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Client Services Update: CIRCULUS

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:52:51 +1000

We are proud to be involved with the University of Wollongong, developing specialist digital platforms for UOW’s on-line services. One of our current on-line projects has been particularly interesting: developing a new website to help UOW expand the number of student clubs and societies on campus.

UOW already has over 90 student clubs and societies, ranging from traditional sports clubs to organisations catering for particular religions, nationalities and interests. For example, the Harry Potter Society is one of the most active clubs on campus.

The University is encouraging more students to participate in the clubs and societies for a richer campus experience. We are working with the Centre for Student Engagement, Clubs and Societies to plan, design and build a website that makes it easier for students to start clubs or join existing ones.

Director of Website Projects Jacinta Cali has managed this project, called Circulus, which is already operational but should be fully complete by the end of May. The new website has lots of exclusive features. For example, clubs can pick custom themes and colour schemes and there is built-in social media integration so that clubs can promote their events through Facebook as well as through the UOW Events Calendar and Student Life Calendar. One of the smartest features allows individual students’ club activities to be tracked, so they can receive a transcript report of all their club and society engagement when they graduate.

To view the site go to www.clubs.uow.edu.au

Internetrix Research

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:49:27 +1000

We have recently established a dedicated research division, Internetrix Research, with two key objectives. Firstly, it will allow us to provide clients with an additional free service with information about the latest trends and technologies in our industry. And just as importantly, staff involvement in the research projects will keep us at the cutting edge of those developments.

Michael David is heading up the research project, and he and his team have already produced two White Papers on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) that will be the start of regular reports for our clients.

SEO WHITE PAPER: Google and its competitors are constantly updating their search engine rules. Michael and Internetrix business analyst Christie Cassar have analysed the latest changes and come up with strategies for companies to improve their organic rankings in 2013. Read the SEO White Paper

SEM WHITE PAPER: Pay-per-click Search Engine Marketing is becoming an increasingly important tool for companies marketing online. But if you are paying the search engine company every time someone clicks on your advertisement, you want to know it is reaching the right audience – for example by targeting a particular geographical location. Michael and Itwik Joshi have researched what is possible using SEM and developed tools and strategies to help our clients improve performance and win more customers. Read the SEM White Paper

Google Analytics User Conference

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:41:40 +1000

Internetrix Director of Online Performance Michael David will be a presenter at the Google Analytics User Conference (GAUC) in Sydney and Melbourne in June.

Michael, who is an international authority on Google Analytics, also presented at last year’s GUAC in Sydney. He will be joined by Google experts from the US and Singapore, as well as other presenters from around Australia.

Michael’s topic is: FINDING INSIGHT AT A GLANCE. He’ll be explaining how to use Google Analytics’ custom reporting and custom dashboard functionality to drive insight into how your business is performing on-line. This knowledge is extremely helpful in determining strategies for generating leads and customer acquisition as well as boosting sales.

Internetrix will also have a booth at both the Sydney and Melbourne events, where our staff will be demonstrating how to win and retain customers using Google Analytics.

Internetrix has a long history with Google Analytics. In 2007 we were the second company in Australia (and the 26th globally) to become a Google Analytics Certified Partner. GUAC will be held in Sydney at Cockle Bay Wharf at Darling Harbour on 19 June and at Southbank in Melbourne on 21 June. Full event details and registration

Registration costs $429 but we have a special newsletter offer for Internetrix clients who can attract 15% on individual tickets and 25% on multiple bookings by emailing Internetrix for a special promo code.

CeBIT 2013

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:40:39 +1000

Trade & Investment NSW has invited Internetrix to take a booth as part of the Advantage Wollongong stand at CEBIT 2013 – Australia’s biggest ICT expo and trade show.

CEBIT is a three-day event at Sydney’s Darling Harbour Convention Centre from 28-30 May billed as “a three-day crash course in everything you need to understand about the new wave of digital transformation”.

