June Dershewitz on Web Analytics

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.

A Case for the Omniture Implementation Toolkit

You may have heard that my company, Semphonic, recently published the Omniture Implementation Toolkit.  By way of a story - my own "How I learned Omniture" story -  here's why I believe it's a worthwhile investment:

Back in 2005 I was doing contract work in web analytics.  I'd just landed a gig at a big company in Silicon Valley.  They'd had a plain-vanilla Omniture tag on their site for a couple of years, but they weren't getting much return on investment.  They hired me, I think, just so they'd have someone around who gave a sh*t about the data.

I had been using web analytics tools for a respectable 5 years by that point, mostly logfile-based custom data warehousing solutions.  This company brought me on board knowing full well that I had never used Omniture before, that in fact I had never used a page-tagging solution before.  I still feel fortunate that they hired me with faith in my ability to pick up new skills on the job.

I spent the first few days at my new workplace learning people's names, learning the org chart, learning the unavoidable dialect of cryptic business acronyms.

Sometime during that settling-in period one of my coworkers appeared at my cube, silent, holding a giant ream of printer paper.  He dropped the unbound stack - bam - from about 2 feet up, onto my desk.  The look in his eye could only mean, "Good luck with this.  You're gonna need it."  He turned and left.  I read the stack's cover sheet: "Omniture."

What did I do next?  Well, I read that whole pile of documentation.  I bookmarked the knowledge base.  I memorized the support hotline number.  I figured out how to modify the tag and test my changes.  I made mistakes, I fixed them, and I learned.  Eventually I found ways to connect my colleagues with meaningful data they could actually use.

Granted, I did all of this without the Toolkit.  But if it had existed then, it would have been a valuable supplement to Omniture's official literature.  And, since it's based on Semphonic's collective experience actually doing successful Omniture implementations, I know it would have saved me the trouble of learning all the details the hard way on my own.  I could have gotten through my trial-and-error phase faster, and I could have made informed implementation decisions with more conviction from the start.

This is basically what Gary Angel said when he made the baseball analogy in his recent blog post.  My story is just one concrete example of how, when, and by whom the Toolkit ought to be used.  You can learn more about the Toolkit here.

I will be at the Omniture Summit in Salt Lake City on March 4-7.  If you see me there, I invite you to tell me your own "How I learned Omniture" story.