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Stats dashboards for optimising conversions & eliminating fraud.

by Ed on 7th May 2008

In the final part of Stats Faceslap (almost ready for launch) I explain how to create and use a Stats Dashboard, which reveals a birds’ eye view of ALL sales and enquiries, received not only over the web, but also by phone, fax or post (but as a direct result of an initial web site visit).

Many web site owners fail to include those in their calculations when determining web site performance, and in some companies that data can reveal enormous hidden opportunities to sell more.

With that said, the phone, fax and mail don’t feature in my sales — I’m 100% online these days — but even so, as a result of reviewing my entire web portfolio (all web sites) on a single simplified dashboard I’ve seen…

* One web page on one of my sites performing at such an outrageously high level it’s simply ‘begging’ for more more traffic to work at it’s fullest potential. I also know (thanks to stats) that I can safely pay a lot of money to attract traffic directly onto that page (use paid advertising for example) simply because the lifetime value has proven itself over time.

* I’ve seen strong evidence that two of my digital products (sold through separate sites) have been totally defrauded. Hundreds of people have gained access to the download files – through a back-door I hadn’t taken care of. (Have now!)

* And I know which sources of traffic (which third party referring web sites) send me the highest quality leads. I can use that information to get extreme leverage over the coming months (and much to the benefit of those third party site owners also. Win win).

Google Analytics — one of the best free services gives a vast amount of insight into what’s happening on your site, but it doesn’t tell you everything. And sometimes you have to dig to find the gold.

I’ve found the best way of ensuring I regularly review my stats is to have it precompiled for me — by other people (in my case I use outsource workers). That way the time I spend on my stats is all high quality productive time — not unproductively ‘digging and sifting’ through the mountains of data.

A weekly ‘statisical slap in the face’ is one of the best ways of ensuring online sales and marketing constantly improves.

Stats Question Time.

I really don’t know if the subject of web statistics is one you have any questions about, but I’m interested to find out.

Do you have any questions about how to collect and interpret web statistics, and how to use that data to increase sales?

What would you most like to know about the people who visit your site — and why they do — or do NOT — take action while on your site.

Do you know which tools and services to use?

Do you want to know how many offline sales by phone, post and fax are the result of an initial visit to your web site?

Web marketing statistical face slap - StatsFaceslap DVD covershotIf you have any questions about web statistics please leave a comment to this post and I’ll answer each one on Friday.

The best question (at my discretion) gets a free copy of the Stats Faceslap DVD when it launches.

-Ed.

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Article by Ed Rivis

I'm the Amazon 5-star rated author of three books about web marketing, and since 2008 have spoken to more than 4,000 business owners at conferences and seminars around the UK. I've also developed software that automatically generates lead pages and home-study programmes that help small business owners like you generate more sales-leads and win new customers and clients, online.

Ed has written 326 awesome articles.

  • http://www.thekissbusiness.co.uk Karin H.

    Hi Ed

    I love stats – but then I’m a qualified – nerd – bookkeeper at heart ;-)
    For years now I work with statcounter that shows me all kinds of website stats – and IMHO the most important one in there is showing exactly on which search result page on any search engine my visitor found the page he/she landed on.

    Only recently I’ve started to work with Google Analytics and I’ve got some trouble really grasping what the true main benefit of this tracker is.

    I ‘m convinced you know both online trackers very well, so hope you can give my some pointers in how to use Google Analytics better – in a way that I will be more eager to check that instead of going to statcounter every day.

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

  • http://www.morethanmowers.co.uk Juliette

    Hi Ed
    I have a question for you re. stats. that has always bothered me…
    When looking at the average time someone spends on a site what is viewed as an ‘improvement’ to this fig?
    Because I think this fig. could be interpreted in 2 ways – if the visitor is having to dig around in the site for what they require then they will spend longer on the site; however, with improvements in navigation etc. they might find what they need more quickly and therefore spend less time on the site. So in some ways isn’t a reduction of this figure an improvement? I think I kind of 1/2 know the answer to this one (!) in that there probably needs to be a correlation with orders ( we have an eCommerce site) but it always bothers me that somehow a longer time on the site is seen as a good thing. I’m interested to know what your view on this is! Many thanks as always for great information and discussion.

