Table Of ContentPractical Web Analytics for
User Experience
Practical Web Analytics for User Experience . DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-404619-1.00017-4
© 22001144 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Practical Web Analytics
for User Experience
How Analytics Can Help You
Understand Your Users
Michael Beasley
UX Designer, ITHAKA
Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Beasley, Michael, 1980–
Practical web analytics for user experience: how analytics can help you understand
your users / Michael Beasley.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Web usage mining. 2. Internet users—Attitudes. 3. Web sites—Development. I. Title.
ZA4235.B43 2013
006.3—dc23
2013010542
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-12-404619-1
Printed in the United States of America
13 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For information on all Morgan Kaufmann publications visit our website at www.mkp.com
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...........................................................................xiii
ABOUT THE AUTHOR .............................................................................xv
CHAPTER 1 Introduction .......................................................................1
What Is Web Analytics? ...............................................................2
User Experience and Web Analytics Questions ........................3
Web Analytics and User Experience: A Perfect Fit ...................3
About This Book ...........................................................................4
Part 1: Introduction to Web Analytics .................................4
Part 2: Learning About Users through Web Analytics ......4
Part 3: Advanced Topics ......................................................5
Google Analytics ...........................................................................6
Part 1 Introduction to Web Analytics ........................9
CHAPTER 2 Web Analytics Approach ................................................11
Introduction .................................................................................11
Get to Know Your Website .........................................................11
A Model of Analysis ...................................................................14
Pose the Question ...............................................................15
Gather Data .........................................................................16
Transform Data ...................................................................16
Analyze ................................................................................16
Answer the Question ..........................................................17
Balancing Time and the Need for Certainty .....................17
Showing Your Work ....................................................................18
Context Matters ..........................................................................18
Data Over Time ...................................................................19
Proportion is Key .................................................................20
Sometimes the Data Contradict You .........................................22
Sometimes the Answer is “No” .........................................22
v
Practical Web Analytics for User Experience . DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-404619-1.00019-8
© 22001141 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
vi Contents
Make Your Findings Repeatable ........................................22
Key Takeaways ...........................................................................23
CHAPTER 3 How Web Analytics Works .............................................25
Introduction .................................................................................25
Log File Analysis ........................................................................25
Page Tagging ..............................................................................26
Cookies.................................................................................27
Accuracy ..............................................................................28
Accounts and Profiles .........................................................29
Click Analytics.....................................................................30
Metrics and Dimensions ............................................................31
Visits ....................................................................................32
Unique Visitors (Metric) .....................................................32
Pageviews (Metric) .............................................................34
Pages/Visit (Metric) ............................................................35
Average Visit Duration .......................................................35
Bounce Rate (Metric) ..........................................................36
% New Visits (Metric) .........................................................36
Using These Metrics ...........................................................37
Interacting With Data In Google Analytics ..............................37
Plot Rows .............................................................................39
Secondary Dimension .........................................................39
Sort Type ..............................................................................39
Search ...................................................................................41
Beyond Tables .....................................................................43
Key Takeaways ...........................................................................47
CHAPTER 4 Goals .................................................................................49
Introduction .................................................................................49
What are Goals and Conversions? ............................................49
Unfortunate Colliding Terms .............................................51
All Websites Should Have Goals........................................51
Why Do Goals Matter for User Experience? .....................51
Conversion Rate ..........................................................................52
Goal Reports in Google Analytics .............................................53
Goal URLs ............................................................................58
Reverse Goal Path ...............................................................58
Funnel Visualization Report ...............................................60
Goal Flow .............................................................................61
E-commerce .........................................................................62
Multichannel Funnels .........................................................62
Contents vii
When Do You Use These Reports? ............................................63
Finding the Right Things to Measure as Key
Performance Indicators ..............................................................63
What Should You Measure? ...............................................64
Do Users Want To Do These Things? ................................69
What Can You Measure on a Website that Can
Constitute a Goal? ......................................................................69
Reaching a Specific Page ....................................................70
On-Page Action ...................................................................71
Engagement ........................................................................72
Going Beyond the Website ........................................................72
Tying It Together ........................................................................73
Key Takeaways ...........................................................................74
Part 2 Learning about Users through Web
Analytics ..........................................................75
CHAPTER 5 Learning about Users ......................................................77
Introduction .................................................................................77