The Advantage Wollongong stand will showcase the city’s ICT capability to a national and international audience. Other booths on the stand will feature the University of Wollongong’s Faculty of Informatics, Innovation Campus and iAccelerate project, Metranode who are building the data centre in Wollongong, specialist ICT firm Selera and multimedia company Relativity.

This is our fifth time at CEBIT, but our first as part of a regional team showcasing the city’s combined strengths in ICT. The Advantage Wollongong stand is i40, so please come and say hello if you are planning to visit CEBIT.

To help encourage visitors we have 20 free tickets to give away on a first in best dressed basis by simply posting a request on the @internetrix Twitter feed. If you miss out then the event is still great value at the Earty Bird rate of $44 (of $99 during CEBIT Week). For more details visit the CEBIT website

NSW Government ICT Services Scheme

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:36:49 +1000

Internetrix’s continued status as an accredited supplier to the NSW Government has been confirmed with our inclusion in the Government’s new ICT Services Scheme - Registered Suppliers List.

The scheme came into effect in March, replacing the previous list. It means we continue to be accredited to supply ICT services to NSW Government agencies and other eligible customers.

We have done a lot of work for all three tiers of government - federal, state and local councils – over the years. We are a long-standing supplier to NSW Government agencies, and look forward to being able to pitch for further government work in the future.

Our government clients include the Department of Broadband, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Australian Public Service Commission, Trade & Investment NSW, The Port Kembla Port Corporation, Western Sydney Parklands, the Southern Councils Group, Kiama Municipal Council and Strathfield Municipal Council.

New Ownership Structure

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:25:15 +1000

Internetrix has a new ownership structure after a management buyout. Daniel Rowan, Michael David and Jacinta Cali have purchased the company from founder Geoff McQueen, who now lives in the United States.

Under the new ownership structure which came into effect at the beginning of April, Daniel Rowan has been appointed Managing Director, Michael David as Director of Online Performance and Jacinta Cali as Director of Website Projects.

Naturally the three are excited about the opportunity to take Internetrix forward, while of course acknowledging Geoff’s great vision in establishing Internetrix back in 2000 and his role in the growth of the company.

Michael has been with Internetrix from the start, while Daniel joined the company in 2002 and Jacinta joined in 2008. With Geoff concentrating on his new business interests from the US, the time was right for the three to take over the company.

It will be very much business as usual as we continue Internetrix’s focus on being a trusted and recognised digital supplier at the absolute cutting edge of technology.

Here is a link to the media release which announced the new ownership structure

Client Services Update: Newspoll's new website

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:13:03 +1100

CLIENT SERVICES UPDATE: NEWSPOLL’S NEW WEBSITE

Everyone knows Newspoll, Australia’s leading public opinion and market research company.

We’re proud to say that Newspoll has been a loyal Internetrix client since 2006. Recently we worked with Newspoll Chief Executive Martin O’Shannessey and his team and a marketing company on a complete overhaul of the organisation’s website www.newspoll.com.au

The updated website incorporates new branding and a revised organisational structure featuring new divisions. A feature of the new site is video integration, utilising pop-up YouTube video clips.

Website Projects Manager and Creative Director Jacinta Cali led the Internetrix side of the project. Jacinta says the website is an important part of Newspoll’s marketing strategy, and that one of the client’s requirements was to have more control over site management.

“The marketing company executed the look and feel of the website, and it was Internetrix’s job to roll out the new brand’s website template,” Jacinta said. “We replaced the old proprietary software with the latest Silverstripe software, which we customised to the client’s requirements.

“We implemented vastly improved technology, which gives the client far greater control of the website - from editing text right down to controlling the palette of colours used on the website, which they can now change whenever they wish.”

Jacinta and her team then trained Newspoll’s IT people to manage the site themselves, and we are delighted with how the project has worked out. The site looks good and works well, but best of all the Newspoll people are really pleased with how manageable it is and how much control they now have over their site.

