The Commerce360 Blog

The idea of having a conversation with your marketplace, of sharing the passion and depth of knowledge inside your company with those outside your company, and of expecting those efforts to create meaningful impact in the new prospects that find out about your business due to word-of-mouth promotion is a staple of the 'marketing 2.0' philosophy.

Unfortunately there are far more blog entries about these ideas than there are good examples of their execution.

tv.winlibrary.com is a fantastic example. It shows how one guy, his buddy with a camera, and a boatload of expertise and passion can differentiate one online retailer from hundreds of others like him, and engage a community (and I'm sure sales results).

Check it out.

(Hat tip to BrandBrains where I stumbled onto this.)

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 1:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just before the Omniture Summit (OMTR) began, the company announced a new professional certification for SiteCatalyst, and that initial tests to gain this certification would be offered during the conference.

Commerce360 Web Analyst Andrew Orsini was among the first to take and pass the test, earning his Omniture Certified Professional status for SiteCatalyst. Andrew had already been certified as an Omniture Certified Professional for Implementation.

Andrew was the first full-time web analyst to join Commerce360, and while he's since been joined by several others he's been the lead in our implementation work and worked on analysis for many of our clients. Congratulations to Andrew on both of these certifications.

“In today’s competitive environment, online marketers are looking for a way to distinguish themselves with current or potential employers,” said Steve Wellen, vice president of client services at Omniture. “The Omniture certification will assure businesses that the professionals they are hiring or staff they have in place have the highest levels of expertise. We encourage individuals that regularly use or plan to use Omniture solutions to gain these respected credentials.”

I too sat down to take the test while at the Summit, but some problems with the WiFi signal in the hotel resulted in the cancellation of that session. This disappointed certain people who thought it would be great fun to tease me were I to fail that test (I had perhaps given the indication that there was no chance of that...). But I'm glad to report that I was able to retake the test later, and while it was sufficiently difficult that I'll admit to being a bit nervous when hitting the final 'submit' button, I did also pass and gain my OCP : SiteCatalyst certification.

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Website analytics is sold as if it's a solution, but it's really a problem. Buying analytics software just means you have to install it, learn how to use it, figure out what reports you want, and the figure out what they mean. And while a good report or dashboard may answer a few questions, a really good one creates a lot more.

It's necessary. It's beneficial. It's useful. But it isn't easy.

Last week at the Omniture conference was incredibly motivating in terms of the potential of website analytics.

But it was also sobering in terms of how much there is to do to get even a fraction of the potential implemented and accurately reported on. Session after session covered big interesting topics filled with possibility that could barely have the surface of their surface scratched in 60 or 90 minutes. And even with a dozen or so sessions there were probably another 100 or so topics not even covered. This industry/technology and our collective expertise is at the 1 yard line with 99 yards to go.

And another interesting note; while all the best minds will tell you it's not about the reports but rather about the analysis, insights, and actions that follow - there wasn't to my knowledge a single session or organized discussion on anything near analysis or the 'process' of gaining insight from of all this tracking. Everything was implied - do this, you'll be able to track that, then "you'll know".

But we all know that the buzz from a new report only lasts a few minutes. Then you stare at it and wonder what you can do with that information, or think of 5-10 follow up questions and realize you can't think of an easy way to get at least a couple of those answers, or have some ideas and need to do some serious work to implement them to test them out. The report may have moved you forward but it didn't get you to any destination.

To be fair there just wasn't time. If you don't yet have the tagging right to even collect the data let alone format the basic reports, insights aren't your most pressing problem. And oh man is tagging and data collection and import still a problem. In fact, what led me to this cheery post is a great post on that subject from my new friend Gary Angel over at SemAngel.

Anyone want to buy an 'Analytics Isn't The Answer' t-shirt? Or have ideas for the clever punchline that should be printed on the back?

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As usual, Jeffrey Eisenberg got me thinking. He was commenting on an interesting post about the cost (and intellectual ingredients) of developing a single landing page, and offered some ideas about indirect costs associated with that page (analysis, testing, etc.) which should also be considered when measuring ROI. He ends challenging agencies to defend their own ROI.

Why isn't there an easy way to collect the fixed and variable costs associated with a web page and then look at the ROI of that web page? Or a campaign?

In Omniture SiteCatalyst it's possible to use SAINT to assign the landing page associated with each keyword in paid search, and then see the expense, revenue, and ROAS. But assigning landing pages to tens of thousands of keywords is A LOT of work. The software knows which landing page each paid click arrived at - couldn't this be automatically populated? (hm, rule-based classifications, there's an idea...)

The problem is harder for other traffic sources. Even if you know the variable costs associated with clicks coming from other sources it can be very hard to get that data into the system. And assigning values in SAINT classifications against the tracking codes doesn't help because you can't do calculations against that data. I'd imagine Omniture Genesis connections properly pass this data from email and some other sources, but it's impractical to assume that you have that level of integration for all traffic sources.

A default classification of variable cost for each tracking code and fixed cost for each campaign name - both of which could be mathematically operated on as calculated metrics - would address this issue.

