Looking back over 2005

Since it’s that time of year, I thought I would take a take a personal look back over the past 12 months and maybe try to look forward a bit at the next 12 months.

My overriding impression of the last 12 months is that in 2005 organisations in the UK and Europe started to take the issue of measuring online business performance more seriously. Certainly, “web analytics” came of age in 2005 on this side of the Atlantic.

Personally, we saw this with a project at the beginning of the year working with a retailer looking to segment their online customer base, so that they could improve the effectiveness of their email marketing programme. However, as I mentioned in my last article, this project reminded me that it’s important to align the programme of analysis with the ability to execute and implement the findings. There is little point in developing a sophisticated segmentation approach if there isn’t the ability or the tools available to leverage the insight.

This is particularly an issue I think with web analytics, as the discipline is relatively immature compared to other marketing analysis disciplines at the moment. There’s a lot to be learned by looking at established processes and practices in say, direct marketing, and bringing that learning to the whole area of e-business marketing analysis. There is no need to be reinventing the wheel.

Looking back, I’ve found that we have spent a lot of time working with companies on ensuring that they are “counting the things that count”. We do not live in a data poor environment in web analytics and the challenge is to focus on measuring the important stuff. Having clear and distinct Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is an important component of a web analytics strategy. Once the KPIs are in place, all the challenges around the quantity of data and focussing on analysis and interpretation are easier to manage.

In the summer, I got the opportunity to travel to the US and to compare at first hand the state of web analytics in the US and compare that to the UK and the rest of Europe. This is something that I wrote about in my first article for ClickZ. I also got the opportunity to meet some great people in the business, such as Eric Peterson and fellow columnist Jason Burby, and learn from them about best practice on that side of the pond.

That trip demonstrated to me that there is now a vibrant community of web analytics professionals emerging. People from all sides of the profession; clients, analysts, consultants and vendors are engaging with one another in conferences, meetings and forums to learn from each other and to improve the overall body of knowledge.

That knowledge has also become more formalised in 2005. We saw the creation of the Web Analytics Association (WAA) with the purpose of creating a focus on standards and training. The WAA worked with the University of British Columbia (UBC) to launch formal qualifications in web analytics. In the UK the Institute of Direct Marketing launched their qualifications in digital marketing and I have been working with them to develop content to put web analytics as a core component of their courses.

So, in 2005 I think we have seen the industry continue to develop and mature. It’s emerging as a distinct marketing analysis practice, albeit still a niche one.

And what of times ahead? Well, it’s going to be an interesting ride for sure. I don’t think that we have really yet seen the full effect of the launch of Google Analytics and what impact that it going to have on the discipline as a whole and the vendor landscape. I think that what it has shown is that web data is increasingly becoming a commodity item. Data access and reporting has relatively little value in its own right. I think what we will see is more focus on the analysis and interpretation of that data.

My humble view is that over the next 12 months we will see a shift in emphasis. The shift will be away from focusing on putting decent web channel measurement in place to using the data to drive the business forward. We can no longer afford the luxury of continuing organic growth and businesses are going to have to compete for market share. It will be survival of the smartest. I think that those that drive the business by the numbers are going to have a better chance than those who don’t.

As I said, I’m sure it’s going to be an interesting ride! Best wishes for 2006.

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