Uploading Costs to Determine ROI

      So what it the point of all of this analytics? Is it to run frequent reports and setup custom dashboards? Is it to print fancy infographics that tell a story without providing any real insight? Analysts need to realize that the reason why companies invest efforts in employing these tools is to simply generate more money. Sounds obvious. Yet many organizations blindly implement web analytics tools without developing strategies and measurements that allow for insight into the effectiveness of marketing campaigns across all ad networks. Without an effective way of measuring the ROI of all web based advertisement campaigns, companies can not gain insight into which techniques are generating the most money. 

       
     Google Analytics provides plug-ins that provide easy ROI reporting for advertisement campaigns that are generated through Google's online marketing tools. Information about advertisement campaigns implemented in Google Adwords can be linked to a GA account to allow for the baked in reporting tools to be used in Adword ROI analysis. But what about other online advertisement campaigns (Facebook,Bing, partner sites)? If the goal is to utilize analytics to make money, then organizations need to analyze which advertisement campaigns are the most effective across all ad networks .

                 
       GA provides tools for users that allow for non Google ad network cost data to be uploaded from files (excel spreadsheets) into the GA suite. Uploading daily costs data allows for a one stop web analytics experience where all relevant online advertisement costs and statistics are merged together, allowing for reflection on the effectiveness of specific marketing efforts.

Where to Start?

        Before we can start uploading data into GA, we need to make sure our advertisement links are created in Google's URL builder tool. Utilizing the builder allows us to maintain effective management across campaigns, mediums, and sources[1]. Please refer to Bryce Bagley's excellent post excellent post on how to accomplish this.

      Once our URLs have been built, we then need to develop a spreadsheet that contains information that will allow us to track what campaigns we are currently running, what kind of traffic they generated, and how much they cost. Advertisement tools outside of Google’s ad network also can provide these same statistics. Google provides guidelines on what data can be uploaded and it's format.[2]

     Before we can start uploading data into GA, we need to make sure our data is formatted in a specific way that allows for Google's API to read it. Companies should format spreadsheets according to the dimensions and metrics shown in the table above. However, many companies may have spreadsheets that look similar to this one.

      Google’s data upload API is unable to read the file due to the titles in the columns being unrecognizable by the tool. However, it is easy to reformat into a API friendly file.

     You will notice that the spreadsheet contains aspects such as source, medium, and campaign name which refer back to the original URL that was generated for our advertisement link. The data will upload and associate itself to the specific campaign that we created. [3]

How to upload the Data

     Before we can upload the data, we must make sure that our spreadsheet file has been formatted appropriately and saved in the .CVS file format. This format is an option when saving files in excel. Once our files are ready, we can upload our data using Google’s free self service API or an independent GA application provider for a cost.

Google's Self Service API:

This method involves an intermediate knowledge of how to utilize API's and a small bit of scripting logic. Due to this falling outside the realm of this course, I have attached several tutorials on how to set up API access in Google's developer tools and how to enable data uploading in GA. [4]

API Demo

How to Measure the Performance of Paid Campaigns

How Cost Data Upload Works

Independent Application Providers.

     Many companies have developed tools that allow for easy data integration from excel into GA. These tools provide the same functionality while providing an easy to use graphical user interface. A tool provided by Next analytics provides the ability to pull informaton from the web into excel for analysis, while another another application by GA DataUploader pushes data from excel into GA. For more information on applications that provide additional tools in GA please visit the App Gallery. [5]

Step by Step Walk Through of How Next Excel App Works

GA Data Uploader Demo

Analysis through Reporting

     Once the data has been uploaded (which can take up to 12 hours) we can take a look at the effectiveness of the campaigns in relation to one another using the built in GA tools.

     Organizations must look at ROI holistically. Viewing a report showing the ROI analysis of a single advertisement campaign only tells you only a part of the story. It is through the compiling of all advertisement endeavors that allow for an understanding of how our efforts are effecting the bottom line. Yet even then, organizations need to continue to revisit the ROI that the analytics team bring to the table.

