For marketers managing paid search and online campaigns, data is paramount. They use data to make campaign adjustment decisions, to determine budgets, to pay channel partners and affiliates, and to justify advertising spend to their management.
 
Once in a while, a new Webtrends Ad Director customer asks us about a seeming discrepancy in their data. Our reporting may have numbers which are higher or lower than those reported by a previous vendor, or the cross-channel reporting in their Analytics UI may not match our data for the paid search channel. When this happens, our customer will frequently ask which system is wrong and how they can fix it.
 
The ability to measure the success of search marketing campaigns and effectively compare them over time is mired in how performance is tracked and how metrics are defined. As many companies change paid search tools, outsourced vendors and the internal staff who manages their search marketing campaigns, understanding and leveling the data becomes increasingly important. Even when campaign goals remain the same, changing reporting parameters or outsourced providers can lead to dramatically different perceived results.

While sometimes the discrepancies are due to tracking not being set up correctly, frequently they are the result of vendors using different tracking and attribution methods.

Examples we frequently see include:

1  First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies

Many anti-spyware applications and default privacy settings block third-party cookies and increasing numbers of users are manually blocking third-party cookies or regularly deleting them. This cookie rejection can result in loss of and less accurate tracking and conversion information. In contrast, first-party cookies are not blocked by anti-spyware software or privacy settings, and are the preferred method for more complete and accurate data collection.

2 Cookie Windows

Setting a same-session, one week, or 90-day cookie window will lead to different reported performance.
 
If you carry high price-point products which will require careful consideration and price comparison shopping, the conversion latency may be a week or more. By limiting your cookie window to same-session or one-week, you will miss the conversions which would otherwise be attributed to your search campaign.
 
It is also important to consider the portion of your customers who are single or repeat. If you carry products which will be replenished at regular internals (such as make-up), consider if you want to end up attributing each repeat sale to the click which drove the initial sale. If users restock their supply at regular one month intervals, by keeping a 90-day cookie window open you will effectively be seeing a “lift” in how many sales are generated by your search campaign over time.

Note that your paid search tool or vendor may also have attribution window settings which determine over what period they will take credit for conversions. If their attribution window is shorter than the cookie window, they will not take credit over the entire cookie period. If the attribution window is longer than the cookie window, they will only be able to collect recorded data until the cookie expires.

3  Methods of Conversion Attribution

It is possible to use many attribution methods and rules including last-click, first-click, multi-click, same-session-only, or anytime within the cookie window. Depending on the tools and tracking systems used, each one may have a separate cookie and may take credit for the same conversion event.
 
While businesses have different reasons for selecting a particular attribution method, the most important thing is to maintain the same or similar attribution method over time and to recognize that conversion data will look different with a change in method used. It is also important to recognize how the changes in attribution will impact reporting.
 
Examples of attribution methods can include:
·        Last click in: attribution is granted to the last channel and/or paid search listing which brought the user to the site prior to conversion
·        First click in: attribution is granted to the first channel and/or paid search listing which brought to the user to the site and eventually resulted in conversion
·        Multi-click: attribution is split across all channels and/or paid search listings which the user interacted with prior to converting

4  Definitions of Metrics

When speaking internally or with an outsourced search provider, make sure you have the same definitions of performance metrics.
 
For instance, is ROAS defined as (ad revenue – ad spend)/(ad spend) or as (ad revenue)/(ad spend)? Do these metrics include or exclude agency fees, if applicable?
 
Establishing these definitions ahead of time can prevent incomplete data later along with setting correct expectations for campaign performance.
 
 
It is important to determine early on how you plan to track your campaign metrics and maintain these settings to get the best picture of campaign performance over time. If you choose to outsource your paid search management or change reporting providers, make sure that your prior settings are maintained or kept as close as possible to how you are used to seeing reporting. If it is not possible to maintain all your settings, make sure to keep these adjustments in mind before analyzing the final data for performance.
 
By determining how you will be collecting metrics and performance internally, externally, and over time, you will have the clearest picture of how your search investment has changed over time and how it can be maximized in the future.

We will be discussing reporting and attribution methodologies, best practices, and the future of ROI-driven marketing in an upcoming webinar.
 
Please join us. Register here: True ROI-Driven Marketing Webinar

One of the fantastic parts of my job at Webtrends is having the opportunity to work with our partners via the Webtrends Open Exchange .  We want to combine the strength of our platform with the strength of our partner’s to provide real solutions.

