Organisations should take a fresh look at the potential
benefits of using web analytics to drive their online business,
according to Gartner.
Bill Gassman, research director at Gartner, told delegates at
the summit that the market had developed rapidly in the past year
as the spread of broadband has made the internet a more attractive
channel. He said enterprises needed to keep up with what was on
offer.
In a crowded marketplace, said Gassman, it was important that
companies were clear about the purpose of their website, as that
would govern how to apply analytics productively and which
commercial offerings to consider.
He said the purpose of websites varied widely. For example, the
effectiveness of a media content site would be measured on
completely different terms to a customer support site.
"It seems obvious to say that the return on investment of a site
will be shaped by its purpose, but the range of alternative models
is still striking," he said.
At its broadest, web analytics covers either campaign analysis,
where you monitor the effectiveness of a particular promotion; or
site optimisation, which aims to show developers how to alter a
site to shape visitor behaviour.
Gassman said the reporting methods for analytics varied
enormously, but firms should avoid making buying decisions based on
the visual appeal of a results presentation.
"Instead, evaluate the analytic power of a solution in the
context of scenarios that are relevant to your site."
Gassman said the effectiveness of analytics tools was
demonstrated by firms such as Overstock.com, which derives most of
its revenue from its online channel and which saw a 21% increase in
customers entering its checkout process when it cut the steps they
had to take to complete the process from seven to three.
Gartner's call to arms comes only days after Jupiter Research
said web analytics was about to take off among businesses, with
interest boosted by the rapid take-up of Google's free web
analytics services.