plan to use Excel you have more of a choice, because most web analytics vendors have Excel plug-ins.  You could integrate within your web analytics application and then feed it to Excel, or, if your data set is small enough, you could integrate by VLOOKUP()-ing right there inside Excel.


4. Are your data consumers already active users of your web analytics application?  If so, you'd be doing them a favor by putting the integrated data where they're most likely to use it.  On the other hand, if they spend all day working with some other business data system, put it there instead.  It could be the factor that determines whether the integrated data ever gets adopted in practice by the people who are expected to use it. 


5. Will you need reporting components that web analytics applications handle especially well, like browser overlay and pathing?  This will depend on whether your web analytics application actually lets you display integrated data in browser overlay and pathing reports.  If so, and if you can imagine actually using these reporting components, try to integrate inside your web analytics application.  Although web analytics applications are not as robust, generally speaking, as other data analysis tools, they manage to do a good job of presenting clickstream-specific data. 


6. Are you hoping to integrate data that can actually be gathered at collection time?  Maybe the extra business data you want to integrate is something you'll be able to assign to a custom variable in your web analytics application at collection time.  If so, you'll be able to integrate without any after-the-fact joining.  If your integration data doesn't surface until further downstream, though, you can't use this approach.
   


7. Do you need to store your integrated data behind the corporate firewall?  This isn't so much a technical issue as a legal one.  If the data you want to integrate involves personally-identifiable information and you're using a hosted web analytics solution, go re-read your site's privacy policy.  Chances are you will need to store the integrated data behind your own corporate firewall.  If you host your own web analytics application on-site you may still be able to integrate inside it, otherwise you'll need to pull a feed out.

So, depending on your situation it's perfectly reasonable to join data in both directions - inside and outside your web analytics application.  Strive to find a solution that's practical, easy, legal, and most likely to make your data analysts happy.

Urchin Sticker Followup

My vintage Urchin sticker giveaway has ended.  Last week I mailed envelopes - literally all over the world - to 10 lucky recipients.  It was a fun way to meet my blog readers, so thanks for participating.

Here's a sticker I kept for myself, stuck to my home laptop:

WAA Board of Directors Election: I Need Your Vote!

The Web Analytics Association Board of Directors election is imminent and my name is on the ballot.  There are 17 great candidates running for 6 positions, so it will be a tough race.  Dear blog reader, I need your vote!

Polls will be open March 24 - April 7, 2008.  You must be a WAA member to participate.  If you're reading this and you're not a WAA member, you really oughtta sign up.

As part of the election application process each candidate had to answer 3 questions; here's how I responded:

What major contribution will you bring to Web Analytics Association and its membership?

I have spent most of my long career in web analytics as a practitioner, in the trenches, actually doing the work.  With that experience under my belt, I bring first-hand knowledge of the challenges we face and the values we hold as web analysts.  I have grown up with this field and now I want to help shape it.

My subject-level interests include web analytics career development, mentoring, education, community, local presence and providing demonstrable benefit to all members.

Why should members vote for you?

I live up to high professional standards in all work I do, and I intend to bring these standards with me to the WAA Board:

• I am 100% committed to active participation and follow-through.  Since Board members are volunteers, I feel that this is especially important.  We’re here because we want to be here, and we are as involved as we want to be.  I want to be involved.
• Ethical responsibility is very important to me and I will strive to do what’s right for our industry as a whole, with no preferential treatment of any strata, company or individual. 
• I am diplomatic, I enjoy bringing people together, and I am committed to the idea that we must work together to achieve the best for our field.
• I will listen to what you have to say and take it seriously.  I take pleasure in corresponding with all members of the web analytics community, and I will make sure that your input is given the attention it deserves.

Where do you think the Web Analytics Association should be in the next two years?

Our field is growing – there are more web analytics professionals every day.  We must work to ensure that the WAA member base continues to grow along with our field, and, at the same time, we must provide existing members with benefit that will encourage continued involvement.

Our field is also evolving – the scope of what we do now is broader than it has been in the past.  We must acknowledge this shift, forge connections with related associations, and remain open to new ideas.  It’s important for the WAA to continue to represent the most current scope of our profession, and think forward to where it’s headed yet even further down the road.

Speaking as someone who has paid WAA membership dues out-of-pocket for 3 years running, I aim to ensure that, 2 years from now, membership carries the clout and offers the value that will justify the expense for every one of us.

Vintage Urchin Sticker Giveaway

After reading Lars Johansson's entertaining post on Web Analytics Memorabilia I immediately went for a dig in my sticker pile. [Does everyone have a sticker pile, or is that just me?]