Many of you saw our press release about integrating with WebSphere Portal earlier this year. Webtrends services a significant portion of the WebSphere Portal install base and have for many years.  I would credit the flexibility of both solutions for making that so.  Ever since the initial release in 2001, WebSphere Portal has become one of the main enterprise web portal software platforms of choice.  The Java platform is easy to deploy and maintain for all types of organizations. My team has worked with WebSphere Portal customers to implement JavaScript based data collection and log file based methods.

When we first began the integration project, we did a review of challenges that portal users might face when trying to implement analytics reporting.  The items that bubbled to the top were:

• Uncertainty regarding best practices for deploying code.
• Inability to deploy code quickly, with low development costs
• Difficultly creating business ready, actionable reporting, without long design cycles
• Ability to analyze the log files that WSP produces

In short, people need a repeatable solution that is easy to implement, creating immediate business value.  Based on this feedback, we worked with IBM to create a better way to implement both solutions together using the SmartSource Data Collector JavaScript methodology and another for just reporting on log files.

Let’s talk about the JavaScript version first:

• So exactly how much development is required? Very little.  The solution requires JSP and JavaScript code that is plug and play.  The code required is contained in the solution.  All your developer needs to do is apply it to your WebSphere Portal themes.
• How rich is the data? Using this methodology we can collect data on pages, portlets, site navigation (using the site breadcrumbs), users by name, document tracking and all of the standard reports you expect out of Webtrends Analytics.  This also includes creating user readable versions of URLs for customer not using site mappings to simply the URL strings.  An example of this might be changing a URL like: http://www.ibm.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy to http://www.ibm.com/My Website/The Main Area/News and Views/, which is much easier to read and analyze.

Now, the Site Analyzer log file solution (Webtrends Software customer only):

• So exactly how much development is required? None.  You simply need to analyze the Site Analyzer log files WebSphere Portal creates.
• How rich is the data? The log files offer different but powerful data.  You can report on authenticated users, pages, portlets, administrative commands, page customizer and user management.

When can I get this and how much does it cost? The solution is available now.  You can take the white paper and start your implementation right away.  Best of all, this solution is completely free to use.  However, if you’d like assistance or need custom work Webtrends Solution Services can help you to find the right fit for you.

Download the Implementation Whitepaper

All of these reports, they are available using the classic Webtrends interface, the sleek new Analytics 9 interface or can be pulled directly using our REST API.  The API supports JSON, XML, Excel, etc.  This data can be pulled directly into a WebSphere Portlet in a matter of minutes.

Webtrends will be at the IBM Portal Excellence Conference 2009 October 12 -15 2009 held this year in San Diego, California.  I’m happy to say I’ll be discussing this solution in more depth October 13^th.  The Webtrends team will be at Booth #18 during the event providing demos, discussing the WebSphere Portal platform and our partnership with IBM.  Come by and say hi.  I’d love to meet every one of you.

Keep in mind this white paper is just one step in this integration.  Webtrends continues to work with the WebSphere Portal team to optimize ease of deployment and reporting.  If you’re excited about the project now, just wait.

See you in San Diego!

Paul A. Barrett is the Customer Management Global Program Director for Teradata’s Communications, Media and Entertainment Industry Solutions group. Paul has over 20 years of industry experience and 15 years of internet marketing background. Prior to joining Teradata in 2006 he was the managing partner of Creative Convergence, a boutique management consulting firm. At Creative Convergence he built client relationships with companies such as Microsoft, AOL, Embratel, and other market leaders. Paul has an MBA in Marketing from George Washington University.

I had to take statistics about three times in college and grad school to be able to claim the credits.  So of course one of my first jobs after getting my MBA was managing a marketing analytics group.   We lived data – neural nets, regression analysis and predictive consumer behavior – I swam as hard as I could to keep up.

So I am simpatico to all the traditional marketers who are now getting swept up in a rising tide of cross-channel marketing data, analytical tools and statistical modeling, not to mention integrating marketing data with other enterprise data.  New books like Beautiful Data, magazines with predictions about the impending rise to coolness of statisticians, tweets about #measure and even casual postings from my friends about what data geeks they are – these things excite me about the future of cool.

