nexus of tech

S. Rosenberg

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The Nexus of Analytics, Search Engines, Design, Content, and Usability

Introduction As the internet continues to grow, it becomes more unwieldy yet additionally comprehensive. Its digital

expanse becomes more chaotic but also better organized, more global but increasingly focused on the

local. This dichotomy persists as technology and innovation grapple to keep apace with the growing

immensity of the World Wide Web, which continues to increases in size, power, and functionality.

Nearly two billion people use the internet, yet that accounts for approximately only 25% of the world

population (IWS). As the user base expands, processing power continues to double roughly every 18

months and the capabilities of software programs evolve into ever-sophisticated applications. In the

early days of the internet, creating a website with a memorable URL was sufficient for getting found.

These days, however, any person or entity that wants to have an impact in the net abyss must consider

the interaction of web analytics and search engine marketing

(including optimization) as well as design, content and usability.

All of these functions are interrelated and must be focused on

learning about the user. If addressed holistically, each can

drive the other and potentially help a website achieve new

heights of success.

Web Analytics Even before a site is created, it is helpful to understand how it

will be measured. What good is a website if questions like who visits it, how many times, how visitors

interact and for how long remain unanswered? This information is critically important to businesses but

increasingly relevant to average internet users tired of publishing in a vacuum. According to Brian

Clifton, an internationally established web analytics expert, web analytics are “tools and methodologies

used to enable organizations to track the number of people who view their site and then use this to

measure the success of their online strategy“ (Clifton). This measurement, collection, analysis and

reporting of internet data is a process that helps webmasters understand their audience and learn what

“works” with them. The interaction between what users find attractive about a site and how to deliver

on those needs is discussed in the below Web Attractiveness section.

feedback about web traffic, but where do the numbers come from?

Collecting Data:

Off-site vs. On-site

Offsite metrics

There are two primary approaches to

collecting traffic data: off-site and on

Off-site analytics refers to online behavior

overall, which can be analyzed without owning

or operating a website. Off-site analytics

measure a website’s potential or opportunity

audience, its visibility or wider relevance to the

web community, and current

posting/comment activities) on the internet

analysis before creating a launching a new product.

independent of the visitor’s browser

(Clifton).

Logfiles

Within the off-site technique, w

information about requests made to the server, including about pages, images or

pdfs (Clifton). The W3C notes this information also

dates and can include demographic data

these log files can provide insights about the popularity of a particular site, although

their use is less popular with the introduction of page tags, which better

human interactions and reduce the workload for the host. Website owners are now

saved “from the expense and maintenance of running software to

archive information” (Clifton).

is discussed in the below Web Attractiveness section. Web analytics on its own provides

feedback about web traffic, but where do the numbers come from?

There are two primary approaches to

site and on-site.

refers to online behavior

overall, which can be analyzed without owning

site analytics

a website’s potential or opportunity

audience, its visibility or wider relevance to the

buzz (i.e.

ng/comment activities) on the internet (e-Ignition). Off-site analytics is akin to performing

analysis before creating a launching a new product. Information is aggregated by web servers

independent of the visitor’s browser, which is why the technique is known as server side collection

site technique, web servers such as Google collect logfiles, or


). The W3C notes this information also contains session start and end

dates and can include demographic data (Hallam-Baker, Behlendorf). Analysis of


their use is less popular with the introduction of page tags, which better account for


ntenance of running software to capture, store and

Source: Advanced-Web-Metrics.com

S. Rosenberg

2 | P a g e

Web analytics on its own provides

site analytics is akin to performing a market

nformation is aggregated by web servers

server side collection

, or


art and end

Analysis of


account for


, store and

Schematic logfile methodology:

The web server logs its activity to

a text file that is usually local.

The analytics customer views

reports from the local server.

Source: Advanced-Web-

Metrics.com

Metrics.com

S. Rosenberg

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Onsite metrics

On-site analytics refers to a visitor’s interaction with a particular existing site, such as where visitors

spent their time, what encouraged a purchase, what caused the user to leave the site, etc. On-site

analytics are as if the site owner could watch over the shoulder of a web visitor to see how he or she

reacts to the site. Information is collected via the visitor’s web browser and is mostly used by

outsourced, hosted vendor solutions, which is why the technique is known as client-side collection

(Clifton).

Page tags

Within the on-site technique, visit information is identified by that user’s web

browser. A code on each page of a visited website pulls browsing activity

information. This code is usually in the JavaScript language. The relative simplicity

of the code, or rather its focused purpose, lends itself to the name “tags.” These

page tags send information typically to a third party solution such as Google

Analytics or StatCounter, both free options. For-hire companies like Omniture

provide even greater sophistication.

