Checklist for the right web analysis tool

WEBANALYSIS Anyone who uses their website as a sales, lead generation, or informational tool simply cannot do without web analytics. However, choosing the right tool for the company's success crucial. A checklist can help with this."Companies often opt for web analytics tools without a plan for how to use them to fuel data-driven marketing," explains Olaf Brandt, Managing Director of Etracker GmbH. He lists six questions to help companies find the right web analytics software for their needs1.    Who uses the solution?Is the web analytics tool operated by a data scientist, web analyst, employee from online marketing, content marketing or even the managing director himself? The more people from different areas of responsibility and with different levels of expertise look at the tool, the more important it is to use an intuitive solution that even non-specialists can work with. If companies have their own web analytics departments, it promotes the flow of information, collaboration and acceptance if other stakeholders also have direct access to the software. This central aspect of collaboration stands and falls with user-friendliness.2.    What does the tool aim to achieve?Companies must define how web analytics must be integrated in order to anchor a data-driven culture in the company. It is also important to define how the influence of relevant parameters and overall success can be measured for the website. Requirements for linking different data sources must also be clear. This is often achieved outside the web analysis tool by exporting data via interfaces. In addition to the export of report data, access to the raw data is becoming increasingly important. This is because importing data into special statistics programs allows sophisticated multivariate analyses to be carried out that go beyond the front end of a web analytics solution.3.    Are all the desired functionalities available?Which functions are used regularly in day-to-day analysis and which are rarely used? The 80-20 rule helps to decide this: 80 percent of analysis findings can be traced back to 20 percent of the most frequently used functions and reports. Intuitive usability of the top 20 percent is therefore more important than complete coverage of all requirements. In addition to web analytics, other components of web controlling can also be used, such as visitor surveys, app tracking, personalization or A/B testing. Testing and web analytics in particular belong together to ensure continuous optimization. Marketers can obtain separate solutions from different providers or everything from a single source.4.    Does the tool provide data about the individual visitor and in real time?Many web analytics tools, especially free ones, do not provide data on individual visitors, but only aggregated or extrapolated information. However, if you want to implement segmented A/B tests or personalization measures, you need data about the individual visitor. The availability of visitor data in real time can also be useful. Especially when targeting for website personalization, it must be available via interfaces in just a few milliseconds. The time factor is also important for monitoring online marketing. If the website operator has just launched an important campaign where the bounce rate on the landing page is very high, only prompt recognition and intervention can avert sales losses.5.    Does the provider offer training and advice?True to the GIGO rule ("garbage in, garbage out"), the quality of the analysis depends largely on the quality of the data collection and therefore the implementation of the tracking code. In the same way, the potential of the web analytics solution can only be fully exploited if users are familiar with the functions and know how to interpret the data correctly. Most providers of fee-based systems therefore offer consulting services: from implementation, training and deriving insights to in-depth raw data analysis and active conversion rate optimization. Without consulting from the tool provider, companies have to access documentation or rely on external agencies.6.    Can the tool grow with future requirements?Changing tools involves a lot of effort and considerable data loss. It is therefore all the more important to opt for a system that is easy to start with but also offers expansion options. When selecting a tool, it is therefore not only crucial to look at the current situation in the company, but also to take future requirements into account. These include the use of data collected via web analytics for website personalization, the connection of marketing automation systems or the processing of raw data with other applications.