Analyse Web Data To Enhance User Experience
April 28th, 2009 // 2:24 pm @ Fox
There are many insights that can be gained by analysing your web statistics regularly, but there is a difference between analysing the data and just looking at the reports. Looking at the reports confirms that they exist. Analysing them is what you do to try to understand the users of your website:
- what they do,
- where they go,
- where did they come from,
- what do they want.
For this post, we are just looking at the amount of time a user spends on your website, the number of pages they viewed and the bounce rate.
The majority of web analytical software will give you a report on these three items. The three tie into together to give you a basic idea of your site’s relevance and appeal.
A user is likely to enter your site from any content page. Don’t always assume they will enter from the homepage. With people becoming more savvy with search engines, a search term could lead a user to any part of your site. If they exit at the same page without going anywhere else, then they have bounced.
All sites are different and the number of pages a user visits and the amount of time they spend will 
‘depend on what is on your site. If your site is a content-rich site with lots of informative articles and interesting posts, then you would expect to see the user go to several pages and spend at least a few minutes on the site.
If your users spend a few seconds on your site and only visit the entrance page before bouncing even though you have a content-rich site, then it is time to look at why. Either the site is not relevant to what they were looking for, or the site is not appealing enough for them to want to read, or there is too much text which can appear overwhelming, or a number of other factors.
Put yourself in your user’s shoes.
- Does the site have immediate appeal?
- Is it immediately clear what the web page is about?
- Is there too much text that makes the page look heavy to read?
- What else might contribute to a high bounce rate?
As mentioned earlier, users can enter a site at any page. The homepage may be very appealing with clear descriptive sentences of what the site is about, but are the other pages up to scratch?
Are there stand-out headings that describe what the page is about? Headings catch the eye of the user. If the text is heavy, try breaking it up with more space, add sub-headings, bullet lists, a graphic or two and try to make the page more appealing.
If you feel the page meets all the right criteria and yet there is still a high bounce rate, perhaps the site is not relevant to what the user is seeking. Look at the source of the referral. Where did the user come from? Was it through a search engine? Was it from a link you placed on a friend’s site, or a link from a directory? Was it from an advertisement you placed?
Having links all over the Internet to your site may sound like a good idea at the time, but the key is relevance. Having links from related sites or complementary sites is a better idea than having a link on a totally unrelated site. Alternatively, maybe the text on the link needs to be reviewed and rewritten to be more descriptive of what the site is about or what it sells.
Don’t put a high bounce rate in the ‘brand awareness’ bucket.
A friend was telling me that she placed an ad on a well known social media site and had lots of click-throughs. When we looked at the web analytics for those clicks, it showed that around 95% of the users that clicked through were on the site for around one second and bounced. Hmmm … This ad either was not targeted to the right audience, or my friend is a victim of click-fraud.
Think of the web data as user feedback. It is unsolicited information that you can use to enhance the user experience.
Category : Web Analytics & blog
SPAM – Australian Business And The Law
April 15th, 2009 // 9:52 am @ Fox
SPAM – unsolicited commercial electronic messages – that endless junk in our inbox that we try so desperately to reduce or remove.
As a business, are you guilty of adding to this global problem?
In Australia, the laws are quite clear on what you are allowed to do and what you are not. It is very important to businesses to be aware of the laws. Even the smallest company can be reported for not complying and the penalties are very steep. Although the SPAM Act 2003 covers SMS, MMS and IM, I am only referring to email in this post.
Consent
To send an email to anyone including a newsletter or brochure, there must be inferred or express consent.
Express consent – This is where a person has physically agreed to receive emails from a particular business. This consent may be given via ticking a box on a website, ticking a box on a form such as a membership application form, agreeing over the phone, handing over a business card or agreeing in person.
You cannot pre-tick a checkbox for consent on a website. The person must physically tick the box themselves.
Inferred consent – This is where there is an established business relationship. For example, if a person joins a membership based club or site, it is reasonable to expect to receive emails regarding account information, product information or emails specific to conducting a transaction. Inferred consent does not necessarily give permission to send marketing material or newsletters. It is better to gain express consent for this activity.
Conspicuous publication is when someone has publicly published their email address. In this case inferred consent is applicable. You can email this publicly published email address if the email is relevant to the person’s line of work. This does not mean you can start sending newsletters or promotional material to the address.
If in doubt about whether you are allowed to send something specific, gain express consent.
