Testing

During the recent Google Analytics User Conference in San Francisco, Google unveiled its latest version of Google Analytics which is currently in beta testing.We’ve been reviewing the new platform so here’s a look at some of the new features: 

• New improved interface
• Custom reporting
• Event goal type
• Tag cloud visualisations for keywords
• Custom dashboards

New Improved Interface

A number of enhancements have been made to both the administration and reporting interfaces, in an effort to make them easier to use and navigate. The menu navigation has been revised and reports are now grouped together in a more intuitive fashion. A new expandable menu means that you no longer have to wait for the screen to load when switching between reports – a big plus! 

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Custom Reporting

The Custom Reporting interface has seen further improvements too. An update to the reporting template makes it easier for users to quickly add dimensions and metrics to their reports. An autocomplete list is now used instead of the drag and drop interface. Filters are now standard within the Custom Reporting interface allowing you to better segment data. 

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Unfortunately you still cannot specify which column the report is sorted by, hopefully this feature will be included in a future release. 

Event Goal Type available when setting up Goals

This is one enhancement which I know will please a lot of my clients; the ability to finally define your goals using events. Previously, we’ve ended up using virtual page views instead of events when tagging up on-site activities just because of the requirement for setting up a goal. Now you can select ‘Event’ as the goal type and choose which events result in a goal conversion, based on a number of conditions.Non-ecommerce site owners should find this feature of particular benefit when assigning goal values to these events and making use of the $Index. 

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 However, as with other non “URL Destination” goal types (e.g. time on site, Page/Visit) you can’t associate a funnel visualisation with the new event goals. In this instance you will still need to use virtual page views when wanting to look at dropout routes for path to goal. 

Tag Cloud Visualisations for Keywords 

The introduction of the “Term Cloud” view, will display keyword data as a tag cloud visualisation which will be a great little time saver. Whilst not as visually appealing as other tools commonly used, such as Wordle, the ability to quickly see at a glance which keywords are performing within GA rather than having to export the data into another tool will be welcomed by many analysts. 

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Custom Dashboards

The dashboard functionality has been completely overhauled in the new release. It now allows users greater flexibility and more control over the presentation of data. The use of a widget-based editor provides users with further customisation and flexibility. Users can pick between four visualisations to best represent the data:

• Metric,
• Pie chart
• Timeline
• Tables 

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The ability to create multiple dashboards ensures they are tailored for different audiences and aspects of the site. 

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The new version is currently in closed beta and will be rolled out in phases to current users in the near future. 

Anyone who would like to be considered for testing the new version can sign-up here for the beta testing program

This article, written by Neil Mason, was originally published on Clickz.com on 13/08/10 and is republished here with permission.

I don’t know whether the number is right or not but a while back I heard that sophisticated marketing companies such as the world’s leading brands spent about 10% of their marketing budget on research and measurement. Irrespective whether the number is accurate or not, it’s a good benchmark I think – 10% feels about right. Read more…

The application (app) market is booming. The advent of the iPhone and its application concept just three years ago generated new ground for online revenues. Thanks to this development of the smartphone market and the emergence of app marketplaces such as Ovi (Nokia) and Android Market, the app business is at the exciting beginning of its story. Read more…

“Never try, never fail, those are the words I live by”, or so says Drew Carey’s character Crank in the animated kids film ‘Robots’. I heard these words coming from the back of the car a few days ago as I headed off on holiday with the family for a week in North Devon. You could run a business by that motto but I’m not sure it would last long or be an exciting place to work.

On the contrary,  it is the belief of both my team and I that we must try, that sees Foviance opening for business in China this quarter, with a new office in Shanghai. Read more…

This article, written by Neil Mason, was originally published on Clickz.com on 14/01/10 and is republished here with permission.

In my last column I reflected on 10 years in digital analytics and how far the industry had developed in decade in some ways and how there was still room to grow in others. I commented that I thought that one of the issues was that the online marketing world had been “data rich and analytically poor” and this week I want to explore some of the areas where I think there is work to be done to enhance the quality of insight that digital marketers get from their investments in data capture and reporting technologies. Read more…

A few weeks ago, Foviance was commissioned by a major UK retail bank to conduct user testing sessions on online application processes. The main objective of the research was to compare the newly designed process with the current one. And from there, stemmed a finding that challenges one of the most profound customer experience beliefs: the simplest way is not always the best. Read more…

 By Clare Mitchell Crow

It has been 14 years since I first surfed the web using a PC, so it is no surprise that it is increasingly rare for us to observe novice users of the Internet (yes, while they do exist, they are becoming fewer in number, and are less likely to volunteer to take part in research involving Internet use than more experienced Internet users). However, the same cannot be said for mobile Internet users. Read more…

You might well have come across multivariate testing techniques before in your explorations into customer experience measurement, but for the uninitiated, here is a brief definition that puts the methodology into context.

Multivariate testing, or MVT, is an experimentation process by which a series of possible design variables are tested at once to see what effect, if any, they have on website performance. It’s a complex form of split, or A/B testing, employing algorithm-based software and constant monitoring of web analytics data. Small changes are made to single variables (such as the position of a menu, the colour of a background) and the impact of each change is measured. From series of changes, optimum design configurations can be narrowed down as a result of measurable evidence. With MVT it is also possible to experiment with structural, business rule and database driven elements, as well as cosmetic changes. We can even employ advanced rule-based targeting capabilities, including targeting by geographic location, traffic source (such as search engine versus email campaigns), cookies, and more.

Read more…