Numbers Are Our Friends: Making the Case for Web Analytics

Incorporating numbers and data into your design process is much simpler than you think. IAs and UX designers are already "web analysts”: Our in-depth knowledge of user behaviour provides us the ability to glean vital, actionable insights from analytics data that others, such as marketers and business analysts, might miss.

This talk will remove mystique around the ‘web analytics’ process and speak to common misconceptions IAs have with this area of practice. Through tips and examples of tactical applications of web analytics data in a ‘UX friendly’ context, we will show that analytics is an efficient tool for gaining rapid insight into user behaviour and improving the value of our designs.

We will illustrate ways analytics data can be brought into play with familiar IA and UX processes and provide examples of how metrics extend the life of our early research. We will show how personas help drive search analysis, audience targeting drives useful segmentation, and internal search data informs content strategy. This talk aims to show IAs and UX professionals why web analytics should be on their radar and how it can help them find a common language with their business and marketing counterparts.

Transcript

1. NUMBERS ARE OUR FRIENDS Making the Case for Web Analytics Lynne J. Polischuik @lynneux
2. Why do I care about analytics?
3. 43% drop in overall sales. 41% of visitors on a dial-up connection.
4. Why are designers unconvinced about analytics?
5. We think of numbers as being complex and scary.
6. We are told we need to measure but not sure what.
7. A lot of the reports we see just aren’t helpful.
8. Why should you care about analytics?
9. Accountability = Credibility
10. Get a seat at the table.
11. A $12,000,000 Form Field?
12. “What are we contributing to the business? Are we seeing things through and making sure that what we are doing is worth something?” - Joe Megibow Expedia's VP of global analytics and optimization
13. How do we get started?
14. Three main things you need to do: 1. Define goals and metrics. 2. Educate yourself. 3. Make some allies.
15. 1. Define goals and metrics.
16. “Metrics are simply numbers that measure the effectiveness of your business.” - Josh Porter
17. This is a conversion.
20. Segment Data for More Actionable Information
21. "Numbers are an abstraction, but when we give them context, they have the strength, significance and nuance of language." - Livia Labate
22. 2. Educate yourself
23. We think a lot about mastery of ‘output’ tools.
24. We need to learn more about research tools and measuring our effectiveness.
25. Learn to love @Avinash
26. #measure
27. 3. Find some allies.
28. Reach out to others who can help you access the data you need.
29. What’s going on in here?
30. We need a holistic view.
31. How can data help us design?
32. Creating Personas and Designing Navigation
33. Determining the Right Content 5% 13% 20% 28% 35% About Academics Student Life Library Institute Alumni % Content % Visits Credit: Tim Hart via Avinash Kaushik: http://strottrot.com/u/6
34. Proves the value of my work Helps me to make better design decisions Analytics data...
35. “Stories are just data with a soul.” - Brene Brown
36. Resources Lynne J. Polischiuk info@lynneux.com @lynneux Lou Rosenfeld ‘Search Analytics for Your Site’ www.rosenfeldmedia.com Questions? Avinash Kaushik @avinash kaushik.net Book: Web Analytics 2.0 Livia Labate @livlab livlab.com/thinkia/ Ceci n’est pas une KPI slides: http://www.slideshare.net/livlab/ceci- nest-pas-une-kpi-interaction-10 Joshua Porter @bokardo bokardo.com/ Book: Designing for the Social Web