Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Sample – Table of Contents + 2 Vendor Profiles
Web Measurement and Analytics
Understanding what it is, how to do it and the vendor marketplace
e-consultancy
May 2003
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 0
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Introduction .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Understanding Web Measurement and Analytics ... Error! Bookmark not
defined.
1. The Promises of Web Site Measurement ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
More Effective Marketing .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Improved Customer Retention .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Increased Sales......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Automated Site Performance Management .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. The Challenges Facing Web Site Measurement ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
Information Overload ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Data Quality............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Few Common Standards or Metrics.......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Privacy and Security ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
No Single Customer View ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Slow, Error-prone or Unavailable Sites ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3. The Evolution of E-intelligence ....................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1 The Arrival and Development of E-metrics ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Increasing Sophistication and Customer-centricity ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4. Measurement Approaches and Techniques ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1 Site-centric Measurement ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1.1 Metrics .............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1.2 Measurement Techniques ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2 User-centric Measurement ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2.1 Metrics ............................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2.2 Measurement Techniques ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
5. Reporting and Analysis ................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.1 Defining a Measurement Framework ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.2 The Importance of Analysis ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.3 Design for Analysis.................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.3.1
5.3.2
5.3.3
5.3.4
5.3.5
5.3.6
5.3.7
5.3.8
5.3.9
Information Architecture ................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Templating ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Design guidelines ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Navigation guidelines ....................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Technology Infrastructure ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Metadata and Tagging ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
URL policy ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Naming conventions ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Logging ............................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.4 Choosing a Measurement Tool ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.5 Report Scheduling and Distribution........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.6 Example reports ........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.6.1
5.6.2
5.6.3
5.6.4
Traffic ............................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Customer Loyalty ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
E-commerce ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Campaigns ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
6. How to Improve a Web site .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
Get the Basics Really Right ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
A Combined ‘Hard’ and ‘Soft’ Approach ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Content Management ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Improving the ‘Moments of Truth’.............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.4.1
6.4.2
6.4.3
6.4.4
6.4.5
6.4.6
Homepage ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Site entry page ................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Registration ...................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Checkout .......................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Search .............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Contact ............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.5 Usability ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.5.1 Usability Techniques and Practices.................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.5.2 Navigation ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.6 Viral Marketing Tools ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 1
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
6.6.1
6.6.2
6.6.3
6.6.4
6.6.5
“Send to a friend”.............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
E-mail forwarding ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Print this page .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Save to disk ...................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Privacy ............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.7 E-commerce .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.7.1 Improving customer acquisition ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.7.2 Increasing basket size and ‘share of wallet’ ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Tackling a Web Measurement and Analytics Project..... Error! Bookmark
not defined.
7.1 Tactical Initiatives .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.1.1 Planning and Education ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.1.2 Implementation ....................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.2 Process for Medium to Large Projects ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3 Project Clarification ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.1 Project Sponsors .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.2 Project Team .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.3 Project Mission ....................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.4 Organisation Interaction Plan ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.5 Audits ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.6 Customer Insight .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.7 Requirements Gathering ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.8 Education ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.9 Risks and Issues .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.10 Initial Project Plan and Budget ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3.11 Deliverables.......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4 Solution Definition ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.1 Measurement framework ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.2 Metrics .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.3 Data ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.4 Reporting ................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.5 Analysis .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.6 Technology ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.7 Testing .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.8 Deployment and Rollout ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.9 Maintenance ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.10 Project Documentation ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.4.11 Deliverables.......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.5 Project Specification ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.5.1
7.5.2
7.5.3
7.5.4
7.5.5
7.5.6
7.5.7
7.5.8
Create the Project Specification ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Buy versus Build..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Vendor Selection .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Final Project Plan and Budget................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Training .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Sign Off .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Change Control ...................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Deliverables............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.6 Content ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.6.1 Assemble Test Data ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.6.2 Test Data Processes .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.6.3 Deliverables............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.7 Design and Construction ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.7.1
7.7.2
7.7.3
7.7.4
Project Management .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Change Control and Risk Management ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Training and Consulting Services .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Deliverables............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.8 Testing, Launch and Handover ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.8.1 Testing .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.8.2 Deployment and Rollout ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.8.3 Internal Marketing .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 2
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
7.8.4
7.8.5
7.8.6
7.8.7
7.8.8
Training .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Documentation ....................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Handover ................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Celebrate ................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Deliverables............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.9 Maintenance ................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.9.1
7.9.2
7.9.3
7.9.4
Maintenance Plan .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Prepare for the Next Phase .................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Change Management ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Deliverables............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.10 Review and Evaluation................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.10.1
