'Web Analytics' Category

In Search of Facebook Metrics that Matter at IMW '13

Posted by Drew Neisser on June 14th, 2013 at 8:34 am

I don't really blame marketers for their universal obsession with Like count on Facebook. It probably doesn't help that the number of Likes is featured directly below the brand name on a brand page!  Nonetheless, daily social media practitioners know well that Likes on their own are relatively meaningless if those supposed fans don't engage with the brand, share content and or click on links.
This is where Graham Mudd comes in.  He's the Head of Vertical Measurement at Facebook and one the folks responsible for educating digital marketers on what metrics they should be using and even how to measure effectiveness across various digital channels.  I was able to catch up with Graham at the Integrated Marketing Week conference in NYC this week and he in turn provided some pithy insights on this incredibly important topic to anyone spending pennies or millions on Facebook.
Neisser: Many digital media buyers are still obsessed with Likes and Clicks as a measure of ad efficacy. Is this a mistake and if so, what metrics should they be looking at?
Mudd: It's a mistake unless the business outcome they are trying to drive is either directly related or correlated to clicks or likes. If a marketer's goal is to... Read more

2 Ways to Read Your Data

Posted by Greg Kihlström on June 11th, 2013 at 10:50 am

Edmund Wilson, the noted literary critic, once said, “No two people read the same book.” It could also be said that no two people will make the exact same analysis from a complex set of marketing data. There are a number of ways to read the numbers and a wealth of solutions for each problem or challenge they present.
This article describes two ways to look at your marketing data and two potential approaches based on what you find.
Optimization
The first scenario could have a number of first steps. Perhaps you’ve recently launched a new campaign, product or website. Or maybe you have happy shareholders or a board of directors that is pleased, but you now have access to some new insights or data.
When your numbers are good – but not quite great – and you know that some small changes or additional tactics could help, it’s time to optimize.
Optimization can take a number of forms. It could be reevaluating some of your vendors’ performance or adjusting your media mix. Perhaps it’s time to adjust the creative – again. It could even be optimizing the user experience to incorporate responsive design into your web platforms. As long as what you do... Read more

Report: Facebook Page Data Averages – May 2013

Posted by Doug Schumacher on June 11th, 2013 at 10:06 am

One of the more popular reports we publish, this is a great benchmark resource for anyone wanting to know how their ranks on Facebook. Brands appearing in this report include Subway, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Twix, Oreo, Skittles, Estee Lauder, Red Bull, Monster Energy, Crest, Colgate, Oral-B, Hilton, Sheraton, Dole, Capri Sun, Nissan, Honda and Ford.

SEO Reporting & Metrics: How To Prove Progress

Posted by Krista LaRiviere on June 11th, 2013 at 7:17 am

It’s the beginning of the month and it is again time to report to your clients or your boss on the SEO progress made last month. It is time to justify your SEO strategy, your efforts and yourself. Sound familiar?
With the challenging landscape of SEO comes the challenging landscape of SEO reporting, and I’m not just talking about merging SEO data sources into one excel file and adding a logo to try to make it look professional, presentable and understandable. I’m talking about how to make all the data points and metrics indicate real progress, and more importantly meet your clients’ or boss’ expectations.
Since the way we do SEO has changed, the way we report on it must change too. Effectively setting up the reporting metrics to prove progress may make the difference between meeting the clients’ expectations or not.
SEO reporting should answer these questions for your client:

Are our efforts helping us reach our organic search goals?
What SEO tasks were completed last month in relation to our goals?
What impact did these efforts have on the web presence for organic search?
What new opportunities were identified to optimize for organic search?
Are there any new competitive threats?

So how do you set up your... Read more

The Dirty Secret of Content Marketing

Posted by Jason Wells on June 5th, 2013 at 1:15 pm

Everyone has a dirty secret, a few skeletons in the closet, a few things you are grateful no one knows about. Everyone.
Content marketing is no exception.
Content marketing has a secret, a dirty little secret that no one wants to talk about.
The Dirty Secret Explained

In addition to blogging 3 times each day and hosting a very successful webinar series, we've created several White Papers about call tracking. We put a great deal of effort into these White Papers. They're generally between 15 and 25 pages long. They contain tons of research, data, and information. Much of the research is taken from other sources, however, some of the information is actually data that we've gathered through our own intensive research and data-mining.
These are good White Papers. And thousands of people have downloaded them. They fill out a form on a landing page and they download the White Paper.
But here's the secret: most people don't care about the content, they only care about the title.
What??
Well, very few people, our research shows, actually read these White Papers. They download the White Papers by the dozen, but they never read them. We know this because we call EVERY single person that downloads a White Paper... Read more