Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
What to Expect from a Report
First, let's agree on just what you should expect from out-of-the-box reports versus
reports that answer specific business questions you have formulated.
Vendors such as Yahoo! Web Analytics can create a few reporting starting
points; having too many starting points is a usability disaster and does nothing but
confuse and detract value from the better starting points. those starting points can
begin to take shape only when you have defined the business questions you want your
reports to answer for you.
Out of the Box
Items, functionalities, or features provided out of the box are those that do not require any addi-
tional installations, plug-ins, expansion packs, or products. In the case of implementation, out of
the box also has the connotation of using a system without customization, such that it is usable
with a plain-vanilla installation.
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therefore, i suggest that you ask yourself three business-related questions that
you would like answered
before
you open up your web analytics tool. then try to
answer those three questions through your tool using anything from standard reports,
custom reports, filters, segments, and other tools.
An example of a marketing- and business-related question is “Are my recent
seo initiatives paying off?”
this is a fair question from a marketing manager who just finished a search
engine optimization program to improve on the company's organic efforts. But it also
becomes clear that, even before opening up the web analytics tool, you would have to
debate or at least think about how to answer this. Breaking down the big question,
smaller related questions that come to mind include:
W
•
hat is the time period in question?
•
W
hat is the baseline index?
•
h
ow do we define “paying off”?
•
h
ow do we measure success?
W
•
hat are the success and failure thresholds?
•
i
f any specific search phrases stand out, should they be reported on?
W
•
hat was the cost of the initiative and where is this data coming from?
•
D
id the initiative end, or are we reporting on the progress?
W
•
hat does the manager expect: a simple yes/no or a detailed report from which
to draw conclusions?
s
•
hould you provide suggestions for actions on how to improve?