Although in recent years page tagging has grown more commonplace, it is a mistake to assume that the

client-side technique is superior. In reality,

neither approach is sufficient on its own;

ultimately, choosing a method depends what

type of information is desired. As the chart on

the left shows, the advantages of one

technique counteract the disadvantage of the

other. Combining both approaches is known as

the hybrid method, a model some vendors

provide (Clifton).

Types of Metrics

According to the Web Analytics Association

(WAA), an industry standards organization,

there are three quantitative types of web

analytics metrics: counts, ratios, and key

Schematic pagetag methodology:

Page tags send information to

remote data collection servers.

The analytics customer views

reports from the remote server.

Source: Advanced-Web-

Metrics.com

Source: Advanced-Web-Metrics.com

S. Rosenberg

4 | P a g e

performance indicators (KPIs) (WAA) A fourth term, dimension, is used to describe types of segments or

counts, and represents visitor behavior or site dynamics. Examples of dimension include an event or a

referrer. Counts, on the other hand, are a single number, such as site visits. Ratios are typically a count

divided by a count, though a ratio could be in either the numerator or the denominator. KPIs are

frequently a ratio that ties into a business strategy. The WAA also notes that a metric can apply to three

different “universes”: aggregate, segmented, and individual. The WAA defines them as follows:

Aggregate is a term used to describe total site traffic for a defined period of time. Segmented metrics

are a subset of the site traffic during a defined period of time, but are filtered “to gain greater analytical

insight.” (WAA)Traffic could be filtered by campaign (e-mail, banner, pay-per-click, affiliate), by visitor

type (new vs. returning, repeat buyers, high value) or by referrer, as examples. Individual metrics refer

to the activity of a single web visitor for a defined period of time. It is implied that all measures and

metrics refer to a human visitor.

Quality of Information

There are a large number of measurement ratios that can shed light on the performance of a particular

site. In the end, measurements are only as good as the context in which they exist and the insights that

people can glean from them. Knowing how many people visited a particular website, for example, does

little good if the number cannot be compared to previous performance, or if the figure does not specify

a time period. The term precision is used to describe the concept that data is most helpful if it is in

reproducible and repeatable, as it lends credibility to overall trends and provides actionable

information. In other words, it is better to know that a site has 30% more visitors than the previous

month than to just know you had 10,000 views this month.

Common Web Analytic Metrics

There are numerous metrics available, but ultimately the decision to focus on which figures depends on

what goals a site aims to reach. Popular, frequently used metrics include visits, page views, pages per

visit, unique visitors, new visitors, repeat visitors, return visitors, duration, referrer, click-throughs, click-

through rate, and bounce rate. Below is a table that includes definitions, type of metric, its universe(s),

and a comment. Information included in the table comes from the WAA’s “Web Analytics Definitions”

manual. In addition to the below tools, web services like Google Analytics can also determine

geographic information such as from what state visitors are browsing from.

Metric Definition Type Universe(s) Comment

Visits Multiple interactions Count Aggregate, Typically 30

on site within single

session

Page views # of times page is

viewed

Page views per

visit

# page views in

reporting period/#

visits in period

Unique visitors Same visitor over two

reporting periods

New visitors

Unique visitor with

first ever visit during

period

Return visitors Unique visitor returns

in next reporting

period

Duration Length of time in a

session

Referrer Page URL originally

generated request

for current page

Click-throughs # of times a link was

clicked by a visitor

Click-through rate # click throughs of

link/ # times link

viewed

Bounces Visits with only one

page view

Available Analytics, My Usage, and the Future of the Industry

All of the above metrics are available for free to anyone with a site of any sort. As mentioned earlier,

Google Analytics and StatCounter are

free and easy to use. Newcomers such as

Woopra and Crazy Egg have free versions

that are increasingly sophisticated. Crazy

Egg’s, for example, shows exactly where

people are clicking then displays the

information as a “heat map.”

these would theoretically work on my MIT

Wordpress blog, Reflections of an MIT

on site within single Segmented

# of times page is Count Aggregate,

Segmented

# page views in

reporting period/#

Ratio Aggregate,

Segmented,

Individual

Same visitor over two

reporting periods

Count Aggregate,

Segmented

Unique visitor with

first ever visit during

Count

Aggregate,

Segmented

Unique visitor returns

in next reporting

Count Aggregate,

Segmented

Length of time in a Count Aggregate,

Segmented

Page URL originally

generated request

for current page

Dimension Aggregate,

Segmented,

Individual

# of times a link was

clicked by a visitor

Count Aggregate,

Segmented,

Individual

# click throughs of

link/ # times link

Ratio Aggregate,

Segmented

Visits with only one Count Aggregate,

Segmented

s, My Usage, and the Future of the Industry

metrics are available for free to anyone with a site of any sort. As mentioned earlier,

Google Analytics and StatCounter are both

free and easy to use. Newcomers such as

versions

are increasingly sophisticated. Crazy

exactly where

people are clicking then displays the

information as a “heat map.” Any of

work on my MIT

Reflections of an MIT Weeks 35-42: better post again soon!