The idea of assigning a fixed cost to a campaign and having it automagically allocated across all of the activity for that campaign would be very interesting. What if we could see the ROI for a campaign based its direct variable costs, these variable costs plus direct fixed costs, these fixed and variable costs plus an allocation of staffing costs, etc? The numbers may be scary but the honest evaluation of these programs would be quite interesting.

The idea of a page having a fixed cost associated with it is interesting too, although in many cases assigning the combined fixed costs at the campaign level would be sufficient. However it's implemented there's little doubt there is a 'real world gap' between the available reporting in most current analytic software and the way marketers really consider and evaluate these campaigns. Implementing more complete cost accounting would go a long way to close this gap.

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yet-another-dustup plays out as yet-another-clueless marketing agency tries to hide behind a fake grassroots movement. An ASK.com hired agency started information-revolution.org complete with offline-advertising to promote it and quickly got busted.

One commenter on the site got it right: “The only revolution going on here is in the comments”.

So we learn the basics again – the fact that everyone can share their opinion easily and in full public view is where the new power lies. Just because you have the nerve and or money to spread a message doesn’t mean you’re going to control it. You may influence some people but you can’t control the direction that influence goes.

On the surface, the result of this so far has been the name-calling, ask-bashing, and the inevitable apology/explanation. But we must admit that the issue of both Google’s dominance and the difference between search result quality and innovation is getting raised too. The controversy of getting caught has almost certainly raised the profile of the campaign to many times its organic potential.

Like a celebrity checking into rehab as a career move, it’s not hard to imagine getting caught as a strategy. I’m not advocating it, but thinking it impossible would be naive.

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Omniture Summit in Salt Lake City has ended, although the snow on the east coast meant it took many of us a lot longer than expected to get home. The conference was great, and I hope to post a series of comments and thoughts about the content and ideas from the event this coming week.

For now however, I just want to thank everyone at Omniture responsible for putting on what was undoubtedly the best organized and executed conference I've ever attended. Both as a sponsor / exhibitor and an attendee they made everything a pleasure. I spoke with many others during the week and I know my sentiments were widely held.

Here's a brief list of things that made the event stand out:

• The facilities at Grand America were excellent. It's a four-star hotel that is elegant without feeling stuffy, spacious without being sprawling, and even the night manager and security team were good guys (don't ask.)

• Nothing was rushed or short-changed. Buses to the external events ran on infinite loops so you didn't have to feel rushed coming or going, when it became clear that folks wanted to keep going late into the night Omniture planned an 'after-party' to follow a huge night out on the town and kept the entertainment and drinks going well into the early hours, there were an abundance of terminals to check email, laptops and support people in the 'hot zone' help rooms, and more than enough friendly staff to assist with registrations or logistical issues anytime throughout the three-four days of the show. There are many more examples but all of them contributed to a relaxed atmosphere and a real demonstration that they cared more about their guests than saving a few bucks on logistics.

• Giveaways and Goodies. From the Sony Bravia TVs to Dell LCDs to Ski Jackets to Wireless Mouse(s) to Chocolate boxes with handwritten notes to very nice leather portfolios to something that came in a tumi box to ipods, to t-shirts, scarfs & caps and who knows what else I don't know about - there was an ongoing state of real surprises and unexpected expressions of appreciation from Omniture to their clients and partners.

• Details and preparation. Beyond all the planning for the sessions, logistics, gifts, etc., their was an amazing attention to detail throughout. My favorite examples were the projected Omniture logo's on the outside of the nightclub where dinner was held one evening (even though they were only visible for the 10 seconds as people moved from the buses into the club) and even moreso the large printed 'Sweet Dreams' signs which awaited us on return from the event at the hotel entrance along with logo-printed Mrs. Fields Cookies and bottles of milk. I'm sure there were many people involved in all of this, but as far as I could tell much of the credit goes to Mr. Stuart Gold (pictured right).

• The 'ready-to-use' booths were great as exhibitors. The quality and uniformity improved the show, and avoiding the horror that is shipping and setting up a trade show booth was a huge bonus. The events and activities scheduled in the exhibit area as well as the friendly ‘insider’ environment produced great results for us in terms of getting a chance to meet and talk with many attendees.

Beyond the execution of the show, it was again a chance to be impressed by the people of Omniture. They’re the most uniformly customer-centric team I’ve ever encountered, and the generosity and openness of the event clearly emanates from them.

All of the above made it a really great week. Thanks again to everyone at Omniture, as well as the many Omniture clients and Partners we met - together they're building a very lively community, and we look forward to our continuing participation and definitely to next Summit ’08.

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 1:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Commerce360 is pleased to be a sponsor for the 2007 Omniture Summit this coming week in Salt Lake City. Four of us will be roaming the halls - Lucinda Holt, Mike Smalls, Andrew Orsini, and me.

We also have a booth in the exhibit hall area. We'll be talking about how we work with Omniture clients to get the full potential from SiteCatalyst, SearchCenter, and Discover - as well as our complete marketing services offerings. But we'd also appreciate the opportunity to meet and say hello to our blog readers!