References:

1. http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-you-should-be-using-google-url.html

2. https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/platform/features/cost-data-import#format

3. https://developers.google.com/analytics/solutions/articles/cost-data-import

4. http://www.e-nor.com/blog/web-analytics/upload-click-and-cost-data-to-google-analytics-using-excel-or-google-docs-files

5. http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2238619/Extending-Your-Google-Analytics-Functionality-With-the-Application-Gallery

Will Our Professional and Personal Online Identities Merge?

Many feel that lingering fear that someday their boss is going to somehow get access to their privacy-protected Facebook wall, and all the associated content that may or may not be critical of company leadership. Currently, privacy mechanisms are in place that can prevent this from happening. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ all have privacy settings that limit what non-connections can see; and forums such as Reddit, 4chan and others have the benefit of complete anonymity. But what if all of your personal online activity was bundled together with your professional identities managed through email, Linkedin, and other professional online activity spots? Some fear this may soon be happening.

The silent battle being fought in enterprise software is pitting Google against Microsoft. Google Apps for Business, once a freemium tool, is the fastest growing email, documents, and cloud storage enterprise software suites in the world. Two out of every three new enterprise software companies are choosing Google Apps for Business instead of Microsoft Outlook and Office[1]. In fact, according to both Forrester Research and Gartner, Google is expected to control 50% of the enterprise email market in 5 years![2] So with the compatibility and ubiquity of Google products continuing to proliferate, the question becomes – what does this mean for Google products users?

Below is a quick snapshot of what the Google Apps for Business market looks like:

Two Identities Collide

One concern with the growth of Google Apps for Business is that Google will be able to track both your personal and professional identities, and merge them into a single online persona. This has already been done to a small extent with Google+, where if you have both a personal and professional account Google will push recommended people to circle from both your personal and professional contacts. Further evidence of this change happens when you sign up as a new user with the Google Signup tool, which will give you the option to choose your personal or professional account to sign up for a service. But Google is not the only company to be doing this. Facebook is working diligently to make your FB profile the only one you need online; and Linkedin started this shift with their groups, where individuals mix professional and personal interests.

Managing the Change

So there’s this sea change coming that is being driven by large forces. One solution is to stop providing companies with data inputs – something that is nearly impossible at this point. Another potential solution is a dedicated web service to help manage your various online personas – but this hasn’t quite achieved this. So it is up to you to figure out how you are going to manage, and benefit from, this major change. With that context in mind, the following is what you can do to better manage this movement toward combining your online identities:

• Determine and build your brand – Very few internet users think about their online brand. Most use their social and professional outlets in an unstructured, directionless fashion. However, there are many people who use their various profiles to express themselves personally, and develop their credibility and brand. One great thinker in this area is Dan Schawbel[3], who has used very effective methods online to brand himself as one of the foremost experts in online personal branding
• Create your online “10 Commandments” – If our personal and professional online identities are indeed moving closer together, it is important that we have rules of engagement. Users should begin to establish their own guidelines by which they will manage their online brand and craft an identity that serves a productive purpose. These could include avoiding political commentary, eliminating cursing, and abstaining from negative comments; but these rules also include positive actions like expressing gratitude, giving praise to people, and sharing interesting information. 
• Use personal analytics – In my previous post about knowing and managing your social graph, I provided several tools you can use to see how people find and search you online[4]. As you dive into the data, you’ll notice that people that look you up on Linkedin for professional purposes will also visit your Twitter feed, and try to access your Facebook wall. Furthermore, with tools like Klout you’ll be able to find out if your activity is truly building the brand you intend.

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[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/technology/google-apps-moving-onto-microsofts-business-turf.html?_r=0

[2] http://www.shorewebtech.com/blog/google-apps-gaining-market-share/

[3] http://danschawbel.com/

[4] http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/01/understanding-your-social-graph.html