7.10.2
7.10.3
7.10.4
Project Review ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Evaluate Results .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Recommendations ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Deliverables.......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
8. Summary........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
The Vendor Marketplace ......................................................................... 5
9. Understanding the Marketplace .................................................................................. 5
9.1 Web intelligence and/or business intelligence? ......................................................................... 5
9.2 Cost ............................................................................................................................................ 6
9.3 Data Collection Technology ....................................................................................................... 7
9.4 ASP or in-house? ....................................................................................................................... 8
9.5 Product or service? .................................................................................................................... 8
10. Vendor Profiles ........................................................................................................... 9
10.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 9
10.2 Clickstream............................................................................................................................. 12
10.2.1 Commentary ................................................................................................................................. 12
10.2.2 Market Positioning ........................................................................................................................ 12
10.2.3 Company and Product Details ...................................................................................................... 14
10.3 Clicktracks .............................................................................................................................. 19
10.3.1 Commentary ................................................................................................................................. 19
10.3.2 Market Positioning ........................................................................................................................ 19
10.3.3 Company and Product Details ...................................................................................................... 21
10.4 Intellitracker .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.4.1 Commentary .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.4.2 Market Positioning ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.4.3 Company and Product Details ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.5 Nedstat ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.5.1 Commentary .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.5.2 Market Positioning ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.5.3 Company and Product Details ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.6 RedEye ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.6.1 Commentary .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.6.2 Market Positioning ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.6.3 Company and Product Details ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.7 RedSheriff ................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.7.1 Commentary .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.7.2 Market Positioning ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.7.3 Company and Product Details ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.8 Site Intelligence ........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.8.1 Commentary .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.8.2 Market Positioning ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.8.3 Company and Product Details ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.9 Speed-trap................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.9.1 Commentary .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.9.2 Market Positioning ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.9.3 Company and Product Details ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.10 SteelTorch .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.10.1 Commentary .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.10.2 Market Positioning ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.10.3 Company and Product Details ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.11 WebAbacus ............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 3
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
10.11.1 Commentary .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.11.2 Market Positioning ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.11.3 Company and Product Details ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.12 WebtraffIQ .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.12.1 Commentary .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.12.2 Market Positioning ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.12.3 Company and Product Details ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.13 WebTrends ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.13.1 Commentary .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.13.2 Market Positioning ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.13.3 Company and Product Details ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
About the Author ................................................................................... 29
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 4
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
The Vendor Marketplace
9. Understanding the Marketplace
One of the hardest things as regards web measurement and analytics is trying to understand the
vendor marketplace. What exactly does each vendor do? How is their proposition different from
others? Which solution is right for your needs? Where do you start? Following are different categories
that should help you take a view of the marketplace and understand where each vendor sits.
9.1 Web intelligence and/or business intelligence?
As the web becomes increasingly integrated with the rest of the business and CRM and integrated
multi-channel marketing become more of a reality, the single biggest question that you need to ask
yourself is – do you need a web measurement and analytics tool at all? If you already have a business
intelligence or other management information system, shouldn’t you just add the web data to that, the
web being only another channel and data source, after all?
This is a very reasonable question. It is also the biggest strategic consideration for the web analytics
vendors profiled in this report. Do they stick to being good at web data or do they reposition
themselves as data-source-agnostic analytics tools?
The lines are becoming increasingly grey between on and offline channels. Figure 9.1 below outlines
how data flows from its source to the end reporting.
Websites,
Phones,
iTV etc.
Website 1
Website 2
Data
gathering
External Data
• Usability
studies
• Lifestyle data
• Competitor
data
• etc.
Site Data:
• Log files
• Page tag data
Mobile
iTV
Data
• Network
traffic data
Back office/
System data
Analysis
tools
Webspecific
Analytics
Tool
Single data
pool (data
warehouse)
or multiple
separate
data pools
Web +
Other
Data
Analytics
Tool
Data
Analysis
Tool
Metrics
• Page views
• Visits
• Unique
users
• Referring
URLs
• Conversion
rates
• Response
rates
• Path
analysis
• etc.
Reporting
Interface
Toolspecific
Integrated
e.g.
intranet
Analysis
and
Reports
• Transactional
• CRM
• etc
Figure 9.1 Data flow
To the left side you have the data sources – in this case websites or other interactive presences. Data
is then collected from these sources and, possibly, supplemented with data from other sources using
various techniques as discussed in the first section of this report. In some cases the data is then
unified into a single data pool, in others it remains in various silos. Analysis tools are then used to
extract meaningful intelligence from the data. Again, this may be web-specific or business-wide. The
tools produce metrics which the business can benchmark and use to aid decision-making. Finally
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 5
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
these metrics needs to be brought together in some form of report and analysis which is then
displayed and distributed to the relevant people.
Given this data flow, the question remains to what degree web and more general business data and
reporting should be integrated. Figure 9.1a highlights this question – should the data be shared, in one
place, analysed by different tools, or fully integrated? And if integrated, when and how to maximise
return on investment?
Web
Web Data
Data
Web-specific
Web-specific Tools,
Tools,
Resources,
Resources, Reporting,
Reporting,
Analysis
Analysis &
& Intelligence
Intelligence
?
Business
Business
Data
Data
Integrated?
Integrated?
Tools,
Tools, Resources,
Resources,
Reporting,
Reporting, Analysis
Analysis &
&
Intelligence
Intelligence
Other
Other Data
Data
Figure 9.1a Web data and/or business data
The answer will depend upon the business in question, the state of maturity of its web and business
operations, the resources available and so on. However, most would agree that there is still a need for
web-specific tools and expertise to do web measurement and analytics well. Path analysis, for
example, requires a high level of web data expertise to do well. It is unlikely in the short term that web
analytics vendors will disappear as there is still huge demand alone from e-commerce and e-business
teams to understand the performance of their own channel and department, irrespective of the rest of
the business. Where the company has extensive existing business intelligence operations the optimal
solution that is currently emerging is for the web analytics tool to be used:


To collect and feed clean data into other data warehouses – particularly for CRM purposes. At
its simplest level, this means making sure the e-mail address a customer gives on the web site
finds its way into their central customer profile. Only then is it possible to do integrated multichannel marketing and measure results across all channels.