The past three years at Summit have been very informative, a lot of fun, and a great chance to meet Omniture users, partners, and staff. This year the event has outgrown the ski resorts where it has been held in the past, with 800 attendees expected. The agenda (pdf) looks great, and with so much going on in the Omniture world we're looking forward to learning a lot this week.

Daytime events aside, we hope the hot tubs and bars of Salt Lake City are ready.

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The quote that best summarizes the goal and opportunity of blogging to me is one which I believe I read at GapingVoid sometime last year:

"The most interesting conversation wins."

It says that if you can simply think of and then articulate the best series of cogent thoughts in your chosen area of interest, that the world will beat a path to your (blog)door. Your ideas will spread, you will gain access to (and in fact become a member of) the 'A' list in that particular circle, and you can then leverage this audience in amazing ways.

There are no costs, no barriers, no limits. You against the world in a surprisingly fair fight.

Today we have another case study.

Avinash Kaushik, who has been mentioned here many times before, is leaving his position at Intuit to become an independent consultant and will become some type of ambassador for Google Analytics as his first gig.

In just over nine months on the strength of his ideas, personality, and dedication alone Avinash has risen to the highest levels of respect and visibility in his community, been able to pursue his passion in terms of a career move, and been tapped by the world's most powerful company (as least as far as we're all concerned) to add value and credibility to their product. If that's not a demonstration of the power of blogging, I don't know what is.

(It's also a fact that Avinash has earned a place as lead singer in the "THE ANALYSTS" a little known supergroup featuring Eric Peterson on electric guitar, Jim Sterne on Bass, Bryan Eisenberg on drums, and Jason Burby on keyboards - famous for their amazing late night jam sessions when the other campers have gone to bed at emetrics.)

Congratulations Avinash. We all look forward to your ongoing blogging and contributions to this marketplace.

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just found out that two of the very best web analytics minds have new books coming out shortly: Avinash Kaushik and Jason Burby. This is great news for anyone with an interest in analytics or online marketing.

Readers of this or any other web analytics blog know that Avinash has proven himself an extremely clever and insightful fellow, leading online thought in analytics with his trinity theory, 90/10 rule, tips for selecting analytics software and vendors, and many other fine posts.

His book, Web Analytics:An Hour A Day is set for release in early May, and can be pre-ordered at Amazon. Based on the great posts he's produced for his blog over the past year, and what I've heard in seeing Avinash present several times (once live and multiple times through the magic of web video/audio) there is no doubt this will be mandatory reading for anyone who wants to be successful online.

It's also worth noting that Avinash is donating all of his royalties and affiliate earnings from the book to some charities which are important to him. Read more about it here, and use one of our links (which use his Amazon affiliate code) or those on his page to place your order so he gets the extra commission from Amazon for his donation. I know we'll be buying these by the dozen for our staff and clients, and encourage you to do the same.

While checking out the Avinash book, I noticed that Amazon was offering to bundle it with another upcoming book from Jason Burby and Shane Atchison. Actionable Web Analytics: Using Data to Make Smart Business Decisions is also bound to be fantasic. Jason and Shane have been way out in front of the deep use of analytics for many years, building ZAAZ into a market leader and (I think) the largest web analytics agency in the US.

We're all lucky guys like this are taking the time to share their knowledge and experience.

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In terms of driving traffic to a website, for a long time there have been five basic tactics: paid and organic search, email marketing, affiliate programs, and banner advertising. There are lots of variants and versions, but just about everything broadly significant falls into one of these categories.

What's notable about this is that significant visitor traffic has not generally come from the non-advertising links on other websites. Say ‘Link’ to an online marketer and what comes to mind is Google-Juice not inbound traffic.

The link has had its back pushed up against the wall recently, as search engine algorithms increasingly limit their value based on context or any evidence that they exist in order to manipulate rankings.

Exacerbating the demise has been the geniuses who thought you could sell links and the engines wouldn’t figure out and filter them. (Of course, their claims of traffic value in those links ranks up there with ‘buying Playboy for the articles’ and ‘invading Iraq to liberate the Iraqis’ in the pantheon of feeble attempts to subsequently mislabel intent.)

But the link is making a comeback. ‘Conversational links’ – from blogs, social media sites, and the broader world of ‘word-of-mouth’ – those created by a person out of a genuine desire to recommend that link to others, are ready to join the Big 5 as a core component of winning online marketing strategies.

We’ve been doing a lot of strategy work lately, for firms ranging from venture-backed startups to mid-sized private and public companies to the Fortune 100. It’s been amazing to see that in each case ‘participating in the conversation’ is not just a likely effective strategy but has become a core component necessary in order to achieve the goals set out for the next 12-24 months. WOM is no longer an option.

(I’m choosing to group all of these techniques – blogging, social media, etc. under the name ‘word-of-mouth’ because I think the conversational nature is what unites them. And it’s great to have another 3-letter acronym to go along with SEO and SEM, but SMM (social media marketing) doesn’t do it for me.)

Beyond our own direct experience, a barrage of news stories and blog posts inspired this post.

Online marketers already have a lot of skills to juggle. Never-the-less, the time when blogs, social media networks, and wide world of word-of-mouth can be amusingly watched from the sidelines is ending.

Posted by Craig Danuloff at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)