For actionable web analytics, you need control
One of the lessons I’ve learned as a web analytics consultant is to assess the client’s ability to make changes to their websites very early in the process. Why? Web analytics should produce actionable information, and often involves making changes to the website.
If you are unable to make changes to your website for one reason or another, the value of web analytics diminishes to next to nothing.
Knowing that there is a problem and that things can be improved is not good enough.
If you see your website as an integral part of your business, if you are responsible for its success, you should regain control of it from whoever it’s building it for you.
You should be in charge of its functionality, its information architecture, its content.
You should be able to make changes when necessary. You should not wait for a complete design overhaul, for which the budgets may not be available for another two to three years.
These days, when I’m invited to meet a prospective client, I take them through what to expect. I explain the three key objectives of web analytics as:
- Performance assurance
- Website optimisation
- Insights for new initiatives.
I stress that we almost always identify problematic areas or areas that could be significantly improved. I provide several examples from other client projects: for company x we discovered this, and this is what we have done to improve it by changing this on their website. Then I pop the question: “Will you be able to make such changes?”
I qualify it further: “What would making these changes involve?”
Naturally the answers vary. However, if I feel that the person I am talking to is not in a position to facilitate the implementation of changes to the website, I suggest getting the buy-in of the people who would be able to. Starting the project without this is a recipe for failure.