how to measure success with data

How to measure success with dataAndrew MillerYour Search Advisor@AndrewCMiller

What are analytics?

• Who visits your site?

• When are they active?

• How did they get there?

• What are they doing?

• Where do they go?

• Why are they leaving?

Analytics overload Don’t worry. It’s normal.

Look beyond visits

• Measurement (Outcomes)

• Reporting (Insights)

• Optimization (Take Action)

• Opinions don’t matter (remove HiPPO*, kill group-think)

• Reinforce business decisions (numbers don’t lie)

*Highest Paid Person’s Opinion

My mantraIf you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

It doesn’t exist.

Audience segmentation

Conversion Rate Optimization

My favorite testing tools

How to measure success with data...

Audience segmentation Needles in haystacks

Why segment?

• No two visitors are alike

• Experiences & expectations vary with context

• Observations about why some groups convert better than others can lead to insights

• Insights lead to nirvana

Basic segments

• Device type (tablet, smartphone, e-reader, desktop)

• Geography (urban, rural, language, culture)

• Time of Day / Day of Week

• Traffic source

Advanced segments

• New vs. returning visitors

• Previous converters

• Branded vs. non-branded search

• Multi-device & multi-session

• Social media engagement

• Frequency & recency

• Exposure to other advertising

Conversion Rate Optimization Wider funnels

Conversion funnels

• Your website or app is a leaky bucket

• Product page > shopping cart > billing/shipping > checkout

• Obstacles & confusion cause people to abandon

• Visitors that abandon will never buy from you

CRO Case Study 4X more leads...for free!

13% 20%7%

11%5% 5%

Why does it matter?

• Get more conversions without paying for more traffic

• Improve user experience and usability by removing obstacles

• Use winning combinations in other media

• Failure is tolerated & appreciated as long as you learn something

My favorite testing tools The right tool for the right job

GA Content Experiments A/B test on your site

Optimizely.com Powerful A/B Tests without IT

Unbounce.com Landing page testing

Mailchimp.com Email marketing & testing

Tying it all together

• Opinions don’t matter

• Focus on outcomes & insights, not puking up data

• If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it

• Treat different audience segments differently

• Plug the leaks in your conversion bucket

• Fail quickly but learn something

• Testing tools are great, but won’t replace humans....yet