To provide web-specific reporting and analysis to the e-business team or those responsible for
the site. This intelligence, which includes things like path analysis and real-time campaign
reporting which are not available to other channels, is used to optimise the performance of the
digital channels.
It is likely, then, that both web intelligence and business intelligence tools will continue to co-exist and
the boundaries will continue to be blurred. However, what is important in choosing a vendor is to know
where your business wants to draw the boundaries, both short and longer term, and how well the
vendor’s solution fits with your own architecture. Please refer to the individual vendor’s profiles that
follow for insight into where each vendor sees itself in this regard.
9.2 Cost
Cost is a relatively easy distinction to understand. As you will see from the detailed profiles, some
vendors are more rigid and defined in their cost structures, others more open to negotiation.
Ultimately, all are open to negotiation. Below is a list of vendors broken into rough price bands. Those
in italics are profiled in this report.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 6
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
9.2.1 Mid-High End (£4k-£40k+)
Webabacus - http://www.webabacus.com
Site Intelligence - http://www.site-intelligence.co.uk
Webtraffiq - http://www.webtraffiq.com
SteelTorch - http://www.steeltorch.com
Nedstat - http://www.nedstat.com
WhiteCross Systems - http://www.whitecross.com
Intellitracker - http://www.intellitracker.com
NetGenesis (CustomerCentric Solutions) - http://www.customercentricsolutions.com/
Clickstream - http://www.clickstream.com
Accrue - http://www.accrue.com
RedSheriff- http://www.redsheriff.com
RedEye - http://www.redeye.com
Speedtrap - http://www.speed-trap.com
Touch Clarity - http://www.touchclarity.com
Visual Insights - http://www.visualinsights.co.uk
NetIQ (Webtrends) - http://www.netiq.com
9.2.2 Lower cost (£200-£4k)
Clicktracks - http://www.clicktracks.com
Livestats - http://www.deepmetrix.com/
Urchin - http://www.urchin.com
Sawmill - http://www.sawmill.net
FunnelWeb - http://www.quest.com/funnel_web/analyzer/
9.2.3 Free
Webalizer - http://www.webalizer.com
Analog - http://www.analog.cx
Cost is rarely the deciding factor for large companies who purchase in the mid-high end bracket that
we focus on in this report. This is for a number of reasons:




If a company can afford to spend tens of thousands on a web analytics tool it is typically of a
size where relatively small variances in cost are not material in decision making
The spend relative, say, to a business intelligence data warehouse or large CRM deployment
is still very small. More important is how the solution fits strategically with other systems and
the rest of the business, as discussed earlier.
The variances in price, which are in the tens of thousands, are insignificant relative to the
costs of other contingent factors e.g. consulting costs, invested staff time, the costs of project
overruns, the costs of project failure etc.
The greatest investment is not in the software but in the time and resources in actually
deploying and using it effectively
For medium to smaller companies for whom the web is very important as a channel, dot coms for
example, then cost is clearly more of an issue. For some of those vendors profiled in this report there
are solutions with an entry price of around £4k-£8k per annum. For others, the start price is firmly
£30k+. See individual profiles for details.
9.3 Data Collection Technology
Data accuracy has been, and remains for many, a thorny issue. As a result, debates have raged over
which data collection method is best – log files? Network traffic? Page tags? In the first section of this
report we looked in more detail at these technical issues. The short answer is that there are pros and
cons for any approach and that “best of breed” vendors can now cater for any combinations of
approach. It used to be that vendors were either log file based (e.g. ‘classic’ Webtrends) or used page
tag data (e.g. RedEye) or sung the merits of measurement based on IP traffic.
Thankfully, the debate is now moving away from the nitty-gritty of the technology and more towards
solving business and marketing issues. Data accuracy issues still exist but can more easily be
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 7
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
remedied and most vendors are now not relying on a single data collection approach rather they are
able to work with multiple sources and collection methods.
9.4 ASP or in-house?
Early web analytics tools (notably Webtrends) were web server log file analysers. At first the software
was installed on a machine to which the log files were downloaded for offline analysis. Then the
software moved to run on the live servers so that reporting could be automated and available to many
via the web. Then the application service provider (ASP) started to gain in popularity, in part because
of certain data accuracy advantages in using page tag data rather than web server logs and in part
because of the ease and speed of implementation in using an external service.
Increasingly the ASP versus ‘in-house’ debate is also becoming less of an issue as ‘best of breed’
solutions can cater to either approach, or both combined.
9.5 Product or service?
The more interesting question to ask yourself, and your vendor, is to what degree they see themselves
as providing a service versus a software product. The service may be a ‘managed service’ for which
the technology is external, essentially a more marketing-friendly way of saying an ‘ASP’, or it may be
an ongoing consulting / analytics / account management service which offers people-power
irrespective of where the technology resides.
As you will see from the chart that accompanies each vendor profile, there is quite a divergence of
strategy here amongst the vendors. This is important because the fundamental message as regards
technology and web analytics is that although the technology is not easy, it isn’t where you should be
focusing your time and efforts. The vendors have matured to a point where there are flexible, robust,
proven solutions available. Really, the challenge is around commercial issues, people and processes,
so services are increasingly important.
But who should provide these services? For some larger organisations, there are in-house resources
to do so. For most, however, even those with data analytics resources, this is still a relatively new area
and support is required. Some vendors are keen to sell this support as part of an ongoing relationship.