Keeping a website fresh and contemporary is an important part of winning the on-line marketing battle.

We’re finding that most of our clients want more control over their websites – but many don’t have designated IT staff. As with Newspoll, we can develop your site and train your people to manage it.

WIN-WIN for Internetrix at the Hackagong competition

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:12:36 +1100

WIN-WIN FOR INTERNETRIX AT THE HACKAGONG COMPETITION

Internetrix’s team in the HACKAGONG technology competition at the University of Wollongong in late November has provided the company with a classic win-win result.

At Hackagong, teams had 30 hours to develop a technology product from concept to final demonstration. It is an extremely demanding competition, but the Internetrix team used the time well by developing a product that has extremely valuable commercial applications for the company.

Our team of Jacinta Cali, Guy Watson, Jason Zhang and Susan Zhang came up with a brilliant web application called CheckMySite, which won the audience prize of $1000 kindly donated by Scriptrock.

As a bonus, we were able to immediately start using CheckMySite in our commercial work. Within a couple of days hundreds of unique viewers had visited the CheckMySite.com.au website and it had been featured in the IT section of The Australian newspaper.

Basically, CheckMySite is a mega-tool which combines a lot of existing website tools into one convenient site. This allows users (even non-technical ones) to conduct a full review of a website to obtain details such as the software it is running, its mail records, log-in details, Google Analytics tracking, Secure Socket Layer Certification for security for financial information and the safe transmission of secure data, how the site looks on different-sized devices such as computer screens and i-phones and whether it is using major content source management systems.

CheckMySite has a number of applications, but an extremely useful one for Internetrix is the way it will cut down the time required to analyse a new client’s existing website. This is something we grapple with all the time, and so we anticipate using this tool a great deal in the future.

In fact we are considering turning it into a licensed business product.

Jacinta, Guy, Jason and Susan were naturally delighted to get the audience award, because it was voted on by many of their industry peers who could see how valuable this tool could be.

And we’re all delighted to have something really useful that will make our job easier.

That’s the great reward from a competition like this. Twenty-seven teams involving 85 people took part in Hackagong, and came up with some great ideas.

Learn more about Google Analytics

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:12:14 +1100

GOOGLE ANALYTICS USER CONFERENCE AND TRAINING COURSES

In September Internetrix co-hosted a Google Analytics User Conference in Sydney.

It was such a success – with so much positive feedback from our clients who attended – that we’ve started Google Analytics Training Courses for our clients.

There are Beginners, Advanced and highly tailored Reporting courses designed to help people use Google Analytics more effectively and understand its far-reaching capabilities, so that they can better analyse the traffic to their website and digital platforms.

The course is run by our Online Performance Manager Michael David and our Search and Conversion Analyst Itwik Joshi.

The courses cater for a maximum six people, who attend one two-hour class each week for six weeks at our Wollongong office. The first courses are already underway and will finish in mid-December, with the next round due to start in February.

Here is a link to the course details.

Internetrix has a long history with Google Analytics. In 2007 we were the second company in Australia (and the 26^th globally) to become a Google Analytics Certified Partner, and that partnership has been a major factor in building our national and international client base.

So we were honoured to co-host (with LovesData) Australia’s first Google Analytics User Conference in Sydney. Google sent four world-class experts, two from its Australian office, one from Singapore and one from the US, to present at the conference. They included keynote speaker Justin Cutroni, from Google in the US. Justin is considered a global analytics guru at Google so we were thrilled that he was able to attend.

Michael David and Daniel Rowan also presented on behalf of Internetrix.

The conference attracted 135 delegates, including many Internetrix clients. Afterwards everyone was buzzing about what they’d learned and the possibilities that can open up for improving their business when they really analyse and understand what is happening on their website.

Lots of people wanted to know more, so we’ve started the training courses to cater for them. And you don’t have to be computer expert to attend the courses. All you need is an interest in improving your company’s online performance.