“The future is here it is just not evenly distributed” William Gibson

Marketing has always been cool and it has always been about data.  But that data has often been simple and at times less than convincing.  The science of marketing is finally getting the observable data it needs to gain credibility and to significantly improve the bottom-line.

So if you want to be cool in the future here are three major areas of interest for you:

Reach Beyond: As recently as five years ago the majority of the detailed data in a company was about customers.   But now data is everywhere in marketing – more data about customers, campaigns, advertising interactions and increasingly, about brands, competitors and suppliers. Find those sources in your company and bring them into marketing and redefine how you measure your business.

Synthesize and Integrate: Lots of data is good, but it has to be mixed with other sources to reveal game changing truths.   Synthesize web data from advertising, search, site visits, conversions and more.  Synthesize online and offline data together.  Synthesize marketing data with other enterprise data.  Don’t be confined to customer integration, data can be synthesized geo-spatially and temporally to create new insights.  We think you can double or triple the value of your web data by integrating it with other data.

Experiment: Nobody knows exactly which data will transform their campaign, their company or their market.  Marketers have to take time to play with this new data, try, test and execute.  We experimented with some data years ago and drove $100MM to the bottom-line by merging two sales models together – there is probably lots of opportunity in your company.

I am really interested in how companies are approaching these topics – are you in denial, running scared, or taking the bull by the horns.  Let me know. Teradata and Webtrends have put together some great new offers in this space to help your organization get more value from the integration of your multi-channel marketing data and your other enterprise data.  We will continue to evolve those offerings to meet your needs.

If you are interested in learning more in person, visit Webtrends and Teradata at some upcoming events – Webtrends EMEA Engage in London Oct 13-14, Teradata PARTNERS conference in Washington DC Oct 18-22, and eMetrics in Washington DC Oct 19-23.  If you aren’t attending those events, you can learn more by participating in our joint webcast in November or by contacting your Webtrends or Teradata sales reps.

Webtrends is once again a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, which we have achieved for the last several years in a row.  This is a result of our continued demonstrated support of our on-premise software and hosted product offerings on the Microsoft technology stack.  To achieve this certification, we accumulated “points” with Microsoft as a result of having various skillsets, certifications, “competencies” and positive customer references. The Gold designation not only demonstrates the level of quality of our solutions, but also assures us continued access and the highest level of support from Microsoft.

One competency, which was a slam-dunk for us considering the size and quality of our state-of-the-art hosted operation is the “Hosting Solutions Competency” in which we demonstrate our ability to provide a hosted solution to numerous customers.

Achieving the “ISV/Software Solutions Competency” was completed by passing third-party validations of two products:  our on-premise software solution and our integration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM with the hosted service.  Both of these were validated by the third-party to be built according to Microsoft best practices.

Webtrends also employs several Microsoft Certified Professionals throughout the organization, which also demonstrates our knowledge, commitment and expertise in various Microsoft technologies.  Finally, we include several positive customer references as proof of our customer satisfaction with our offerings.

Being the gadget obsessed, late thirtysomething geek that I am. The notion of Webtrends Analytics Insight being built with web standards pleased me greatly for a number of reasons most notably:

1. I could digest dimensions/measures/reports and add context to them ANYTIME,ANYPLACE ANYWHERE so much so we should have called this release Webtrends Martini !  this link truly shows my age

2. Not having to depend on plugins, adminstrator access,mobile applications, being tied to a particular machine or license is a truly liberating experience, imagine measuring the success of a campaign or understanding your traffic IN traffic on the bus, train, tram or tube…

Well you can! Web standards rock!

Props to all involved in the project to make this happen, its a fantastic addition to the Webtrends arsenal.

In order to demonstrate this I went around the house and I tried Insight on all the internet enabled devices within, below are the results of this experiment.

first off, I tried the humble Blackberry Curve and it worked!

I then moved to the lounge and tried the trusty PS3 browser it worked again.

it also works on the iPhone…

and on the G1 Android phone so well I included an extreme close up (below).

I also tried it on the old PSP (excuse the bling colour) it worked.

And finally…It didn’t work on my Pure Evoke Flow Internet enabled radio

So as a challenge, I urge fellow geeks, technoheads and analysts to try Analytics Insight on the devices that you own and let me know results, I will offer a truly amazing Webtrends pen for the image of Insight on a chumby.