Yahoo! Web Analytics Book
I recently finished my book for Wiley Publishing (Sybex) on Yahoo! Web Analytics - The book is out (woohoo) and here is my launch post.
Thank you so much for your wonderful support in everything I do, I would hate to mention anybody by name in danger of actually forgetting some. That wouldn’t be fair!
You can go preview the book on Amazon, and also on Google Book Search. AND should you fall in love, this is where you can go buy the book online:
cheers
dennis :-)
About the Book
Turn the right data into powerful insights and profitable actions with the new Yahoo! Web Analytics tool and this unique, in-depth book. Yahoo! insider and Internet analytics expert Dennis R. Mortensen provides detailed tips and techniques for successfully using Yahoo! Web Analytics to gain the competitive advantages you seek.
Learn the “why” as well as the “how” of web analytics—and get Yahoo! Web Analytics secrets and tricks not found anywhere else. Inside, you’ll also find:
- Detailed data collection advice, including how to use data collection groupings and track almost everything, from simple page views to custom-created fields
- How to best implement campaign tracking, including paid search setup, multiple campaign categories, and merchandising tracking and reporting
- In-depth explanations of advanced filtering capabilities, including powerful ways to customize reports
- Powerful data visualization tools and optimal dashboard configurations, which are illustrated in the 16-page color insert
- Exclusive and expert-level optimization techniques for everything from pay-per-click campaigns to Flash- and Ajax-based objects
- Time-saving tips, hands-on examples, and fascinating examples using real client experiences
Introduction
My goal is to take you through how you should approach analytics, and in this book we mainly use the application Yahoo! Web Analytics. You will become a true expert in this application by the end of this book. My philosophy is that you should focus on three different but equally important tasks. I have divided the book into three parts to reflect these broad tasks.
Part 1, “Advanced Web Analytics Installation,” consists of Chapters 1 through 5. The focus is on data collection. True competitive advantage in web marketing comes from collecting the right data, but also, and no less important, from configuring your web analytics tool in such a way that you can derive insight from the data. Part 1 features detailed code examples that webmasters or developers can apply directly. Marketing people and executives will learn the opportunities they can demand from this tool. I also show you how to add reporting dimensions to the predefined report structures for fantastic filtering and segmentation opportunities.
Part 2, “Utilizing an Enterprise Web Analytics Platform,” encompasses Chapters 6 through 10, where we focus on reports. Creating reports is an easy feat, but remember that reports are never better than the data you collect. You need an exceedingly good understanding of how to work with your data. Part 2 is less technical than the first part. In it I’ll teach you to use your reporting toolbox to provide targeted answers to specific questions, such as “How much revenue did we make from first-time organic search visitors from Canada last week?” For this and many other questions you’ll encounter there is no standard report, but you will know how to get this answer and hundreds of others when you’re through with this section.
Part 3, “Actionable Insights,” encompasses Chapters 11 through 13 and focuses on how to take action on your data to optimize your web property. Having gone through the effort of implementing the data collection and reporting strategies in Parts 1 and 2, you will have gained enough insight to start an optimization process. Part 3 introduces you to optimization using a set of actionable insights. This is merely an appetizer, and the handful of optimizations I present are not, by any means, the only ones you can pursue. But the ideas and attitude behind them can most definitely be copied and carry you down other optimization avenues. Think of this section as an idea catalog. One of the most important questions I tackle in this section is paid search optimization. Always keep your eyes on the money, eh?
Who Should Read This Book?
Anybody interested in web analytics on a detailed level should read this book, in particular if you want to use analytics for website optimization. In my world, that includes people in the following professions: website developers and engineers who are responsible for setting up web analytics; sales and marketing people who are eager to know what they can expect from analytics at this level; and finally, my fellow web analytics and optimization experts who want a fresh angle on how to optimize their website and truly gain a competitive advantage.
You don’t necessarily have to be a Yahoo! Web Analytics user or client to appreciate this book. However, general knowledge about website management and online marketing is a great benefit. This book does not cover the inner workings of analytics from an IT architectural point of view.
Book Companion Websites
While reading the book and once you have finished it, you are more than welcome to continue your web analytics journey online. I maintain an active web analytics and online marketing blog, which I will update with features new to Yahoo! Web Analytics as they arrive, new reports as they are introduced, and optimization tips as they come along:
Blog: visualrevenue.com/blog
Book: visualrevenue.com/blog/yahoo-analytics-book (this page)
Contacting the Author
If you have questions, feedback, or critique, I am eager to hear from you. You can reach me through this blog, but also through these social media destinations:
- www.linkedin.com/in/dennismortensen
- www.facebook.com/people/Dennis-R-Mortensen/571491680
- www.twitter.com/dennismortensen
And you are of course always welcome to email me directly at dennis.mortensen(@)evcrp.com.
Brief outline of the chapters
Part I – Utilizing an Enterprise Web Analytics Platform
Chapter 1 - Getting Started
Chapter 2 - Content and Advanced Conversion Tracking
Chapter 3 - Enterprise Campaign Tracking
Chapter 4 - Merchandising Tracking and Reporting
Chapter 5 - Advanced Instrumentation
Part II – Utilizing an Enterprise Web Analytics Platform
Chapter 6 - Working with Report Results
Chapter 7 - Customizing Report Results
Chapter 8 - Using Basic Reports as Templates for Customization
Chapter 9 - Using Dashboards
Chapter 10 - Distinctive Reports and Usage
Part III – Actionable Insights
Chapter 11 - Paid Search Analysis and Optimization
Chapter 12 - Form Analysis and Optimization
Chapter 13 - Content Optimization and Competitive Analysis
Appendix A - API
Color Insert - Dashboard Examples
"Web Analysis is not free. Your delightful people with planet sized brains need training and coaching. You’ll still have to “smartify” your Online Marketers.
"In Yahoo Web Analytics Dennis Mortensen manages to do the impossible by adding real value to our knowledge of web analytics in an already crowded market. His clear language and excellent examples make this book required reading for any web analytics practitioner interested in extending their use of freely-available tools. Dennis is one of the best and brightest in the web analytics industry and Yahoo Web Analytics reinforces that with every page."
"As the individual who drove the initial development of Yahoo!’s Web Analytics tool, Dennis managed to conquer mind-numbingly complex issues by presenting them in a simple and useful way. It’s no wonder that he did it again with his Yahoo! Web Analytics book."
"This is the definitive book for making the most out of Yahoo! Web Analytics. It is a guiding light for navigating the solution's capabilities and detailed enough to be a step-by-step guide."
"Dennis provides the details about the impact Yahoo! Web Analytics can have on your business with a laser-like focus on moving from data to true business insight and action."
"If you want to actually derive value from these tools rather than just look at the pretty reports, Dennis lays it all out. This is a book you can count on."
"This is a detailed and practical guide to using Yahoo! Web Analytics to turbocharge your business performance. Get this book before your competitors do!"