The Beginners course is designed to get you started, while the Advanced and Reporting course naturally caters for people who are looking for much deeper knowledge of how Google Analytics works.

Staff Profile - Pavit Singh

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:11:34 +1100

STAFF PROFILE: PAVIT SINGH

By now most of our clients will have met or at least spoken to our business analyst Pavit Singh – betterknown as Pav.

Pav’s in charge of client engagement at Internetrix, and he’s working hard to build stronger relationships with you – our clients.

Pav was born in India and grew up in Dubai, before coming to Wollongong to go to high school at TIGs (where he was a prefect in Year 12). He then moved on to the University of Wollongong, where he started an Electrical Engineering degree but soon found his true vocation in ICT. He graduated from UOW in 2011 with Bachelor and Masters degrees in ICT, majoring in e-commerce.

Pav joined Internetrix early in 2012. His first job was to make contact with past and present Internetrix clients and ask them what they thought of the company and our products and services.

Pav’s survey showed that our clients wanted more follow-up from us after a project was completed. It was great feedback to receive. We realised we’d probably shied away from that approach because hard-sell is not our style, and we don’t ever want to look like we were chasing follow-up business and trying to up-sell our services all the time. (“Would you like fries with your website?” is not the way we do business).

But many clients told Pav that with the pace of change in the digital world, they wanted us to help them keep their business and digital presence abreast with the latest technology and trends. For example, websites now need to be designed to work well on i-phones, Android smart phones and Tablets, as well as on PC and laptop screens. And the rollout of the National Broadband Network is opening up all kinds of interesting possibilities for many of our clients.

In response to this, we’ve developed TOUCHPOINT – a free service to our clients that keeps them in touch with the latest developments and us in better touch with our clients.

Pav looks after TOUCHPOINT, phoning clients every three months or so to have a chat about their digital presence, and what the latest trends are. The service includes a free post project Google Analytics analyst report three months after go live to see how effectively the launched project has been working.

It’s not a sales pitch, but rather our way of making sure our clients are getting full value from your investment with us. We don’t want to be just your supplier – we want to be your partner – and Pav is our man to build these relationships.

Those of you who have met Pav will know he is a very sociable person. In fact, he’s taken over the role of social convenor at Internetrix, making sure we all get out and relax with each other after hours as well as work together. He’s been great for team harmony.

And he’s also a very keen golfer, with a highly respectable handicap that hovers around the 9-10 mark. If you’d like to get to know Pav better, just invite him out for a game of golf. He’ll find it very hard to say no!

Online Form Tracking and Optimisation

Mon, 24 May 2010 16:01:00 +1000

Online forms are an important part of most websites. Forms are the main communication channel between visitors and site owners. It’s necessary to ensure that forms are easy to understand and intuitive to use as they help organize and generate leads online. But how can you tell if a form is effective? What parts are visitors filling out? What parts are they not filling out? And how can they be optimised?

Google Analytics can help you answer these questions and optimize forms through customization of javascript tags to allow for tracking of events and virtual pageviews.

The first phase in optimizing forms involves working out a list of possible objections on the online form page and eliminating them. These objections could be quite oblivious, for example asking visitors to enter specific information such as their tax file number or bank account details. Another common client objection exists in relation to the length of forms. It is likely that the longer the form the less likely people are to fill it in.

Once you have eliminated all the obvious objections, the second step in optimizing forms is to then tag the forms with customized JavaScript so interactions can be tracked easily. One way to do this is to use event tracking and make use of the blur() function to track each time a field is completed in forms. If you begin to see lower completion rates for certain fields, then you know that they're affecting completion rates, and the form needs to be reworked.

Once this has been completed you are then ready to begin optimizing forms as you can identify where visitors drop out.

Measuring SEO in 2010

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:54:00 +1000

Search engine optimisation is a preoccupation for just about every business on the Web. If they haven't got it, they want it. If they have it, they want more of it. Research shows that there are around 5 billion Internet searches per month and 135 million unique searchers and that 86% of all Internet traffic is generated through search engines.

