web site statistics a metric for measuring engagement
TRANSCRIPT
Web Site Statistics Web Site Statistics
A Metric for Measuring Engagement
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Goal: Consistency in Terms of...Goal: Consistency in Terms of...
Who -
What -
Where -
When -
Who is looking at sites?
What are they looking at?
Where did they come from?
When did they come?
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Usefu
l
Usefu
l
InformationInformationThat is...That is...
TheThe Outcome Outcome
Timely
Timely
Accurate
AccurateReli
able
Reliab
le
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
AgendaAgenda
Web site statisticsThe log fileThe analysis processThe resultsGoals
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Definition of StatisticsDefinition of Statistics
The science that deals with the collection, classification, analysis and interpretation of numerical facts or data, and that, by use of mathematical theories of probability, imposes order and regularity on aggregates of more or less disparate elements.
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Definition of StatisticsDefinition of Statistics
The science that deals with the collection, classification, analysis and interpretation of numerical facts or data, and that, by use of mathematical theories of probability, imposes order and regularity on aggregates of more or less disparate elements.
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
This impliesThis implies
Precision
Accuracy
Empirical Reliability
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
First IssueFirst Issue
Hit Request Page View Impression Transfer Ad View Exposure
User Unique User Unique Visitor Identified User Visit Ad Click Click-Through Rate
Lack of industry standards in terminology
Definitions HandoutDefinitions Handout
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Second IssueSecond Issue
Amount of raw data
Huge daily log files
Impediment to effective research (Shorenstein Conference Note)
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Third IssueThird Issue
Browser Caching
Proxy servers
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Fourth IssueFourth Issue
Must use software tools to manage and analyze data
Lack of standards in terminology
Lack of standards in algorithms
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
But there’s hope...But there’s hope...
Organizations like the IAB are forging terminology and measurement standards
Software tools are entering third/fourth generation releases with better algorithms, performance and reliability
The Log FileThe Log File
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Log FilesLog Files
ASCII Text filesCreated on the Web ServerRecord all communications with the
web serverAre in a format that is web server
specific
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Log File TypesLog File Types
Transfer or Access Log– Records all requests
Error Log– Records all errors
Referrer Log– Records the URL from which a request
was made
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Log File TypesLog File Types
Agent Log– Records the name and version number of
the user agent (browser), and operating system
Extended or Combined Log– Consolidates all logs into one
Current version of MS IIS combines all sites on server into single log
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
Elements of a web pageElements of a web page
HTML or ASP– Content
GIF or JPEG– Images
EXE or Class– Executable programs, e.g. AdServer or
Policy Wire
The Analysis ProcessThe Analysis Process
William R. (“Sam”) Sneed III -- Policy.com -- [email protected]
The Steps to AnalysisThe Steps to Analysis
FTPImport into database
– Lookup HTML titles– Resolve IP addresses– WHOIS lookup
Run reports
Questions...Questions...