Practice Kaizen

Web analytics, according to the infinite number of sources on the World Wide Web, is believed to do everything you want and more. So, you invest in Google Analytics and wait for it to work its magic. You wait and wait. However, you must realize that enabling Google Analytics is just the beginning. You can't stop at the installation and leave it at that.

Truth is, Google Analytics is a never-ending practice. You can be flying high in April and then be shot down in May. That's the nature of the website traffic. In order to cope with the inconsistencies and the highs and lows that go with it, practice what the Japanese call "kaizen," or continuous improvement.

To continually improve the performance of your website, use the following criteria to practice kaizen.

• Data consistency and quality: always make sure the data is accurate and consistent. Your goal is to compare apples with apples, not apples with oranges. The best way to compare data is using ratios. An example would be the conversion rate or click through rate of one marketing campaign against the conversion rate of another marketing campaign. Another example would be comparing the cost per action of two marketing initiatives.

• Flexibility: you have to deal with the reporting needs of various stakeholders, from global management to local/national marketers in a dynamic context where various content and technologies coexist. Google Analytics can assist by allowing you to set up various reports for each stakeholder based on their needs (see Rule 39, "Share Your Data").

• Organization and integration: web analytics is a process you need to integrate into your organization AND your technical infrastructure. You need to define roles and responsibilities. You need to have methodologies. You need resources. Google Analytics can help by allowing you to grant "user" access or "administrative" access to others who may have an interest or can contribute to the success of your website.

• Education and communication: learn how to use the data, how to interpret it, and how to make it actionable. Not all websites are alike. You need to stick to it and give it time. Let everyone in the loop know the value of using Google Analytics and how kaizen practices are the way to go. Spread insights, knowledge, and data across departments, hierarchies, and the whole company. Otherwise, all those state-of-art detailed reports that Google Analytics generates will only end up in the shredder, destroying any possible incremental value to your business.

Continuous improvement. Continuous updates. Kaizen. It's what will make Google Analytics work for you. What use are those reports and data when no one has a clue about what to do with them?

Continuous improvement is not rocket science. With Google Analytics, and of course, patience, perseverance and kaizen, you will stop saying, "50 percent of our Marketing worked, we just  aren't sure which 50 percent it was."

© 2012 Rob Sanders.