For others this support, education and training is seen as a necessary evil that serves to slow the
product sales process. Most recognise that some degree of service is required but their focus
ultimately is on the product. For this reason, many of the vendors are currently striking up strategic
relationships with consultancies and digital agencies who can sell and deliver a complete solution to
their clients, including the vendor’s product and the agency’s consulting and delivery expertise. This
trend looks set to continue.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 8
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
10. Vendor Profiles
10.1 Introduction
Following are profiles of 12 leading providers of web measurement and analytics solutions. As econsultancy’s core focus is the UK e-business market, there are some vendors not included for a lack
of presence in the UK, just as there are UK vendors included who currently only service the UK. For
each profile there is a brief commentary from e-consultancy followed by market positioning charts,
provided by the vendors, and a company and product profile, also provided by the vendors.
The information included is provided with the vendors’ permission for use within this report. If you
believe any of the information to be incorrect, or would like to see other vendors profiled, please let us
know: [email protected] or +44 (0)20 7071 8612.
For each vendor there are three marketing positioning charts. These are shown below with a little
more explanation of what each axis means.
Integrates
multiple
data points
Web data
only
Best for ad hoc projects /
point solution for specific needs
Analytics platform / suite
Figure 10.1: Chart 1
Chart 1 Explanation
The vertical axis charts to what degree the vendors see themselves as focusing on web data only,
versus being able integrate data from other sources – for example, lifestyle data, point of sale data,
data from CRM systems or other back office systems.
The horizontal axis charts how far the vendors see themselves as a tool suited to solving particular
web measurement and analytics challenges (e.g. e-mail campaign measurement) versus a more
business-wide and open analytics platform with a whole suite of tools.
As you move towards the top right of this chart the solutions typically get more expensive and are
aimed at larger enterprises. Equally, in the top right the lines between web analytics and more general
business intelligence become much more blurred and the vendors are beginning to compete more
directly with the likes of SPSS, SAS and other data analysis tools.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 9
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Tool for
bespoke work
‘Off the shelf’ /
‘ready to go’ /
‘packaged’
Sector agnostic
Strong industry
sector focus
Figure 10.1a: Chart 2
Chart 2 Explanation
The vertical axis charts to what degree the solution is more ‘plug and play’ in its approach versus
positioning itself as a tool which can be used for detailed, bespoke analysis and reporting. Some
solutions focus more on ‘off the shelf’, and limited, reporting to make them easier to use, others take
more of an ‘analytics workbench’ approach which can be finely tuned but which require analyst
expertise.
The horizontal axis charts whether the vendor feels themselves to be focused on particular industry
sectors or not.
Again, as you move towards the top right of this chart the solutions are typically more expensive and
targeted at larger enterprises with in-house analytics skills and a much stronger interest in having a
solution that is tailored to their industry sector.
Provider of
services
Provider of
a product
Used for data collection,
analysis, reporting
Used to deliver outbound
marketing communications
Figure 10.1b: Chart 3
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 10
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Chart 3 Explanation
The vertical axis charts to what degree the vendors see themselves as providing a service rather than
a software product. Some vendors prefer to be just that – product vendors. Others are keen to position
themselves as service and solution providers of which the technology is only a part. The added value
comes from services such as: analysis and optimisation, account management, training and
education.
The horizontal access charts how far the vendor crosses over to provide functions such as e-mail or
SMS marketing. Many vendors will be able, say, to produce e-mail lists based on behavioural
attributes gleaned from data analysis but some go a stage further and will then actually deliver the
outbound marketing campaign and then track the results. This means the vendor is starting to enter
the (e)CRM space and compete with vendors of online marketing platforms.
As you move towards the top right of this chart, you are looking at vendors who are more interested in
selling marketing services, and likely to be more interested in working in partnership direct with the
end client, than those in the bottom left who are most interested in software product development and
more likely to rely on re-seller relationships to work with the end client.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 11
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
10.2 Clickstream
10.2.1 Commentary
Clickstream has historically played on its “100% data accuracy” strengths and, using its unique web
server plug-in technology, its ability to capture activity that occurs offline as well as when online. As
the market moves away from buying web analytics solutions purely on technology and data accuracy
claims, so too is Clickstream repositioning itself as the ‘data provider of choice for digital channels’.
The market positioning charts that follow clearly show this: Clickstream is increasingly a product
offering tools to collect and manipulate data from various sources. Clickstream continues to play to its
digital channel data collection strengths but is happy to integrate with other products to deliver
reporting and analysis. The most natural partners for Clickstream are the large business intelligence
vendors which need Clickstream’s web data expertise to feed into their systems. Or Clickstream could
fit well as a data feed into a tool which offers more graphically rich reporting than it itself does. Given
these configurations, and Clickstream’s price tag, it will be interesting to see whether Clickstream
focus their efforts going forwards on those larger organizations who might see Clickstream as a good
strategic fit with their enterprise business intelligence solutions.
10.2.2 Market Positioning
NB: for further explanation on how to interpret these charts see section 10.1, the Introduction to the
vendor profiles.
Integrates
multiple
data points
Where we’re
going
Where
we are
now
Web data
only
Best for ad hoc projects /
point solution for specific needs
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Analytics platform / suite
Page 12
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Tool for
bespoke work
Where
we’re
going
Where
we are
now
‘Off the shelf’ /
‘ready to go’ /
‘packaged’
Sector agnostic
Strong industry
sector focus
Provider of
services
N.B. Provision of
the Clickstream
product as a
managed service
will continue to be
available through a
range of
Clickstream
partners.
