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USING ANALYTICS TO MAKE DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS

John T. Peters @johntpeters

February 11, 2014 @usatodaytravel

President, Travel Media Group

USA TODAY

@johntpeters @tripology @usatodaytravel #eftanalytics

AGENDA

• Building & Monetizing the Ultimate User Experience

• Traditional Analytics

• Moving beyond the “Page Views” mindset

• Avoiding the Average

• Diversifying Revenue

• Challenges

• Looking to analytics for answers

• Process & Results


BUILDING THEN MONETIZING THE ULTIMATE USER EXPERIENCE



Tripology, a division of USA TODAY Travel, provides an online platform where travelers can connect with travel specialists

Africa

Traveler

Mexico

Traveler

S. American

Traveler

Cruise

Traveler

Visitors to Tripology.com answer a series of questions to create a trip request

Specialists receive an email with details

of trip request

1St 3 specialists to purchase lead receive the traveler's contact info. Traveler receives a link to the specialist’s profile


TRIPOLOGY CONVERSION SAMPLE

Month (made up #s)


USA TODAY/TRIPOLOGY TREND REPORT


PRODUCTS & SERVICES FOR EVERY STAGE OF THE TRAVEL CYCLE


MOVING BEYOND PAGE VIEWS

• As a traditionally content-based website, page views are generally a reflection of the bottom line.

• The problem with page views- It tells us absolutely nothing about what is happening on the website.

• Focusing on other key metrics, as well as “Avoiding the Average” help us pull back the curtain to see what is really happening, and gives us actionable insights.


AVOIDING THE AVERAGE

• Aggregate data can be very misleading

• Segment your data to get the full story and reveal actionable insights


DIVERSIFYING REVENUE STREAMS

• Tripology is a travel referral service that connects travelers with specialized travel agents


NEW CHALLENGES

• How does USA TODAY, who has traditionally only been a content provider, diversify revenue streams without diminishing the experience our users are accustomed to?

• Traditional exercises to increase conversion such as tweaking copy or creating alternate form versions is secondary.

• Primary objective is determining appropriate times to try to convert our existing visitor base, without damaging the user experience.


LOOKING TO ANALYTICS FOR ANSWERS

• Do we try to convert this visitor?

• The answer is based solely on data

DATA DATA DATA

Are KPIs

Negatively

Impacted?

Try to

convert

visitor

Do not try to

convert

visitor

No Yes


WHAT ANALYTICS TELLS US

• Conversion Funnels

• How many users are interacting with form, clicking link, etc.

• % of users that ultimately convert

• Standard KPIs

• Is this campaign diminishing the overall user experience?

• What existing content is appropriate

• Combined

• Types of new content to create, specifically for converting visitors

• Fine tuning campaigns for maximizing performance (and revenue)


THE PROCESS

• Keyword Research

(Keyword Planner, Searchmetrics)

• SEO (Majestic)

• Increased Engagement

(Chartbeat, Omniture)

• Targeted Landing Pages (Keyword Planner, Searchmetrics)

• Increased Conversion (Omniture, A/B Testing)

• Promoting Target Content (Email Campaigns)

• Useful, In-Destinations

Utilities

• User Generated Content

• Sites and Utilities for User

Reviews, Photos and

Videos


THE RESULTS

• A More Diverse Audience

• Increased Visits

• Higher Percentage of Return Visitors

• More Page Views per Visit

• Better Conversion Rates

• User Generated Content

• INCREASED REVENUE


Thank You!

John T. Peters, CTIE

President

Travel Media Group

@johntpeters

using analytics to make data driven decisions · using analytics to make data driven decisions john...

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