  • http://cindyking.biz/cindy-king-in-the-media-on-multicultural-marketing/ Cindy King

    Hi Ed,

    I must say that you have me sitting on the edge of my chair, just waiting for you book to come out. Literally. Checking for you emails every day!
    And I really like your sharing what you got out of the stats dashboard in your article above.

    My biggest questions:

    What is out there?
    What are the options?
    What can you get out of statistics?
    What are other small business like mine doing?
    When businesses get bigger what do they evolve to?
    Can I get into stats small then move up?
    If so what are the most important things to do first?
    What do I really need to set up in the beginning?
    Is there stuff I need only get into once I know my way around statistics a bit more?

    And this is the answer you will win me with:
    *Please help me choose how to set statistic tracking up.*
    What tool should I use that gives me ultra easy to read info on the screen, and all the main business info I will need as my business grows?

    My websites are new. I’m not techie any way, but I don’t mind learning a little of the stuff behind the scenes.
    My biggest problem is time to do everything – so I do not what to set one tool up, get used to it and find out I need or really want to get something else late on.
    I am VERY interested in the business implications and statistics from a marketing angle.
    It’s been about 2 months since I started tracking visitors on the websites and I now realize I need more. I know I want more – conversion and marketing are main factors.
    But I don’t know what there is out there that can help me.
    Not interested in spending too much time and getting too technical, but if its really good for me I’ll do it.
    Anything that will give me easy to interpret business info, and information to help me get better conversions.

    Now, Ed, having bought your previous book, I know your stats book will give me all of this information and more… I’m very glad you’re doing this now – exactly what I want right now.

  • http://www.sumatrix.com Ed

    Hi Cindy — Stats Faceslap is actually going to be a DVD video programme, (but looking at the pictures I’ve put on my site I see they do appear a bit book-like :-)

    So far, three great comments thank you. (Picking a winner for the free copy of Stats Faceslap is already going to be difficult!)

    I look forward to answering these tomorrow — plus any others that come in in the meantime — and I’ll also announce the winner at the same time.

    Thanks,
    Ed.

  • http://www.acupunctureclinicmarketing.com Burton Kent

    Ed,

    What I’m most interested in is two things:

    1. How to effectively track leads through your sales funnel? For example, if I have an adwords ad, which leads to a signup to my email newsletter, which leads to a sale of my book, I’d like to track all of them through each step. I’m still learning to use Google Analytics for this, but I don’t know its limitations.

    2. How can I use statistics to come up with specific elements to test, optimize and otherwise improve? (Stats in themselves are worthless unless you use them somehow.)

    Thanks.

    Burton

  • Shuaib

    Just a side issue first (in fact the main issue as far as the forthcoming product is concerned):

    It’s midnight now and I am just listening to your FREE Copywriting Gangster instalment (thanks Ed & Paul) and particularly the bit about headlines and I just feel your product title STATISTICAL FACESLAP may just not hit the mark with most prospects (in the sense that it is too short and does not tell enough). Perhaps you might want to consider something like (and use a bit of the car analogy, driving, traffic etc):

    “How to Permanently be on the Driving Seat of your Business & Website & Monitor The Speed, Volume & Quality of Traffic Entering, Purchasing From & Leaving your Site on One Hi-tech Real-time Interactive Dashboard That Then Allows You to Continually Tweak your Marketing Strategy to Super-charge your Business By up to 73.9%!”… or something to that effect!!! (I’m sure you can come up with something much more fantastic than that, but you get my point).

