Archive for the ‘Traffic Analytics’ Category

Top 3 Tips for Improving Your Display Ad CTR

Posted by Josh on February 29, 2012 - 4:12 pm
CTR Analytics

Make sure your graphs are going in the right direction.

We’ve stated in past posts that the difference between success and failure often times comes down to being able to squeeze every last drop of performance out of your campaigns. This means knowing how to read your analytics and then adjusting accordingly. One analytic that we are all familiar with is the Click Through Rate (CTR). Your CTR is the first indication of whether you have a winner or a dud of a campaign on your hands. Here are a couple of tips to getting all you can out of you Display Ads.

Picking the Right Placement

To start, there is a chance you could improve your CTR by 50% by just moving your ad above the fold. Heat Map Analytics studies have shown that as much as half of the visitors of a website don’t scroll past the fold. So, if you aren’t experiencing the CTR you would like, first look at where it’s found on the page.

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Valentine’s Day Search Stats from Google

Posted by Josh on February 24, 2012 - 6:07 pm

 

Google Stats for Valentine's Day

Making Valentine's Day Reservations Easier Since 1998

Google decided to release some data regarding searches related to Valentine’s Day this year. If anything the data just backs up that most of us are procrastinators and do everything last minute. It also confirms what we wrote in a previous article regarding the percentage of searches done from mobile devices.

According to Google’s Analytics, 62% of the national searches for restaurant chains were done so on a mobile device. Google only counted restaurant chains since it could disambiguate them, as opposed to smaller mom and pop shops. For example, if there is a search for “papaya”, Google doesn’t know if you are looking for nutrition facts or a nearby restaurant. But one can assume the 62% extends to all searches.

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Know Where Your Customers Are Coming From

Posted by Josh on January 05, 2012 - 10:46 am
The Basics of Traffic Sources
Traffic Sources in Google Analytics

Knowing how people get to your website is a fundamental factor in fine-tuning your online presence.  It can do wonders when it comes to squeezing more out of your advertising budget or becoming more educated about the tendencies of your users. Fortunately for you, any web analytics tool worth its salt will have a breakdown of all the sources of traffic that lands on your site. So now that you that you know, let’s cover the basics:

Under “Traffic Sources” in your analytics you’ll find the following:

Direct Traffic – These are people who didn’t search to find you. They either typed in your URL directly or have your site bookmarked. Either way, they already knew who you were, either through an offline marketing campaign or through word of mouth.

Referring Sites – When an individual arrives at your site from clicking a link located on another site, they fall under this category. This could include banner ads or directory listings as well as blogs or partner sites. These are important to know since it can tell you a lot about what else your visitors are interested in or what they are searching for online.

Search Engines – This tells you which search engine an individual saw your search result in. This includes paid listings along with organic ones.

There are some subtleties to analytics that are worth knowing, but that is the meat and potatoes. One important thing to look for is the percentage of visitors coming from direct traffic as opposed to search engine traffic. Since 80% of web traffic comes from search engines, you know that you need to focus on your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) if you see the majority coming from direct traffic. That will tell you people aren’t finding you by your keywords and you’re missing out on a lot of very valuable (and cheap) organic traffic.

(photo by DavidErickson)

5 Traits That Will Turn You Into A Web Analytics Samurai

Posted by Chris on December 15, 2011 - 3:52 pm

According to Wikipedia, the word trait is defined as a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one’s personal nature. At SeeVolution we have come up with five analytics superior analytics traits. If you can master any one of these you will be well on your way to increasing your conversion rates and maximizing your bottom line.

1. Curiosity

Curiousity

“Why are more people clicking here? Will I get more sign ups if I move this button there?” Measuring analytics is an ongoing process that will never end. Those who are compelled to play around with their layout, colors, buttons, and product offerings will do much better than those who are content with just throwing a website up and hoping people click buy. If you are someone who enjoyed high school science classes than you will probably enjoy tinkering with your website.

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Graphic: What Changes Have You Made Based on Google Analytics?

Posted by Chris on October 17, 2011 - 9:02 am
Do You Make Changes Based on Google Analytics Reporting?

Do You Make Changes Based on Google Analytics Reporting?

SeeVolution did a little research and found that a lot of people have installed Google Analytics on their website but not a lot have used the service proficiently. If you are reading this post you are probably in the IT industry in some way or another.

I’m curious, have you ever made changes to your own website based on your Google Analytics reporting? And, if so, what changes did you make specifically?

Why Managing Analytics is like Coaching in the NFL

Posted by Chris on October 07, 2011 - 8:42 am
Methodical Coaching and Site Management Go Hand in Hand

Mike McCarthy Coaching his Star Quarterback Aaron Rodgers

I have always felt like being a head coach of any sport is a lot like being the C.E.O. of a company. They’re both in charge and they both have to manage not only people, but money and publicity as well. They are the face of their respective organizations.

When a football coach trots his team out onto the gridiron every Sunday he is marching his best performing players that, in the coaches opinion, give his team the best chance to win.

When I was in middle school we used to have athletes from the University of Wisconsin come and talk to us as part of a community outreach program. One stuck out in my mind when he told us that the top 1% of high school athletes get to play in college and the top 1% of college athletes get to play at the professional level.

If you have ever seen the NFL draft, you know how much these players are measured and tested before pro teams make a decision to invest their time and money in them.

In order to start and actually play, these athletes have to go through months of grueling two-a-day practices. Each position, from quarterback to kicker, is looked at under a microscope before a decision is made. There is competition every week to see who gets to start so now job is ever considered safe.

The same way a head coach measures and tests his players, you should be measuring and testing your website. If it works, keep doing it. If it doesn’t, try something new.

Coaches always test new plays and different combinations of players. You should be trying out new products or services, or different value propositions.

Coaches set goals or milestones for their team to achieve. You can set goals for your conversion rates – keeping in mind that you should always be striving to exceed your previous numbers.

The NFL and Analytics, who would have thought?

(Photo by ESPN)

Traffic Analytics are Key to Success Online

Posted by Seevolution Web Analitics on March 09, 2011 - 1:45 pm

Traffic AnalyticIf you have a website then you need traffic analytics, it is as simple as that.  With SeeVolution you can see exactly what each user does on your website, and cater your message accordingly.  For instance, if people are coming to your site and only scrolling half-way down, they could be missing half of your messages.  With SeeVolution you can see all of this information in real time.  You know what parts of your page have the exposure you want, and you can see the results of any changes as you make them.  This is the best tool for companies that are looking to increase the efficiency of their website.  Traffic analytics get you results and traffic analytics can be built into your existing website.  Traffic analytics can be added without having to modify your website significantly, and you will not have to spend money on training since it is so easy to use.  If you are looking for that extra something then traffic analytics from is that extra something.