Comments on: Analytics’ Doesn’t Always Tell Intent http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=169 Advice for entrepreneurs on how to build and finance a start-up. Fri, 21 May 2010 20:48:46 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: affordabletermquote http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=169&cpage=1#comment-2277 affordabletermquote Tue, 05 May 2009 01:57:24 +0000 http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=169#comment-2277 When a visitor clicked links, differing views come to mind. We cannot directly say that it was related to what he was searching. Might somehow be the result of curiosity or just puzzled about the "weirdnest" of the title or the product offering (I'm liked this-lol). Yes you are very correct in all your thoughts here. You summed up everything enough to be understood even by "nerds" like me. When a visitor clicked links, differing views come to mind. We cannot directly say that it was related to what he was searching. Might somehow be the result of curiosity or just puzzled about the “weirdnest” of the title or the product offering (I'm liked this-lol). Yes you are very correct in all your thoughts here. You summed up everything enough to be understood even by “nerds” like me.

]]> By: scottshapiro http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=169&cpage=1#comment-2274 scottshapiro Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:08:14 +0000 http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=169#comment-2274 Cliff,<br><br>Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment. You make several good points, demonstrating the usefulness and value of analytics and data on your users to determine intent.<br><br>Scott Cliff,

Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment. You make several good points, demonstrating the usefulness and value of analytics and data on your users to determine intent.

Scott

]]> By: CliffAllen http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=169&cpage=1#comment-2273 CliffAllen Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:04:15 +0000 http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=169#comment-2273 I agree that it can be a bit of a challenge to discern the intent of first-time visitors to a Web<br>site. However, by using several one-to-one marketing techniques to augment traditional Web analytics, it's frequently possible to get a good idea of an individual visitor's intent.<br> <br>Take the person clicking an organic link on Google. Web Analytics can capture the search term they used to create the search results page. If you have previously correlated that search phrase against conversions, you know the percent likelihood that the current visitor will convert, which can be used to choose which content to show.<br> <br>As for abandoned shopping carts, it's unfortunate that so many sites hide the shipping costs until checkout, which makes it hard to know why the customer left.<br> <br>For sites that make it easy to see the total cost while shopping, an abandoned cart would indicate that a competitor got the sale. So, a change in the rate of abandonment could indicate change at competitors that needs to be researched.<br> <br>Many times you can determine a visitor's intent by looking at the clickstream of the pages visited and the time spent on key pages. It's also helpful to track whether they came from your<br>e-mail blast, product review on another site, or a viral marketing link you have provided to customers.<br> <br>And, for "considered" products that require research and comparison (instead of "impulse" buying) it is helpful to view a customer's clickstream over several sessions to have a complete view of which Web pages they have seen.<br> <br>It you have previously correlated the total number of page views, total number of visits, and cumulative time on site with conversion data, then you'll know about when to display a "call to action" offer to close the deal.<br> <br>I've shown salespeople the Web clickthrough data on their customers and prospects, and watched their excitement as they learn exactly which products their prospects were considering. <br> <br>Now, if you're dealing with visits by existing customers, you can compare their page visit data and past purchase data to that of other customers to know which products to suggest and offers to show.<br> <br>There is so much data available on each visitor you would think that sites could generate more revenue than they are. Unfortunately, many marketing departments don't have sufficient resources dedicated to Web analytics, statistics, and one-to-one marketing to benefit from all the data that's possible to collect and analyze.<br> <br>When Web site owners start to apply the same level of resources to analytics as they apply to creativity, Web sites will deliver on the full potential of the Internet. I agree that it can be a bit of a challenge to discern the intent of first-time visitors to a Web
site. However, by using several one-to-one marketing techniques to augment traditional Web analytics, it's frequently possible to get a good idea of an individual visitor's intent.
 
Take the person clicking an organic link on Google. Web Analytics can capture the search term they used to create the search results page. If you have previously correlated that search phrase against conversions, you know the percent likelihood that the current visitor will convert, which can be used to choose which content to show.
 
As for abandoned shopping carts, it's unfortunate that so many sites hide the shipping costs until checkout, which makes it hard to know why the customer left.
 
For sites that make it easy to see the total cost while shopping, an abandoned cart would indicate that a competitor got the sale. So, a change in the rate of abandonment could indicate change at competitors that needs to be researched.
 
Many times you can determine a visitor's intent by looking at the clickstream of the pages visited and the time spent on key pages. It's also helpful to track whether they came from your
e-mail blast, product review on another site, or a viral marketing link you have provided to customers.
 
And, for “considered” products that require research and comparison (instead of “impulse” buying) it is helpful to view a customer's clickstream over several sessions to have a complete view of which Web pages they have seen.
 
It you have previously correlated the total number of page views, total number of visits, and cumulative time on site with conversion data, then you'll know about when to display a “call to action” offer to close the deal.
 
I've shown salespeople the Web clickthrough data on their customers and prospects, and watched their excitement as they learn exactly which products their prospects were considering.
 
Now, if you're dealing with visits by existing customers, you can compare their page visit data and past purchase data to that of other customers to know which products to suggest and offers to show.
 
There is so much data available on each visitor you would think that sites could generate more revenue than they are. Unfortunately, many marketing departments don't have sufficient resources dedicated to Web analytics, statistics, and one-to-one marketing to benefit from all the data that's possible to collect and analyze.
 
When Web site owners start to apply the same level of resources to analytics as they apply to creativity, Web sites will deliver on the full potential of the Internet.

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