S. Rosenberg

5 | P a g e

minute session

time

Flash, Ajax, RSS

not auto included

Ratio of above

Reflects # of

individual users

Each counted only

once

Helpful for loyalty

information

Time between last

and first activity

Subtypes: Internal,

external, search,

visit, original

Typically

associated with

advertising

Reported within

same time period

as click-throughs

Different than

single page visit

metrics are available for free to anyone with a site of any sort. As mentioned earlier,

42: better post again soon!

Wannabe, but I use the built-in analytics gear as a matter of convenience. From my dashboard I have

access to a chart of views per day, weeks, or months. I am also automatically notified

search engines that send traffic. Another nice feature is the ranking of posts by views, either over 7

days, 30 days, the quarter, the year, or for all time.

Entrepreneurship Blog) but because this blog is Wordpress (freely) hosted I do not have as much control

over coding. If I wanted to add the tracking code for Google Analytics I would need to use an html

widget, though perhaps a professional coder could find a workaround. Since

industry emerged in 1993 with WebTrends in Portland, Oregon, but came int

com collapse. Solutions evolved from basic “hit” counts to providing actual business insights.

sense the industry is counter-cyclical,

Byrne, an analyst at CMS Watch notes, “

making good decisions.” (Karpinski

evolve again. New firms like Demand

marketing data to determine what companies are browsing a site at any given moment.

leads to far greater insights. Chris Golec, CEO of DemandBase, sees the potential. He sums up,

"Companies have no idea what percent of their web traffic is actually from their target customer base.

They may know they have 100,000 visitors, but they don't know if 10% or 50% of those visitors are

actually potential customers. There's tremendous potential

into actual leads." (Karpinski) Beyond aggregate concepts, new trends

Journal of Market Research point to a

human at the center of online marketing strategies

A nice bump in page views of late

in analytics gear as a matter of convenience. From my dashboard I have

access to a chart of views per day, weeks, or months. I am also automatically notified


days, 30 days, the quarter, the year, or for all time. I could use Google Analytics (I use it for the Terry

ut because this blog is Wordpress (freely) hosted I do not have as much control

If I wanted to add the tracking code for Google Analytics I would need to use an html

widget, though perhaps a professional coder could find a workaround. Since I only have a two

template, when I add such a widget (even if I

leave it invisible) it disrupts my entire template,

pushing everything in the right column down

below the posts. For this reason I am continuing

to use the perfectly adequate built

The Future of Analytics

A theme emerged as I research

myself with the topics contained in this report

Interestingly, I learned that the web analytics

WebTrends in Portland, Oregon, but came into its own around the dot

Solutions evolved from basic “hit” counts to providing actual business insights.

cyclical, making dollars count when they are the most

Byrne, an analyst at CMS Watch notes, “As companies have less to spend, they are investing more in

(Karpinski). Now in another economic downtown, web analytics is poised

New firms like DemandBase combine traditional web analytics with massive amounts of

marketing data to determine what companies are browsing a site at any given moment.


mpanies have no idea what percent of their web traffic is actually from their target customer base.


actually potential customers. There's tremendous potential to turn that [as-yet undifferentiated] traffic

Beyond aggregate concepts, new trends presented by the International

Journal of Market Research point to a focus on creating learning organizations that put

n at the center of online marketing strategies (Rubinson). This new frontier could lead to

of late!

S. Rosenberg

6 | P a g e

in analytics gear as a matter of convenience. From my dashboard I have

access to a chart of views per day, weeks, or months. I am also automatically notified of referrers and


I could use Google Analytics (I use it for the Terry

ut because this blog is Wordpress (freely) hosted I do not have as much control

If I wanted to add the tracking code for Google Analytics I would need to use an html

I only have a two-column

template, when I add such a widget (even if I

leave it invisible) it disrupts my entire template,

pushing everything in the right column down

below the posts. For this reason I am continuing

to use the perfectly adequate built-in analytics.

researched to acquaint

myself with the topics contained in this report.