In the past businesses have purely measured their SEO based on rankings - the higher you rank on Google and Yahoo the more successful you are likely to be. However, with search engine algorithms changing over 400 times per year this has only naturally developed the need for the way in which we measure SEO success to change. In 2009 the way in which SEO was measured began to move away from solely examining your ranking on a search engine results page for a particular keyword. More emphasis was placed on reviewing traffic coming to your site from organic sources as well as reviewing the quality of traffic. As we move into 2010 new changes to search engine algorithms and factors such as page rank continuously fluctuating and the adoption of personalisation has made SEO more complex. A summary of some of the new trends in SEO that are affecting how to measure SEO are outlined below;

Page Speed – Changes to algorithms require page load times to be decreased
Personalisation – Personalized search is now prevalent, there is a need to cater for this
Social Media – Need has developed to be active in the social media space
Real-Time Results – Fresh, timely content needs to be produced e.g blogging, news

Due to the changes above being made the ways in which we measure SEO has been changed. In order to address this Internetrix has developed a model which moves beyond simply measuring rankings, by taking into consideration other techniques such as the leads generated from your website, idexation and crawl frequency, backlinks and traffic.

Based on the current environment it is recommended that businesses and companies utilise the layered approach illustrated above when measuring SEO success to ensure accuracy of measurements and that the website is serving its intended purpose.

The layered approach is currently being used by Internetrix as part of their SEO services and offerings for more information please refer to http://www.internetrix.com.au/page/services/performance/seo/

Google Wonder Wheel and Timeline

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:44:00 +1000

Google also has a number of other tools that can help you gain insights into search terms such as the Google Wonder Wheel. Google Wonder Wheel was released in May 2009 and can be used to show related search terms based on a term you have entered within the Google Search Engine. The aim of this tool is to provide the user with guidance when completing searches using Google. The Wonder Wheel will display related topics/keywords that they may have originally wished to search for or giving the users options to gain more information through additional related topics. Terms on the outer edges of the wonder wheel can be selected and a new wonder wheel will be generated with the ‘edge’ term the centre of a new wonder wheel.

As mentioned previously the tool was originally developed to help users clarify their searches but it can be used by online marketers and SEO experts to analyse the relationships between keywords that relate to as single topic. In addition to the Wonder Wheel the Timeline tool can also help you gather information. The Timeline displays the number of articles or news posts that have been made regarding different search terms over time. For example if I search for ‘World Cup Football’ the first result on the timeline displays a page with information on the first world cup held in 1930. All these tools can be found by selecting the show options link on the Google Search Engine Results Page then selecting either Wonder Wheel or Timeline under Standard View.

YouTube

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:42:00 +1000

YouTube also can provide you with detailed statistics and data on videos that have been uploaded to their site. Whilst watching a video on YouTube you can select the drop down arrow next to the number of views which immediately provides you with access to a graph showing the viewing history of the video and its major milestones over time. You are also able to view the audiences for the video, with a map showing locations in the world where the video is most popular as well as a list of audiences that the video is most popular with (i.e Male 45-54). All this information can be very helpful if you wish to advertise on YouTube, especially using ‘in video’ ads as it allows you to the number of views a video has had as well as the demographics of the audience.

Google Insights for Search

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:41:00 +1000

Google Insights for Search is a freely available tool which can help you compare search volume patterns over time and across regions and categories. Google Insights for Search extends from the Google Trends tool and provides you with more detailed information for search terms. Searching for a certain term within Google Insights for Search provides you with graphs and statistics on the terms interest over time, major news stories that have occurred recently relating to the term, regional interest in the term, top search terms associated to the term searched as well as rising search terms. The results from Insights for Search can be filtered based on 4 different categories; type of search (web, image, news or product), location, time range and category. Overall the information provided by Google Insights for Search and Google Trends can be used effectively to improve both your SEO and SEM efforts as it can build on information provided by the Google Adwords Keyword Tool adding rich context to keywords identified.