    And so back to the topic of the day: Do I have a question about Web Statistics? Well you guessed it, yes I do, and it’s :
    “How to Permanently be on the Driving Seat of your Business & Website & Monitor The Speed, Volume & Quality of Traffic Entering, Purchasing From & Leaving your Site on One Hi-tech Real-time Interactive Dashboard That Then Allows You to Continually Tweak your Marketing Strategy to Super-charge your Business By up to 73.9%!”?? … which as it happens, may actually end up being the title of your forthcoming product!!

    Do I get a share of the royalties?? (JOKE)

    Good luck with the launch.

    Shuaib

  • Shuaib

    Actually, since we are on the subject can I just elaborate on it just a bit more:
    “How to Permanently be on the Driving Seat of your Business & Website & Monitor The Speed, Volume & Quality of Traffic Entering, Purchasing From & Leaving your Site on One Hi-tech Real-time Interactive Dashboard That Then Allows You to Continually Tweak your Marketing Strategy to Super-charge your Business By up to 73.9% in the Next 29 Days, Guaranteed! Or Double Your Money Back!”

    Thanks!

    Shuaib

  • Shuaib

    One more try (I’m on a roll here!), just to continue the driving/traffic analogy:

    “How to Permanently be on the Driving Seat of your Business & Website & Monitor The Speed, Volume & Quality of Traffic Entering, Purchasing From & Leaving your Site on One Hi-tech Real-time Interactive Dashboard That Then Allows You to Continually Steer your Marketing Strategy to Accelerate your Business To The Top-most Gear Level Thereby Increasing your Turnover & Profit Mileage By up to 73.9% in the Next 29 Days, Guaranteed! Or Double Your Money Back!”

    How about that?!!

    Also a related point: The word Faceslap (while I’m sure you’ve chosen for a good reason as you know your forthcoming product more than anybody else), gives the title a negative tinge. Given human psychology, that negative (and somewhat painful) connotation may actually put off an x% of your prospective buyers, so even if you didn’t go for the lengthy headline as the one above, you want to consider making the title a bit more positive like:
    “Statistical Pulse Continually Monitoring & Improving the Health & Heart-beat of your Business & Website” or something.

    But I re-iterate: you know your product the best, I just hope my comment/s just give you a prospects point of view (which I definitely am, a prospect that is), as to the possibly indifferent shrug some of your clients (especially the fairly new ones like myself) might respond with when they see just the two words: STATISTICIAL FACESLAP (So what? What about it?).

    Don’t mean to be critical, just trying to give some honest feedback. Hope it helps.

    Thanks for listening.

    Shuaib

  • http://www.morethanmowers.co.uk Juliette

    Some other feedback then! I LIKE the name ‘Statistical Faceslap’ – to me it says ‘Wake Up to your Statistics’ – it ‘s slightly shocking and has a sense of something which is right there in front of you that you’ve never recognised before. To me it doesn’t have a negative connotation apart from the fact that you can feel a bit of an idiot for not paying more attention to your stats in the first place. A good name in my opinion :)

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  • http://www.TomBrownsword.com/ Tom Brownsword

    Hello Ed,

    My question is simple: For somebody like me (who knows that he should be doing this but is simply overwhelmed with other stuff), what’s the easiest, least expensive way (both in terms of time and money) to get the stats you need?

    And as a somewhat obvious follow-up, how do you properly analyze them to get the information you need to make changes?

    Best regards,
    Tom

  • http://www.xero.com Lucy

    Hi Ed

    One thing I really want to understand easily from my web stats is a quality versus quantity question.

    By this I mean that its easy to get excited about big numbers of visitors but really I want to ignore that and concentrate on the ‘quality’ visitors who are really looking at what my site has to offer and then of course buying what we are selling.

    So from my stats I want to know how many ‘quality’ visitors we have, how they get to our site, and how we can get more. I want to get stats that focus on the behaviour of ‘buyers’ separate to the general web stats of all visitors.

    Obviously its nice to say we have 1000s of visitors but I’d like to know as much as possible about the ones who end up as customers as they are the most important ;-)

    L

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