, I learned that the web analytics

o its own around the dot-

Solutions evolved from basic “hit” counts to providing actual business insights. In that

making dollars count when they are the most scare. As Tony

As companies have less to spend, they are investing more in

). Now in another economic downtown, web analytics is poised to

combine traditional web analytics with massive amounts of

marketing data to determine what companies are browsing a site at any given moment. This approach


mpanies have no idea what percent of their web traffic is actually from their target customer base.


yet undifferentiated] traffic

presented by the International

creating learning organizations that put the individual

This new frontier could lead to auto-

S. Rosenberg

7 | P a g e

customized pages for each user, rendering moot traditional web analytics. As analytics increasingly

becomes about understanding the individual user, all users should benefit.

The Skinny on Website Attractiveness An attractive website will catch the attention of visitors and encourage them to

interact, stay awhile, and return often. The word “attractive” conjures notions of

aesthetics and design, yet there is much more to an attractive website than eye candy.

What good is a site that looks pretty or cool but has no helpful content? If there is

content, why would anything other than what the visitor wants to know be of value?

What if the site has the desired information but is difficult to navigate or complicated

to read? What if the site is never found to begin with?

These questions represent the disciplines of web analytics, search engine marketing

(including search engine optimization), design, and usability that when applied in

concert can create an attractive site. The debate over the importance of one over the

other continues and predictably egos abound. The director of Visual Design at Google,

Douglas Bowman, left the company after a project team insisted on testing 41 shades

of blue, and debated endlessly over how many pixels wide to make a border (Stop

Design). Others are so enthusiastic about usability that sites end up exceedingly

unappealing. There is a growing consensus that these separate disciplines must work

together if a site plans to serve its audience and thereby find success. Below is an

overview of elements that contribute to site attractiveness accompanied by examples.

Design

In modern web design, too much of a

good thing can be disastrous. An

attractive sight balances its content with

an aesthetically pleasing color scheme,

an appropriate use of graphics, and an

easy to understand interface. Every

development decision should reflect the

Mint.com, a financial services company recently bought by Intuit, is known for its

simple, clean design.

S. Rosenberg

8 | P a g e

purpose and offerings of the site. Generally, using tables to create columns and line up text when

paired with transparent line borders creates a

clean, professional look. Using graphics and images that tell the story of the content are a great way to

enhance what the visitor remembers after leaving the site. A site should also resist the urge to fill up

the screen; white space between objects and text areas diminishes the sense of crowding and

encourages visitors to continue browsing. Consistency is another important area of design. Every page

within a website should share a common theme or template to reduce confusion. Consistency is not

only aesthetically pleasing but makes the overall site easier to use. Designers should also avoid

overindulging in Flash or other animations lest such effects distract or irritate the visitor. Web designer

should also try and ignore the temptation to add unprompted music or sound effects to a site, a sure

way to irritate visitors. Overall, make every decision count. The best information should make it on the

web, not the rest.

Usability

There is literally more to an attractive

website than meets the eye. An

intuitive web design that facilitates user

interaction with simple sophistication

can reach a certain level of elegance.

One of the most important attributes is

clean code which reduces page load

time. Visitors have itchy back-button

fingers; in today’s environment

something as simple as a loading site

can not only permanently lose a

potential visitor but also reflect poorly on the overall brand. Once on-site, the navigation should be

easily identifiable, clear and concise, and consistent across pages. Page title URLs should describe what

the viewer is looking at so the content is memorable, professional, and clear. In the body of the page,

everything critical, including the value proposition of why the site is of value to the user, should appear

“above the fold,” or in this case visible without scrolling downward. The content should be easy to read,

with main points in bullets or primary terms in bold. An industry rule of thumb is that a site’s main page

should be “digestible” within approximately 5 seconds; a site that asks the visitor to take time to

MailChimp.com, an email campaign manager developed in Atlanta, is acclaimed for its

cutting edge usability and overall design

S. Rosenberg

9 | P a g e

understand undo complexity risks a high bounce rate. Finally, any ads or sponsorships on the website

should remain unobtrusive and ideally flow with the rest of the site’s design. The future promises even

simpler sites that load fast, get to the point, and are viewable on mobile platforms.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Optimization (SEO)

Search engine marketing is a discipline that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in

search engine results pages like Google’s. Techniques for doing this include paid placement (paying per

click), contextual advertising (ads are generated according to content displayed), and paid inclusion

(paying to be listed in a search engine – Google does not do this). Search

Engine Optimization, on the other hand, attempts to organically raise

a site in a search engine’s results page by optimizing a page for

what search engine spider “bots” look for. Though the

algorithm used by search engines like Google are secret (to

prevent people from gaming the system), it is known that the

more links pointing towards a particular site the better, as the site

will be perceived as having a higher value. The driver of the value,

however, is a site’s relevance to its users. When people use a

search engine, they employ keywords to help them track down sites

that are relevant. These keywords are at the heart of what people

are looking for. Google’s keyword tool allows anyone to see how often particular terms are entered. A

site designer needs to “optimize” a site so it is categorized as having a high relevance to desired search

keywords. There are a few key ways to optimize a site to move it up in search results. These include

identifying keywords relevant to the site, inserting keywords into page title tags and URLs, attempt to

have others link to the site using the keywords, minimize the use of Flash, link the site internally using a

tag cloud, register the URL with directories, and concentrate on producing content others will link to

(Null).