Where
we are
now
Where
we’re
going
Provider of a
product
Used for data collection,
analysis, reporting
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Used to deliver outbound
marketing communications
Page 13
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
10.2.3 Company and Product Details
Company Details
Company
Name
Clickstream Technologies PLC
Company
Logo
URL
www.clickstream.com
UK Head
Office
Address
The Old Granary, Westwick, Cambridge, CB4 5AR
Other office
locations
None
Contact
Name
Nick Fletcher, Senior Sales Manager
Contact
Telephone
01223 233799
Contact email
[email protected]
Company
Proposition
Clickstream is unique Web Analytics software that tracks and measures all Web
site visitor behaviour, both online and offline, with 100% accuracy.
Independent audits show that Web site pages viewed from browser cache, i.e.
people pressing the Back, Forward and Reload buttons on their PCs, can account
for up to 80% of site content viewed. Clickstream’s unique and patented
technology makes it the only Web Analytics vendor that can track and measure
this so-called ‘cached’ activity accurately. Our approach also delivers significant
additional benefits over our competitors; we will show you, for example, that
visitors use your site in ways that you are entirely unaware of, that you are
missing revenue opportunities, and that your most popular paths and pages are
not what you thought they were.
Complete and Reliable Information
Clickstream delivers a compelling value proposition to each and every business
whose Web site is an integral part of its market presence. The widespread
adoption, measurement and management of Web sites as both revenue
generation channels and cost-saving vehicles continues to grow, and
Clickstream’s accurate and trustworthy data is essential for well-informed Web
site management and ROI assessment.
Your Business Intelligence also depends upon accurate and trustworthy Web
analytics. Understanding the way that people use your Web site, particularly in
conjunction with your other channels, fuels your tactical and strategic decisionmaking processes. If you are mis-measuring your Web site activity, then your
Business Intelligence will be flawed, and there will be a serious impact on your
resulting decisions and actions.
Brief
Company
The core measurement technology behind Clickstream was invented in 1997 by
the R&D division of Green Cathedral plc, a digital communications software,
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 14
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
History
solutions and innovation company based in Cambridge, UK.
Clickstream Technologies plc was founded in 1999 to refine, package and bring
to market a range of solutions based on the core Clickstream technology.
Clickstream Technologies remains privately held and is a fully independent
company with independent shareholders and management.
Number of
Employees
12
Turnover
2002,
Projected
turnover
2003
Undisclosed
Clients
Client list
The Carphone Warehouse, eMC Saatchi, Virgin Radio, American Plumbing, Total
Fina Elf, QAS, Zenith Entertainment and other undisclosed corporations in the UK
and USA.
Case Study
Case Study
Please follow the subsequent link to web pages detailing two case studies
http://www.clickstream.com/case.php
Other information
Other
information
http://www.clickstream.com/docs/whitepaper.pdf
http://www.clickstream.com/docs/brochure.pdf
Product Details
Product
Name
Clickstream
Guide
Pricing
 Set-up consultancy and installation
Time & materials charging, typically one to five days.
 Additional user charges
By agreement
 Annual/monthly license fee
By agreement
 Outright purchase
By agreement
 Annual Support & Maintenance
18% of perpetual licence
 Training
£850.00 per day
 Consultancy
£850.00 per day
Product
Overview
Accurate visitor behaviour analysis is essential to the operation and success of
any significant digital property, whether it's a Web site, an intranet or even an
interactive TV channel.
The Internet and today's other digital media offer the promise of total quantitative
accuracy. Despite this, most Web measurement solutions offer only broad trend
information and mass statistics.
Clickstream is the only measurement tool that can deliver a complete qualitative
and quantitative understanding of one's audience.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 15
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Clickstream's Enterprise Level solution is designed for mission-critical business
Web sites for which accurate, comprehensive performance measurement is vital
for success.
It provides a completely scalable measurement solution for single or multiple Web
sites and enables site owners to devise tailored reports to deliver precisely and
only the information they require.
In addition to a wide range of standard audience and content measurement
reports, our Enterprise solution includes options for configuring reporting to suit
the scale, architecture and purpose of the sites being monitored.
It allows Web site administrators to define different report "consumers" within their
organisation so that reports are pitched at the appropriate level of detail for each
department. It is a fully customisable product and is fully capable of generating
new reports with ease.
To further understand Clickstreams capabilities please follow the link below
http://www.clickstream.com/what_does_it_do.php
Product
Features
1. Accuracy. The investment and operational decisions that you make about
your business are fully informed by 100% accurate and auditable Web site
statistics.
2. Completeness. Nothing that your Web site visitors do, either online or offline,
is ignored by Clickstream™. You can track everything that makes sense to
your business; there are no gaps.
3. Flexibility. You can monitor visitor behaviour at an aggregate level, dropping
down into ever increasing amounts of detail whenever there is the need. Both
Reporting and Data gathering can be configured to ‘understand’ your website
and report in meaningful, user readable terms.
4. Ease of Use. Clickstream™ is quick and easy to install, and is then ready for
use. Its real-time reporting is intuitive, ever-present and fully customisable.
5. Privacy-Friendly. You will not disenchant visitors by infringing their privacy
whenever they visit your site.
6. ABCe auditability of all on-line and off-line usage statistics.
Technical
Overview
 Client software requirements
The Clickstream reporting suite is available through both major browsers, version
3 upwards

Which existing systems’ data feeds are required (and any compatibility
constraints)?
Clickstream does not require existing systems’ data
 Platform/OS
Clickstream will track sites hosted by IIS, Apache v1.3, Apache v2 and Zeus web
servers, on Windows, Linux or Solaris.
