Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
keep in mind that it is not just the standard reports where you can use compara-
tive reporting; it is a valid function on any of the more exotic reports as well, such as
the scenario analysis reports, as shown in Figure 6.16.
Figure 6.16
Comparative scenario analysis report
note that, in reports showing a row-based set of data below the chart, every
single metric gets compared. consequently, if you choose to use the results to commu-
nicate a point, i suggest you delete some metrics that are not absolutely necessary, as
the report can otherwise become quite confusing to look at.
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Using Cross-Reference Filters
i think it is important that we agree on what a filter is and how to interpret a filter with
Yahoo! Web Analytics before we discuss how to use it and where you should use it.
Filters are not data collection filters that chop off some of your data. Filters
are not bucket definitions, where you put a certain part of your data into a bucket.
Filters are not necessarily just simple drill-downs, even though they can be used in
the same way.
Drill-down
Drill-down (also data drilling) refers to any of various operations and transformations on tabular,
relational, and multidimensional data and is very often implemented as a simple way to execute
a cross-reference lookup in web analytics applications (essentially a subset of the data you view).
Filters are a simple way of doing real-time segmentation, on the fly, in a report.
Filters create a subset of the data you are looking at based on the criteria you set. how-
ever simple this may sound, filters are probably one of the best and most powerful fea-
tures you have in your toolbox.
let's have a look at a simple visits report in Figure 6.17, as we all have a good
understanding of that particular metric.