The Nexus of Success

Visitors who land on an optimized site likely found it for a reason; the use of SEM and SEO tactics pushes

traffic to a site. Once there, the utilization of keywords, design, and usability assures visitors that they

are in the correct place then provides an engaging experience. Web analytics then come into play,

Source: advdigitalconsulting.com

S. Rosenberg

10 | P a g e

helping to provide insights about where traffic is coming from (and by extension not coming from) and

in what quantities.

Personal Blog Application Today’s web offers hobbyists like me myriad options for turning a site vision into reality. Though I am

far from technically endowed, I like to think I have an eye for design. When I created my MIT blog I went

through probably a hundred potential templates before I found one that felt right. Though tweaks are

in order, overall I am pleased with its look, feel, and usability.

To take this blog to the next level of design and usability, however, I plan to purchase a custom URL and

have the site professionally hosted. These steps will provide me with more control over the code and

will open up access to additional widgets. I will use this control to employ better social sharing buttons

and to remove the “Meta” widget, which for some reason I am unable to do. More importantly, a

custom URL and hosting enables a blog email address. A blog-specific email address tells the story of

how a person got in contact with me and enhances the site’s professionalism.

So while I am in no rush to change the look of my site, there are many opportunities to increase its

attractiveness through SEO (I am not in the market to pay for SEM). For starters, my new URL and page

title will include ”MIT,” as Google’s keyword tool tells me the term has been searched nearly 25 million

times this month. Comparatively, “Stephen Rosenberg” (currently in my URL) was searched a mere

1,600 times. I will then manually register the site with Google and the legion of other available

directories available. I have already been assigning page URLs with the post title, but I will optimize

those titles as well. For example, “web productivity” was only searched 880 times this month whereas

“web technology” was searched more than 33,000 times. I changed the title accordingly. While it is

likely premature to determine if these minor changes had any real effect, I had 1 visitor on Tuesday, 7

on Tuesday, and 14 already today on Thursday, October 15, representing a 1,000% change. Now that I

am more comfortable with these tactics I plan to consider optimization in all future posts.

S. Rosenberg

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Karpinski, Rich. “Analyzing analytics 2.0.” B to B. 3/9/2009, Vol. 94, Issue 3. Database:

Business Source Complete.

< file:///C:/Users/User/Documents/Class%20Notes%20Fall%2009/MIT%20-

%20Net%20Tech/midterm/Analyzing%20analytics%202.0%20-%20future.htm#db=bth&AN=37558722>.

Burby, Jason. Brown, Angie. (WAA) "Web Analytics Definitions." Web Analytics Association 16

Aug. 2007. 11 Oct. 2009

< http://www.webanalyticsassociation.org/attachments/committees/5/WAA-Standards-Analytics-

Definitions-Volume-I-20070816.pdf>.

Clifton, Brian. "Increasing Accuracy for Online Growth." Advanced-Web-Metrics.com Feb. 2008.

11 Oct. 2009 < http://www.advanced-web-metrics.com/docs/accuracy-whitepaper.pdf>.

e-Ignition. 2003. Edinburgh. 13 Oct. 2009 < http://www.e-ignition.co.uk/e-marketing/website-

analytics/>.

Hallam-Baker, Phillip. Behlendorf, Brian. "Extended Log File Format." W3C. 12 Oct. 2009. <

http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-logfile-960221.html>.

Internet World Stats (IWS). 2009. Miniwatts Marketing Group. 11 Oct. 2009

<http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm>.

Null, Christopher. "Search Engine Optimization for Your Website." PC World. Rpt. in

Entrepreneur Magazine.com. Dec. 4, 2009. Oct. 13, 2009.

< http://www.entrepreneur.com/technology/pcworld/article199208.html>.

Rubinson, Joel. "It’s about learning." International Journal of Market Research. Vol 51. Issue 4.

(2009): 553-556.

Stop Design. 2009. 13 Oct. 2009

< http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html >.

nexus of tech

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web traffic

web community

onoffsite analytics

nexus of analytics

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reporting of internet