 ASP or installed at customer?
Clickstream is available in either configuration.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 16
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
 Scalability
Clickstream scales to clustered server farms and traffic volumes.

Source of data (3rd party cookies, Client cookies, IP addresses,
browser/platform etc)
Clickstream is implemented as a web server plug-in, which injects JavaScript
code into outbound pages. This creates a 1st Party cookie which is a datasource. The plug-in also gathers data of server-side activity.
 Other
In addition to the plug-in, installation will place two other services on your web
server. The first enumerates pages and users for the plug-in (and is built this way
as part of our strategy for clustered environments). The second is the FTP
service which transmits our log files to the collation / reporting server; this avoids
the necessity for the manual passing and merging of log-files.
Tracking
capabilities
Clickstream can track the following assets automatically
 Banner impressions (serving)
 Email
 Links and landing pages
 Page views (all)
 Products bought

Personal information/form data (please specify what data you can
capture including name, address etc)
Yes. Clickstream can capture any form level information as well as allowing
automated feeds of “off line” information that is available on the web server.

Banner click-throughs
Clickstream will track clickthroughs from external banners and report on them by
referrer or by landing string depending upon the settings of your banner provider.
In addition Clickstream records the serving of assets from your web server; this
does not record the serving of a target page from another server to which a
banner click-through has passed the user. However, it is possible to track the
click-through by using ‘pass through’ pages as we exit the site to the target page.
We can track the ‘click’ (and any other point) from within Flash banners

3rd party imported data (can your systems match and add data from
other systems?)
Yes
Analysis
functionality
Clickstream’s analytical capability is built on Alterian’s column-based analytics,
delivering fast and unconstrained reporting across large volumes of data and
providing both a library of fixed reports (for a given time period) and a bespoke
analysis capability:
 Bespoke, menu or fixed reports
All three

Path analysis (please specify if this is aggregate, can be segmented by
past viewing or response behaviour and/or can be segmented by
personal details)
All of these options are available. Clickstream allows path analysis reports on
“real paths”.
 Campaign Analysis
Where campaign details are held within the web site, Clickstream can track this
information.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 17
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
 Email/mail list production
Clickstream cannot create e-mail lists or track outbound e-mails from lists.
Using preset landing URLs Clickstream can track responses to email campaigns
as for banner ads above.
Path
analysis
screenshots
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 18
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
10.3 Clicktracks
10.3.1 Commentary
In some ways Clicktracks is an interloper in this report: Clicktracks is US-based and with its enterprise
version costing less than £1,500 it is significantly less expensive than any of the other vendors
profiled. However, Clicktracks is causing waves not just in the US but in the UK and around the world.
What is so impressive about Clicktracks is that, in terms of features, functionality and service, it can,
and does, compete directly with the other vendors and yet costs so much less.
Apart from its value for money, the most distinctive differentiator for Clicktracks is the quality of its path
analysis. Not so much the “from-to” page navigation analysis that is common for most vendors, but the
way in which you can see and navigate your actual site and have user navigation information overlaid
as you do so (see screenshots in details that follow). This is particularly appealing for designers and
those who do not want to grapple with pure data. Recent product additions, such as exports to Excel
and PDF, have made it unusually easy to share your web reporting around the business.
As the market positioning charts that follow show, Clicktracks knows what it is good at and intends to
remain that way: providing an excellent tool for web data analysis. Clearly Clicktracks intends to
continue to make improvements to its product but is not about to take on the enterprise market. Its
pricing and positioning mean that for Clicktracks to thrive it must focus on selling larger volumes of
product rather than getting too bogged down in selling services. Clicktracks looks well positioned to
serve a large, and growing, market of small-to-medium sized companies around the world who need a
product to meet all their web analysis needs. Interestingly, we also know of a number of much larger
organizations using Clicktracks as a ‘starter’, almost training, package to learn and experiment with
before investing much more in other web analytics solutions.
10.3.2 Market Positioning
NB: for further explanation on how to interpret these charts see section 10.1, the Introduction to the
vendor profiles.
Integrates
multiple
data points
Web data
only
Where
we are
now
Where
we’re
going
Best for ad hoc projects /
point solution for specific needs
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Analytics platform / suite
Page 19
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Tool for
bespoke work
Where
we’re
going
Where
we are
now
‘Off the shelf’ /
‘ready to go’ /
‘packaged’
Sector agnostic
Strong industry
sector focus
Provider of
services
Where
we’re
going
Provider of a
product
Where
we are
now
Used for data collection,
analysis, reporting
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Used to deliver outbound
marketing communications
Page 20
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
10.3.3 Company and Product Details
Company Details
Company
Name
ClickTracks
Company
Logo
URL
www.clicktracks.com
UK Head
Office
Address
ClickTracks Europe
St. John's Innovation Centre
Cowley Road
Cambridge
CB4 4WS
U.K.
Other office
locations
ClickTracks Inc.
555 N. Mathilda Ave Suite 98
Sunnyvale
CA 94086
USA
Contact
Name
John Marshall
CEO
Contact
Telephone
00-1-831-426-6419
Contact email
[email protected]
Company
Proposition
ClickTracks develops and markets a web site analysis tool that was designed
because of our frustration with existing website analysis tools. We found the lists
of numbers and 3D charts generated from other products like WebTrends, while
useful and no doubt the product of extensive development over the years,
somehow lacking. Spending hour upon hour trying to understand website visitors
and how they use and navigate a site was a motivating experience— there had to
be a better way!