Double Click Ad Planner

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:39:00 +1000

Firstly the Double Click Ad Planner is online tool that can help you improve your online marketing efforts by identifying websites your target customers are likely to visit and then build on this by creating media plans. Once in the tool within the research tab you can search by site or by audience.

Within the search by site you are able to enter URL’s for sites you would like to advertise on and view detailed traffic statistics, statistics on the demographics of visitors (such as age, gender, household income), keywords searched for as well as information on ad placements such as the number of impressions received per day. If you want to understand which sites will give you the greatest exposure you can use the search by audience tab where you can apply filters to identify sites that are frequented by your target audience. Once this is done you create a media plan and can add the sites that are most effective at targeting your audience and implement this in Google Adwords or any other PPC provider.

Internetrix How to Maximize Your Web Presence Newsletter

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:35:00 +1000

This is the first of an ongoing series of monthly newsletters focusing on how to maximize your web presence and improve ROI through you online operations. Internetrix staff recently attended the Google Analytics Masterclass held in Sydney and were amazed at the amount of information that can be derived freely through a variety of relatively unknown Google tools. These tools can be used to help support your Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing efforts. The articles in this newsletter focus on how to select optimal keywords to boost SEO and SEM, as well helping you to identify sites that are most significant to your brand and the audience you want to target when advertising online.

Your probably asking why is this important ? – Well it is of the upmost importance if you are looking to drive visitors to your site, convert them into leads and maximize ROI. Having a high organic search engine ranking as well as running effectively targeted and optimized marketing advertisements can mean the difference between having a highly successful online business and a candidate for bankruptcy.

So read the following articles and find out how you can use some free unknown Google Tools to help you ‘Maximize Your Web Presence’

Double Click Ad Planner
Google Insights for Search
YouTube
Google Wonderwheel and Timeline

Google Analytics - Top Content Report

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1100

Want to find out which pages on your site are viewed most? The Top Content report allows users to analyse individual pages on a site. This is valuable as it can help in identifying pages that generate the most traffic, are most relevant or most interesting.

When analyzing the Top Content report the following metrics are most valuable;

The ‘Pageviews’ metric- this metric is valuable as it shows which pages generated the most traffic, which for majority of sites will be the sites home page
The ‘Avg. Time on Page’ metric -gives an indication as to how interesting content on the page and whether users are taking the time to read the content
The ‘Bounce Rate’ metric – provides an insight into whether the content on the landing page is relevant to what the user is searching for

Analysing these metrics for key pages allows you to determine which pages are working for you and those that require improvements in order to get a response from your audience.

The Top Content Report also allows access to perform actions such as navigation analysis reports and landing page optimization reports. The navigation analysis reports (Navigation summary and entrance paths reports) provide information relating to how visitors arrived at your page and how or where they went when they exited your page (refer to the screenshot below for an example of the Navigation Summary). The benefit of this report is that it allows you to identify sources that point to your page so you are able to tailor page content appropriately.

The Landing Page optimization reports allow you to view information relating to entrance sources and entrance keywords. Understanding which sources your visitors have come from and which keywords they have used to get there you are able to improve quality of landing pages, and in turn improve conversion rates.

Content by Title and Content Drilldown Reports

The Content by Title and Content Drilldown reports provides the same information to that in the Top Content report, however the reports are grouped by the title tag on each page and the directory in which each page resides. Users are able to view statistics on individual pages within each group by clicking on the page title or relevant directory.

Considerations

Users should consider the context in which pages exist when analyzing statistics generated. For example the ‘%Exit’ metric may be over 90%, but further investigation may reveal that this page is a ‘order confirmation’ or ‘receipt’ page where visitors would be expected to leave once a conversion or transaction has been completed.

Implementations for Different Business Sectors

Multi-National Corporations

Multi-national companies can easily view how content developed for different countries is performing.

