Web analytics is an important tool for your online business - but are you getting the information you need?

As with most web site owners you are probably now getting up to speed with internet marketing,  your working with a reputable internet marketing company, following the expert advise on getting good well optimised search engine friendly content on the site. You've also got an analytics package and the reports you are given shows the traffic is increasing. So is that it, just continue with the recommendations and watch visitors increase?

Well no, this not the time to rest on your laurels. So the traffic is going up, but how many of your visitors convert to paying customers. Are you asking your marketing department or internet marketing consultant the right questions about the data you receive in each report? Or more importantly have you examined what questions you should be asking?

I am a great fan of Douglas Adams and in particular the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. In one of the early books a computer called "Deep Thought" is asked the following question; what is the answer to life the universe and everything. Well the answer after millions of year of computation comes out at the now famous 42, the problem was they didn't know the question. This is the problem with analytics, too many business owners do not know what the question is they want answered.

So what questions should you be asking, well why not try this little exercise. Forget about the data in your latest report on web site performance and don't log into you stats package to look at the reports. Get a pencil and a piece of paper and write down what you would like to know about your online business. I'll start you off with a couple of questions:

• What works better for me my organic listings or my PPC Campaign?
• What products have the highest conversion rates?

Now go into your analytics package and try to find the answers to these questions, you will be surprised how much easier it is to find the right answer when you pose the right question.

These are real questions about your business performance that you want answered. You should also work with your marketing department or online marketing consultants to set up your key performance indicators (KPI) for the business, look at what is hindering you site from converting visitors to sales.
 
Here are some examples or KPI's

• Visitors - The number of visitors to your site
• Conversion rate - The percentage of visitors who convert into sales
• Shopping cart funnel -Measuring the number of visitors that fail to complete a purchase process
• Bounce rate - Bounce rates can be used to help determine the effectiveness or performance of an entry page.
• Lead generation - Sales generated from site visitors calling direct

There would be of course others, it's not a one size fits all, but this should put you on the right track. Remember also that the analysis of your data will not always yield you hard facts it will however, once you look at the data, create a narrative about how you site is performing.

Dougie Hunter is Senior Analyst at Occupancy Marketing, the UK's leading Internet Marketing Company for the hotel and tourism industry. The company specialises in driving direct, non commissionable bookings via the World Wide Web. www.occupancymarketing.com,