By Nathan Bellah
Data. Numbers. Trends. Aaaaah, yes...
Analytics. The pulse of every site and the heartbeat of your marketing efforts.
Did you know that most CMO's that I have spoken with do not even understand
their own website's keys for success?
The metrics I have heard time and time again
are page views. Overall traffic. Bounce rate. Time on site. The list goes on.
True, all of these metrics can be important in testing messages/landing pages,
BUT, the key performance indicator that I always remind them of is, "What
data point do we need to move to make sure that we all keep our jobs?" 100%
of the time it is always, MONEY. That is right, ROI.
Backing into the, sometimes,
ambiguous data mine field that is analytics can be rough. In a traditional
marketing world it is extremely important to know your analytics baseline, e.g.
website sales or conversions.
Measuring these metrics before
testing components is absolutely crucial. Have a plan for marketing executions
that includes a dedicated start date for each component and a dedicated
tracking method for measuring results.
I prefer to manage a client's
analytics with all media that is running. This way I know exactly how
traditional components are affecting digital and overall performance
goals.
Remember. You can not measure how
far you have come without knowing where you began.
Nathan Bellah is the head of digital media for AgencyEntourage. He explores and executes the most effective paid media strategies
for clients across the country. He also enjoys sushi and a good pair of Chuck
Taylor’s.