We found that better way, and we are proud to offer it to you to try with a free
download.
Here is our value proposition:
If you compare ClickTracks to WebTrends and other traditional log analysis
programs, you'll find that:




ClickTracks is faster than WebTrends, especially on very large log files
ClickTracks shows visitor navigation directly on pages of the site itself;
with WebTrends, visitor navigation must be inferred.
ClickTracks allows a variety of types of tagging and sophisticated
analysis of tagged groups to be performed in moments; while this can be
done with WebTrends, it is far more difficult.
ClickTracks has simple licensing, and while ClickTracks is less expensive
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 21
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
than WebTrends for a single site, it is far less expensive for the analysis
of multiple sites.
We wrote the specification with certain founding principles.
1. The user of ClickTracks must be able to download, install and get
productive results on their lunch break, sandwich in hand. This implies
minimal typing, no complex configuration and instant results.
2. Present user behaviour information, and not page hits. It's harder to do
and that's the reason other products don't do it, but we feel it's what every
site owner needs to know.
3. Present information visually, in context.
4. Permit free exploration of the data and interactive analysis. The web is so
fluid that static reporting tools are fundamentally unsuited.
5. Do not present useless data. While other products may boast of the
number of reports provided, we're delighted with how few ClickTracks
has. They're all good sources of information, with no junk.
6. Present the software simply, and explain what it does clearly. We don't do
"marchitecture" positioning statements.
7. Be available to customers, listen to what they want and implement it well.
Brief
Company
History
ClickTracks takes a fundamentally different approach to website analysis, turning
it from a long series of static reports into a way of placing oneself in the shoes of
the visitors. By providing information in context the user of ClickTracks gains
insight into what motivates website visitors. The product was conceived through
direct experience of analysing sites using other tools, and an understanding of
their inherent limitations. The company was founded in 2001 and shipped version
1.0 in the summer of the following year.
Founders:
John Marshall – CEO
A Netscape alumnus who is responsible for two other successful software
companies, John Marshall brings 20 years of experience in the software industry
to ClickTracks. In John's previous CEO positions he led a consistently profitable
company for nine years, raised VC funding and advanced the company's
products through corporate acquisitions. John is driven by a passion for
technology and an innate understanding of software and business. John's
dedication to any venture coupled with a participative management style breeds a
loyal and hardworking team.
Dr. Stephen Turner - CTO
With a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Cambridge, Stephen is also the
author of Analog, the most popular log file analysis tool in the world. He brings to
ClickTracks a wealth of experience with web analysis and computationally
intensive problems, and a desire to produce relevant, accurate results. Stephen is
responsible for designing the unique and exciting new features we bring to each
upgrade of ClickTracks.
Number of
Employees
7
Turnover
2002,
Projected
turnover
2003
Not given
Clients
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 22
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Client list
and many more!
Case Study
Case Study
The benefits of ClickTracks can be most easily understood from the self-running
demos on the website. In 2 minutes this will explain a great deal of the power of
the tool.
www.clicktracks.com
Other information
Other
information
News, Press and Awards:
http://www.clicktracks.com/news.php
http://www.clickz.com/awards/winners/
http://www.hurolinan.com/book/Newsletters/Attuned200301.htm
http://builder.com.com/article.jhtml?id=u00220030206sob01.htm
http://www.createit.com/etb.cfm?op=issue&issueid=39
Comments from real people who use ClickTracks:
"At Viz Marketing we were so impressed with this software we bought it
ourselves. Anyone serious about their website should consider this
package"
Mark Sceats. Viz Search Engine Marketing
"I searched and clicked your adwords thing in google, then did the demo and just
tested it out after downloading. The idea is amazing....Where have you been all
my life ?"
Brendan McLoughlin , Managing Director, fubra
"ClickTracks Delivers. Installation is quick and seamless, the price is
considerably less than the competition, and the results for BzzAgent's web
presence were tangible and immediate."
David Balter, CEO, BzzAgent LLC
"Well - it takes a lot of effort to surprise us and show us something new and
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 23
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
different. But ClickTracks blew our socks off.... "
Kasper Larsen. klarisma a/s
"I highly recommend you try ClickTracks to judge for yourself. It will be an
eye opener!"
Mike's Ecommerce Tools
"For the price and quality of support, ClickTracks wins hands down"
John Stansbury. Green Mountain Energy
"I love your product. Congratulations"
Cesar Martin. Internet Consultant
"I was blown away by simplicity and usefulness. It really takes analyzing logs to
the next level."
Krzysztof Kowalczyk
"ClickTracks is probably one of the most efficient products I've tried both in
site analysis and in reporting results to clients. It's a refreshing (and
probably revolutionary) change from bar and pie charts."
Manuel Razzari, Webmaster, www.fmh.org.ar
"The results are presented in a way that's immediately applicable (and really
cool)"
Moira Burke. Webmaster, Portland Community College
"I have been amazed by your ClickTracks product."
Martin Lucas-Smith. Webmaster, Dept. of Geography,
University of Cambridge
"We have been very impressed with the product and your responses to our
enquiries"
Mike Loxton. Construction Industry Training Board
Product Details
Product
Name
ClickTracks Enterprise
Guide Pricing



Easily installs in 2 hours.
Consultancy and/or installation is available at the rate of $150 per hour.