I have worked with many organisations where they say that one day they would like to send newsletters or promotional material. I ask them whether they have a subscriber list and the answer is generally, no. Don’t wait until you want to send newsletters and then realise that you don’t have a list to send to. Start now! Add a checkbox on your website form or on a paper-based membership form asking for permission. Then when one day arrives and you want to send newsletters, you have a list to work with.
Identify
Ensure your communication clearly displays the business details including:
- The name of the business, postal address, phone number, fax number, URL, email address and ABN or ACN.
- Logo if a html email
- The ‘From’ should clearly display the business name
- The reply path should be a valid email address
Clearly identifying your business will reduce the chance of the recipient or an ISP (Internet Service Provider) thinking your email is SPAM.
Unsubscribe
This is a very important function and mandatory. There must be a functional unsubscribe on every communication. This is generally placed in the footer and contains a sentence such as: ‘Unsubscribe me from the mailing list.’
This may be an email unsubscribe or one that happens through a website. The business has 5 days to ensure the person’s email address is removed from the mailing list.
Penalties are harsh for a business that fails to remove a requested unsubscribe. You would be surprised how many companies I have seen that tend to disregard this aspect, or offer the unsubscribe but then fail to remove the email address. Big No-No!
Australian Link
The SPAM Act 2003 applies to anything with an Australian link. This may be an email send that originates in Australia, a SPAM email that is received in Australia, or an offshore send to offshore recipients where the authorising business is registered in Australia.
You can read more about the SPAM Act 2003 and how it applies to business in Australia at http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310321.
Category : Online Laws & blog
Perkonomics – Perks and Privileges
April 12th, 2009 // 10:27 pm @ Fox
Have you heard of the buzzword ‘Perkonomics’?
Trendwatching.com coined this term in October 2008 to describe a growing trend where consumers are offered extra perks and privileges than the standard customer services.
PERKONOMICS: A new breed of perks and privileges, added to brands’ regular offerings, is satisfying consumers’ ever-growing desire for novel forms of status and/or convenience, across all industries. The benefits for brands are equally promising: from escaping commoditization, to showing empathy in turbulent times. One to have firmly on your radar in 2009.
http://trendwatching.com/trends/perkonomics/
I thought about this recently on an overseas trip. I was flying business class with Emirates and thoroughly enjoyed the chauffeur driven car that picked me up from my home and delivered me to the airport (1 ½ hour drive) as well as drive me home upon my return. The business class lounge was exceptional with free food and drink. I was able to board the plane early; my luggage was on the carousel first and the whole experience made me feel special and that Emirates appreciated my business.
The benefits to Emirates of this form of perkonomics are that:
- I walked away with a very positive customer experience (I could get very used to this)
- I will convey this special treatment to others (here I am writing about it)
- I will use Emirates again
Of course with the cost of flying business class, you would expect to receive special attention. I did expect to receive special attention while on the plane itself, but the before and after care were an especially appreciated perk.
Customer loyalty programs have been around for donkey years. Some companies reward their customers repeat business by offering special discounts or free products. I once worked for a company who granted their VIP customers special privileges. So if customer loyalty programs and VIP treatment are old-hat then what is the difference between them and perkonomics?
Loyalty programs are fairly standard these days and the rewards that can be gained are usually well documented and expected. There are no special surprises with these programs. By the time a customer has gained a special discount or free product, they feel that they have well and truly earned it. Generally, to qualify for VIP status you had to be extremely wealthy and be prepared to spend a massive amount of money with the company.
Perkonomics is a perk or privilege designed to give the customer a ‘warm and fuzzy’ feeling for the brand involved by offering a service to make life easier or give a certain status to the customer. The customer may be a first time customer that spends over a certain amount in a transaction, or a repeat customer. This may be in the form of:
- A chauffeur driven car to attend a function
- The ability to go to the front of a queue
- Free shipping on products
- Free pedicure with a manicure
- Express checkout or check in service
- Free tickets to entertainment
There are countless options and it will depend on what type of business you have as to what perks can be offered. Hotels, banks and airlines are the pioneers of perkonomics, but you don’t need to be a large organization to take advantage of this trend. EditsMadeEasy is a professional editing and proofreading service who offer free plagiarism checks on all dissertation and thesis editing projects.
There is an opportunity to think up novel and exciting new ways of providing perks and privileges to customers that will improve the consumer experience. Bear in mind that any perkonomics offered must remain in place long-term. It would be harmful to the brand to grant special privileges and perks to customers, and then take them away.