“Keep It Simple Stupid” is a phrase in marketing that is undervalued. Applying this to website analytics means having clear goals allowing you to focus on finding the information you need. Overcomplicating analytics can not only make those difficult to achieve, but makes analytics a chore.
Keep website analytics simple by having simple goals, using simple strategies and above all, having fun!
Set Simple Goals
Children don’t have complex needs; sometimes they just want some attention, a treat or to play. Treat your voyage into the world of your website’s analytics with the same simplicity. Over complicating your goals will leave you confused, whereas breaking up a big research task into smaller chunks will mean you are more likely to succeed and emerge with good, solid conclusions with statistics to back them up.
Keep Reports Fun
Why churn out endless spreadsheets when you can illustrate them with colourful graphs and charts! Visual representations are much easier to digest and are fantastic for proving a point. They get straight to the point making them perfect for demonstrating theories or results. Most spreadsheet software allows you to make graphs, so spend an extra second or two the next time you have a spreadsheet finding those controls.
But, Why?! Be Inquisitive
Never, ever be content with what your statistics are telling you. Ask yourself ‘why’ at every turn just like a child. Remember: there may be more than one answer.
Become an Analytics Superhero
Just as a child learns through exploration and play, keep building up your analytics knowledge and skills. Develop your knowledge through exploring statistics. Challenge your own or your client’s assumptions about why users are behaving in a certain way and find the proof. In the process you will learn how to dig down to find answers. I guarantee that you will find a couple of things along the way you never knew before.
Website Statistics Need Attention Too
Children need attention; so do website statistics. Make sure you check your website statistics on a regular basis. “But, why?” I hear you say… So that not only will you know if there are issues with your tracking codes (it happens, especially if you are working on your website), but also you can react instantly to new trends as they unfold. Timing is key in marketing. Don’t forget to monitor any tracking filters you have applied to your statistics too to make sure that they are working and picking up the data you need.
August 30th, 2010 on 3:45 PM
[...] blog post came about after reading Joanna Butler’s brilliant blog post Turning Website Analytics into Child’s Play. I wanted to follow on from what Joanna was talking about and add my thoughts to making your web [...]