| Can you define the following terms? (Answers given at the end of the article) |
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| 1) | Wiki |
| a. | Hawaiian for fast |
| b. | A paddle used in cricket |
| c. | A user-based form of website collaboration |
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| 2) | Mash-up |
| a. | Web application integrating complementary elements from two or more sources |
| b. | What happens when a shopping cart is overloaded |
| c. | A category on the Food Network |
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| 3) | Vlog |
| a. | Typo |
| b. | A blog which contains video |
| c. | Log of video on content on a website |
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| 4) | RIA |
| a. | Retail Industry Association |
| b. | A Korean car |
| c. | Rich Internet Application |
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| 5) | RSS |
| a. | Really Simple Syndication |
| b. | Realtime security services |
| c. | Rich, smart, and sassy |
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| 6) | Ajax |
| a. | The foaming cleanser |
| b. | Greek hero |
| c. | Web application that uses an engine to process user requests in real time |
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| 7) | BitTorrent |
| a. | A method of sharing movies over the Internet |
| b. | Computer malfunction |
| c. | Small rain storm |
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| Nearly every direct marketer now includes the Internet as part of its marketing mix. Ultimately the goal of our websites is to generate sales, leads or both. We want our sites to be engaging, functional and effective. A recent survey conducted by the Web Analytics Association found that more than 50% of the respondents acknowledged that their companies do not track web analytics, and 69% of respondents do not believe that most people using data in their organizations actually understand them. |
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| Most of us are currently operating in a Web 1.0 environment. But we are on the cusp of Web 2.0 which allows for real time interaction among website users and opens up new methods of communicating with customers. Blogs, wikis, consumer generated content, RSS, RIA, SEO, paid search, personas, buzz measurement, social tagging (dig), syndication, micro sites, communities and neighborhoods are all examples of Web 2.0's range of options. |
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| In a 2005, membership survey of the Web Analytics Association, members expressed a strong interest in better understanding analytics best practices and assembled a research committee called, "Measuring New Media," which tackles the impact new media and technologies (Ajax, flash, RSS, blogs, streaming media, podcasts) are having on the sites and analytics of some of the biggest brands in North America. The committee sought to answer questions such as: "Can we determine the business impact of new media? What measurement challenges do we face? Are new media metrics being integrated into existing site metrics and how?" |
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| All new media support a high level of customer interaction and engagement. New standards for consumer participation are moving forward daily. The concepts and methodologies we've previewed are a few examples of newly evolved media. |
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| Without a doubt, we are entering a new era of technological sophistication and, with it, pioneering concepts to measure the effectiveness of these fantastic new media. By all means, we must consider the application of new media to increase the interactivity of our websites. Although Web 2.0 concepts have a strong presence in content driven websites, direct marketers now have before them a panoply of new concepts for use in increasing conversion and leveraging the web channel to its optimal effectiveness, while raising the bar for new best practices. |
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| For Marketsmith, Web 2.0 and new media are evaluated as we develop contact strategies to stimulate growth for our clients' businesses. As websites become more interactive and user focused, the key performance indicators we have been touting still remain critical to understanding how a website performs. |
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| 1) | At what point do visitors enter your site? |
| 2) | How long do they spend on the site? |
| 3) | How many pages do they visit? |
| 4) | What actions do visitors take? |
| 5) | What search terms are used on the website? |
| 6) | How many visitors abandoned their carts? |
| 7) | How many visitors/sessions converted to sales? |
| 8) | What pages do visitors visit? |
| 9) | What is the contribution on web generated sales? | |
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| As we stated at the beginning of the article: Ultimately the goal of our websites is to generate sales, leads or both. We do that by being responsive to our customers' needs, wants and characteristics. New media offers exciting and challenging opportunities for us all. But if we do not keep our eye on measuring performance and the bottom line, it will be easy to be distracted or overwhelmed by the array of options. |
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Definitions:
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| Wiki - The word, "wikiwiki" is actually Hawaiian for "fast". Wiki is a content management system, allowing users to collaborate in forming the content of a Web site. Any user can edit the site content, including other users' contributions, using a regular Web browser. Like many other participatory elements of Web 2.0, wikis operate on the principle of collaborative trust. |
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| RSS - An acronym standing for Really Simple Syndication. RSS distributes news or other desired Web content available for feeding to the user's site from an online publisher. RSS feeds enable customers to engage in passion for the brand, by having daily access to the brand's content. |
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| RIA - Rich Internet Application provides an upgraded user experience. RIAs are web applications that have features and functionality of traditional desktop applications. They transfer processing necessary for the user interface to the Web client but keep the bulk of the data back on the application server. |
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| SEO - Search Engine Optimization. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of manipulating aspects of a Web site to improve its ranking in search engines. Various approaches are taken to that end, such as submitting the Web site to directory services and addressing website architecture and content. |
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| Mash-ups - A mash-up is a Web page or application that integrates complementary elements from two or more sources. Mash-ups are created by using a development approach called Ajax. |
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| Vlog - As you might have expected, "Vlog" stands for "video blog". A vlog is a blog that contains video content. Some bloggers have included video content for years. However, vlogging is becoming more common as equipment becomes less expansive and supporting software and hosting and aggregation sites become more prevalent. Both Yahoo and Google feature video sections and many MP3 players, such as iPod support video, as well. |
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| Ajax - A warrior prince who was huge and strong, but slow in speech. Ajax was considered the second greatest warrior after Achilles, and he was the one who carried the hero's dead body back to the camp while Odysseus held the Trojans back. |
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| Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, a method of building interactive applications for the Web that process user requests immediately. Ajax allows content on Web pages to update immediately when a user performs an action, unlike an HTTP request, during which users must wait for a whole new page to load. Applications created with Ajax use an engine that acts as an intermediary between a user's browser and the server from which it is requesting information. Instead of loading a traditional Web page, the user's browser loads the Ajax engine, which displays the page the user sees. |
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| BitTorrent - A content distribution protocol that enables efficient software distribution and peer-to-peer sharing of very large files, such as entire movies and TV shows, by enabling users to serve as network |
