Saturday, May 4, 2013

Real Time Web Analytics


How to Use Real Time Web Analytics:

Probably it would be helpful to explain what I mean by “real time” first. Seems like a good number of free analytics tool providers have a level of delay in the way their data is presented. The dilemma for the CMO of a small online retailer is they might be up to 24 hours of behind at any given time. That could be a significant delay in a fast paced environment; however, on the other hand the tools are free. According Google, even Premium version could have up to four hours of delay.

On the other, some more expensive alternatives like IBM or Adobe can offer a more real time response between customer action and accuracy within the solution and this is one of the reason why higher end retailers tend to pay for these vendors.

According to eMarketer over 50% of the companies with online presence will start using real time data marketing in 2013 (2)
Web Analytics Trends 2013
Probably, news, commerce and social media are the sectors that could benefit from this type real time decision making.

How to use real time analytics to improve for news sites?

The real value of a site like NYTimes.com is to establish traffic and gain durability. The more relevant the content is the more likely it is that readers looking for a trending topic will get to that site. If NY Times can deliver news about the latest development in sports, politics and markets the will be ahead of the competitors.

And NY Times can use real time web analytics not only to be reactive but also to be pro-active and act on their site and for content. In addition, with a real “real time” analytics solution potentially they could their own A/B Testing on the fly. For example they can display Layout A and after that Layout B. This will allow them to directly get a feedback the quality of your different options. Basically this approach will allow readers to decide the most interesting topic in real time.





How to use real time analytics to improve online retailers?

On the other hand, online sellers like Backcountry need to know what is currently sold. They could act on this with external campaign. Online retailers should even be able to manage the layout of their site or the landing page. When customers look for a specific brand and get to the website online retailer should be able to display their search result. The more customers search for Marmot or CCM the more retailers should display that brand on theirs site. If the site has a rotating animation on the site they can include their Marmot offers in that rotation

How to use real time analytics to improve social media presence?

Finally, the social media is real time, probably more than anything else on the web. Hence there are not many things that require needs more focus if an organization is serious about social. When a company is not aware of the current discussion about them or their brands they will could miss out relevant information and ability to influence the conversation.

Without a doubt, utilizing real time digital analytics is critical when trying to stay ahead of competition. If a company is one of the three industries and still they have not considered digital analytics as being helpful (1) perhaps that might be the first approach to address this situation and move on to a better understanding of digital analytics as well as improving your site and marketing.

For example, going back to the NEWS, in case of real time data analytics it is critical to see what the numbers available to us mean. So, let’s say on NHL.com there are more than 100,000 clicks on the Red Wings and Ducks game, companies need to know what these numbers mean and decide real time how do whether to keep that article on the top or bump it down to give that top spot to Sharks and Canucks games.
Doesn't agree with the Canuck's articles placement on NHL.com
The answer to this question comes from real time digital analytics and trend analysis. By monitoring the stats of that page with an overview of the last hours or last 3 hours NHL.com can understand if the traffic is increasing or starting to lose momentum, also they could incorporate the location of clicks to make the analysis more meaningful. At this point they can decide on the ranking by views but also by location and trends.
REFERENCES:
1. Web Analytics World. (Haberich, Ralf 2012 ) Web Analytics are useless, don’t you think.
2. eMarketers (2013) Real-Time Marketing Grows in Importance as Social Analytics Improve

1 comment:

  1. With increase in competition, the trend of marketing is also changing day by day. A well online strategy brings more and more customers. Presenting Free Online Presence Analysis of your company surroundings is a new way to good.

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