Story: Back in 2001 I worked for a first-generation web analytics vendor called WhiteCross Systems.  One day, while researching the competition, I found a vendor called Urchin.  They were giving away stickers on their web site, and I like stickers, so I sent away for some.  Two weeks later the stickers arrived.  I promptly tossed them in my sticker pile and forgot about them for 7 years.

Fast-forward to 2008.  Urchin has become Google Analytics.  My stickers have acquired retro-cool appeal.  I've been hoarding them long enough, so if you'd like a sticker, write to me and I'll mail you one.  I have 10 to give away.

[Update, March 19th: My stickers are all gone!  The giveaway has ended.]

Omniture Summit Report: March 6, 2008

Seth Godin, in his masterful and highly entertaining keynote presentation at the Omniture Summit, made the point that marketing should be considered in relation to any business activity rather than as a cherry on the top.  We need to rethink our definition of marketing, he says.  Perhaps, when we express concern that web analytics has been "hijacked" by marketing, we're really just thinking about the old definition of marketing, not Seth's new one.

As if Day 1 of Summit wasn't action-packed enough, I've got notes from sessions I attended on Day 2:

Leveraging User-Generated Content to Increase Consumer Interaction & Loyalty 
The presentation included some very practical examples for building a community of content contributors, although it was all based on the assumption that the UGC activity actually occurs on your own site.  This is not always the case.  Reviews happen everywhere, ratings happen everywhere, media uploads happen everywhere.  If you are only focused on measuring on your own site activities you are missing a big chunk of the action.  See Dennis Mortensen's great post on the Online Business Measurement Quadrant for more on this topic.  I've written about Flickr stats in the past, and I intend to continue writing about UGC measurement.

Using APIs to Get the Right Data in the Right Place
When I walked in 10 minutes late the powerpoint slide on the screen read, "Reporting Web Services: So easy, even a marketer can do it!!"  This new API is bidirectional - you can push data into SiteCatalyst and also pull data out.  I thought the push component was interesting, but by the time I arrived, and through the rest of the hour, the presenters were discussing how to pull data out.  Make Mac dashboard widgets, create Flex applications, the sky's the limit.  Developers in the room were salivating. There were a lot of questions about billing, which is based on somewhat nebulous "token" usage. 

Closing Session: Product Road Map
Everyone told me that this would be a highlight of the Summit, and it certainly was.  Brett Error, the ironically-monikered Omniture CTO, lead a town hall session where audience members got to suggest product improvements.  Maybe it's a sign of our field's maturity: most of the suggestions were either quite minor or already available (but perhaps not obvious enough).  My favorite suggestion was the ability to see the open rate for executive reports sent via email.  Laughter from the crowd; it's an issue we all face.

A number of other web analytics bloggers attended Summit, so you should read their accounts, as well:    Stephane Hamel, Manoj Jasra and June Li (my doppelganger).

Here's a picture I snapped out the window at the fantastic Salt Lake City Public Library, where I've written this post:

Omniture Summit Report: March 5, 2008

"This," arms spread wide, gesturing to indicate the expanse of our meeting hall, "must be the largest gathering of web analysts I've ever seen in one room."

If there's a theme to the conversational buzz at the Omniture Summit, it is the formidable size of our crowd. Omniture CEO Josh James, in his welcome address this morning, said that there are over 2000 people here at the show.

My favorite part of the morning session was a live demo of newly-released SiteCatalyst 14.  New features drew hoots and hollers of genuine approval from the audience.  Of note:  Sparklines!  Ajax calendar!  Tighter link between SiteCatalyst and Discover!  Also a nice demo of Search Center highlighting useful data integration at the upstream (keyword buying) and downstream (ie Salesforce or other Genesis Partner) endpoints.

In the afternoon I went to a well-attended session entitled, "Think Big: Using Analytics to Win in Today's Economy." The thesis was, those who continue to spend money on marketing during a recession will become more competitive.  I wasn't entirely convinced by the argument, but so be it.  As an industry I think we'll be talking about this subject a lot more in the year to come.

A few other general trends in talks:

• Data integration
• Social media
• Marketing/IT conflict
• Campaign attribution

And now, pictures.

Josh James on the jumbotron.  Am I the only one who thinks he looks like a young David Letterman?

David Yoakum from the Gap, speaking in the Retail Industry Track.

Lance Armstrong, who told an incredible story about his fight with cancer.

One Omniture-green beverage.

I neglected to bring my camera to the Flight of the Conchords show, but it was great.  Nametag-wearing conference-goers gave an exceptionally enthusiastic round of applause for the binary solo in the robot song.