Visitor Analysis ...........................................................................78
Demographics—Location ...................................................78
Behavior—New vs. Returning ...........................................79
Behavior—Frequency & Recency ......................................79
Behavior—Engagement ......................................................80
Technology—Browser & OS ...............................................81
Mobile—Overview ..............................................................81
Custom (As in Custom Variables) ......................................81
Key Takeaways ...........................................................................82
CHAPTER 6 Traffic Analysis: Learning How Users Got to
Your Website ....................................................................83
Introduction .................................................................................83
Source and Medium (Dimensions) .............................................83
Organic Search ............................................................................85
Why Analyze Keywords? ....................................................87
Search Query Analysis ...............................................................89
Exporting the Data ..............................................................90
Create Candidate Categories .............................................92
Processing the Data ............................................................93
Analyzing the Data Again. .................................................96
Basic Keyword Analysis .....................................................98
Export the Data ...................................................................98
viii Contents
Categorize the Keywords ...................................................98
Compare Metrics .................................................................99
Referral Traffic .............................................................................99
Direct Traffic ..............................................................................102
Paid Search Keywords ..............................................................103
Key Takeaways .........................................................................104
CHAPTER 7 Analyzing How People Use Your Content ...................105
Introduction ...............................................................................105
Website Content Reports .........................................................105
High Pageviews/Low Pageviews ....................................107
Pageviews are Much Higher than Unique Pageviews ..109
Low Time on Page ............................................................110
High Time on Page ...........................................................112
High Entrances to Unique Pageviews Ratio ...................112
High Bounce Rate .............................................................113
High % Exit ........................................................................114
Page Value .........................................................................114
Comparing Page Metrics to Similar Pages ......................115
More Reports .....................................................................116
Key Takeaways .........................................................................120
CHAPTER 8 Click-Path Analysis .......................................................121
Introduction ...............................................................................121
Focus on Relationships between Pages ..................................122
Navigation Summary ................................................................123
“Visitors Flow” Report .............................................................126
Analyzing How Users Move from One Page
Type to Another ........................................................................128
An Example: AwesomePetToys.com ..............................129
Key Takeaways .........................................................................134
CHAPTER 9 Segmentation .................................................................135
Introduction ...............................................................................135
Why Segment Data? .................................................................135
How To Segment Data .............................................................140
Google Analytics’ Advanced Segments ..........................142
What are the Ways You Can Segment Data? .........................145
AND, OR, and Sequence of Filters ...................................145
Metrics ...............................................................................145
Dimensions ........................................................................146
Useful Ways to Segment for UX Questions ............................147
Segmenting According to a Page ....................................147
Contents ix
Segmenting According to User Traits .............................150
Segmenting According to Information Need ..................150
Whether or Not Users Completed a Goal ........................152
What Pages Users Landed On .........................................152
What Pages Users Viewed/Didn’t View ..........................153
The Tip of the Iceberg ..............................................................154
Key Takeaways .........................................................................154
CHAPTER 10 Pairing Analytics Data with UX Methods ...................157
Introduction ...............................................................................157
Personas ....................................................................................157
Segmenting Based on Personas .......................................157
Building Better Personas ..................................................161
Usability Testing .......................................................................162
Test Planning.....................................................................162
Test Analysis .....................................................................164
Usability Test Reports ......................................................165
Usability Inspection ..................................................................166
Identifying Potential Problems ........................................167
Evidence for Problems ......................................................167
Design and Design Objectives ................................................167
How Much Will You Improve a Number? ........................169
Key Takeaways .........................................................................169
CHAPTER 11 Measuring the Effects of Changes ...............................171
Introduction ...............................................................................171
Reframe as a Rate .....................................................................172
Choose What to Measure .........................................................172
Choose When to Measure ................................................173
Types of Changes .....................................................................174
Conversion Rate ................................................................174
Redirect Traffic ..................................................................176
Time on Page and Other Continuous Metrics ................179
Changing Many Things at Once .............................................180
Reporting ...................................................................................182
New Designs Don’t Always Work....................................183
Key Takeaways .........................................................................183
Part 3 Advanced Topics ..........................................185
CHAPTER 12 Measuring Behavior within Pages ...............................187
Introduction ...............................................................................187
Google Analytics In-Page Analytics ........................................187