Domestic Corporations

Can further optimise content for their audiences based on statistics within the content reports

Medium

Provides smaller to medium companies a sophisticated but cost effective way to analyse how content on their site is performing

Public Sector

Organisations within the public sector such as local governments that present legislative/regulatory content can use the metrics provided in this report, such as ‘Avg. Time on Page’ to determine whether the content they are presenting is satisfying the user.

Membership Based Organisations

Can be used to gauge the effectiveness of content aimed at recruiting members

Google Analytics - Total Conversions and Conversion Rate Report

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1100

Tracking goals and conversions within Google Analytics is a key function for webmasters and site owners as it provides quantifiable feedback on how their website is performing, in regard to the business objectives that the site was developed to satisfy.

The Total Conversions report, provided with in the Goals tab provides web masters with a way to analyse when conversions have occurred. The information in this report can be viewed by number of conversions per day or number of conversions per hour. The information on this page is useful to for web masters that wish to determine when most goals are converted.

A hypothetical example of the Total Conversions report in action would see a website owner setting up a goal which relates to a user purchasing an official program (magazine) relating to an upcoming sporting event. The webmaster may notice a massive spike in purchases (conversions) on the day that the sporting event commences.

This report is can also be used by webmasters so they can visualize the affect of experimenting with different content and goal paths over time.

In addition to the Total Conversions report, the Conversion Rate report provides a way to view the rate of conversions per day or rate of conversions per hour. Conversion Rate is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the total number of visits. This report is more geared towards justifying whether the marketing, the site, and content are working together to achieve business objectives.

Considerations

In order to use the Total Conversions report effectively webmasters should take into consideration external events that are occurring that may increase/decrease conversions recorded at certain times, these include events such as the commencement of a sporting event or a change made to the site content.

Benefits for Different Business Sectors

Multi-National Corporations

Multi-national corporations can use this report effectively to understand the days and times when they are generating most conversions if they have set up goals for each country correvtly

Domestic Corporations

Domestic companies could use this report to gain an insight into when conversions are occurring on an hourly basis and tailor their marketing initiatives to suit (i.e If a company notices that it generating a significant number of conversions at about 5pm, each day they modify their Ad scheduling settings within Google AdWords to suit)

Google Analytics - Funnel Visualization Report

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1100

The Funnel Visualization report builds on the information regarding funnel exits provided in the Goals Abandoned Funnels report by providing a more detailed and visual representation of the goal funnel itself. The Funnel Visualization report can help you to see how many visitors move from one step to the next, where they drop out of the conversion process and where they go instead. This report is a very powerful tool for site owners as it allows them identify the weaker pages in a funnel and then go about fixing them to improve your conversion rate.

The funnel visualization report is particularly useful for ecommerce sites. With these types of sites, goals are configured to be the “Thank You” or “Receipt” pages that are displayed once a purchase is made. Once a funnel has been set up site owners can then examine each step/page in the funnel to see where users are abandoning the shopping process. Goal Visualization can also be used effectively on sites that utilise quotes or contact us forms/pages.

Ultimately site owners should aim to have steps in a funnel with a continuation rate of around 80 or 90% as anything below this means that you are losing a significant amount of potential customers most likely due to a step in the funnel that users are finding difficult to navigate beyond.

Users of this report should also be mindful that you need to create funnels prior to receiving data and will only begin working once you have created them. The major workaround within Google Analytics for creating and viewing funnels on the fly involves using advanced segments, but this method does not provide the rich information the Funnel Visualization report does regarding which pages visitors are coming from and which pages they are going to.

Considerations

When setting up goals that involve reaching a certain page ensure to enter the URI instead of the entire URL otherwise your Funnel Vizualisation report will not contain any data.

It is also important when setting up goals that you determine whether the “Required Step” check box is to be selected or not. If you select the “Required Step” checkbox that means that conversions will be captured.