Only purchase is available - $1,995 for a 5 user license + 20% annual support
and update.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 24
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Product
Overview
ClickTracks answers 2 essential questions:
 What do visitors do when they come to my site
 How do different groups of visitors compare e.g. those from Google
versus those from Yahoo!
The power of ClickTracks lies in its ability to show the answers in a way anyone
can understand.
ClickTracks plays a key part in web design decisions and marketing campaigns.
The typical users of ClickTracks are:
 Web designers
 Marketeers
 Search engine analysts
 Large and small enterprises
Features and Benefits for Web designers and producers:
 Easy to install and set up- results in 10 minutes.
 User behaviour results are displayed in context and can be understood
by site designers instantly. ClickTracks is the ONLY product that can do
this.
 Built-in analysis tasks help focus attention on the most important visitors.
 Advanced tagging features allow the building of custom analysis tasks.
 Generates PDF reports that can be easily emailed.
Features and Benefits for Marketeers:
 Highlights behaviour patterns of visitors that buy, showing this in context
with the pages.
 Performs complex analysis of marketing programs in minutes.
 Task Wizard automates the process of tracking online campaigns.
 Create custom analysis with the advanced tagging feature.
 Ad tracking system offers shortcuts for Google and Overture campaigns.
Features and Benefits for Search Engine Analysis
 Use ClickTracks to divide visitors into Pay per Click Advertising and
traditional search and compare behaviour.
 ClickTracks shows search key words and how visitors find your site.
 Contains preconfigured, powerful tools to drill down into behaviour data.
 How do different groups of visitors compare e.g. those from Google
versus those from Yahoo!
 Highlights visitors from a specific advertising campaign, or those search
keywords that result in purchase.
Product
Features
See above and in summary. Why buy ClickTracks?
 It shows what visitors do in a way that anyone can understand.
 Path analysis is the best there is. It’s our speciality.
 Interactive ad-hoc analysis is simple, efficient and requires no database
programming. Team members do it themselves.
 It works alongside and complements other web reporting tools.
Technical
Overview
 Client hardware requirements
Pentium II 300MHz, 128Mb RAM, 500Mb disk.
 Platform/OS
Systems requirements: Windows 98, NT 4 (service pack 6), ME, 2000 or XP
 ASP versus installed at customer
Both options available
 Scalability
ClickTracks can handle very large websites with millions of hits. There is no limit
to the size of log files ClickTracks can read. 1GB files takes 2 minutes to process
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 25
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
on a 1GHz Pentium III.
Tracking
capability
 Banner impressions
Ads served within the site are not analysed by ClickTracks. Inbound clicks on
banners from other sites are part of the behaviour / marketing analysis reports.
 Banner click-throughs
Visitors coming through an individual banner or broader campaign can be tracked
all the way through the site from entry to transaction.
 Email
As above.
 Links and landing pages
These can be used to track visitors through the visitors tagging wizard.
 Page views
ClickTracks does not provide page view analysis. Our customers seem rarely
concerned with this and more interested in deeper visitors’ behaviour analysis.
 Products bought
Can be analysed with ClickTracks, though without pricing information. This is not
reported by ClickTracks.
 Personal information/form data
N/A
 3rd party imported data
None
Analysis
functionality
 Bespoke, menu or fixed reports
In ClickTracks all reports can be made bespoke by ‘tagging’ visitors that meet a
certain criteria, such as those with a cookie value, or those entering at a certain
URL, or those from a certain campaign.
 Path analysis
Visitor path analysis can be viewed aggregated across all visitors or broken out
distinctly for a segmented group, such as those responding to a campaign or
coming via another site.
 Campaign analysis
ClickTracks can report trends across time of visitors, number of referrals,
conversion rates, etc. Tracking can be done via referrer, referrer + URL
parameter, unique landing page or landing page with parameter.
Screenshots
ClickTracks displays behaviour patterns directly on the pages of the site itself.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 26
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Divide visitors into logical groups and compare behaviour:
Browse the site and see path analysis and stats reporting at the same time:
Analyse your PPC campaign, instantly!
Find which search terms perform better, broken down by search engine or
directory:
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 27
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
Compare the behaviour of Pay Per Click visitor to regular search visitors:
Pay-per-click
Reg. search
See exit rates for any page for PPC and regular visitors:
Understand what repeat visitors do on your website by clicking on the
Repeat Visitors icon.
Select the ad you want to track and we find the landing page and tracking
parameters by clicking on the Ad Tracking icon.
Want to know the search terms that result in purchase? Click the
Goal Page icon.
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 28
Web Measurement and Analytics, May 2003
About the Author
Ashley Friedlein is co-founder and CEO of e-consultancy. Previously, he was Lead Strategist and
Project Director at digital agency Wheel, where he successfully managed the planning, delivery and
ongoing maintenance of several major Internet sites, in particular for media companies. Ashley comes
from a background in digital media, having worked at Pearson and Bloomberg, and with the major UK
broadcasters.
Elements of this report have been adapted and updated from Ashley’s second book “Maintaining and
Evolving Successful Commercial Web Sites”. Details of Ashley’s two books are as follows:
Web Site Project Management: Delivering Successful Commercial Sites
324 pages
25 October 2000
Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 1558606785
Maintaining and Evolving Successful Commercial Web Sites: Managing Change, Content,
Customer Relationships and Site Measurement
442 pages
December 2002
Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 1558608303
Ashley can be contacted on [email protected] or +44 (0)20 7071 8612
Copyright © 2003 e-consultancy
Extracts used by permission of Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, www.mkp.com
Page 29