【Foreword】
Tools are an indispensable element of website analysis. But how to choose a satisfactory tool is not that simple. Frankly speaking, I am not the best adviseer on the topic of tool selection. After all, the tools I have used and what I know about are limited. There are too many tools for website analysis, so my discussion on this topic will definitely be biased. However, the ardent expectations that my friends constantly have for me make me have to talk about this topic without being nervous.
Yes, there are too many website analysis tools, and I cannot help you choose all the tools. Therefore, the tools in this article are all mainstream website analysis tools, and for some specific or specialized tools, I may Mentioned, but not highlighted. The tool we are referring to here is a complete and mature website analysis solution, not just a piece of software.
If you have any questions and want to share, please leave me a message in the message area. Thank you everyone!
【Acknowledgments】
Dear friends, I don’t know if you are waiting for my new article, or if you have more questions, but I know that I agreed to the various needs of many friends, but failed to make appointments for too long. Let me pay it back slowly. 2010 has passed, and many unforgettable experiences have occurred in this year. Special thanks to Karen from Qunar (for your constant attention, support and inspiration, thank you! At the same time, please help her solve a question that I can’t answer well), Mr. Jiang Wentao (the most trustworthy and reliable friend, thank you for your Valuable experience, find time to drink (and juice)), Ai Song from Zhonghai Interactive (you are always so helpful when I need it, thank you!), Angela (thank you for your arrangement, so that I can have a happy time) sharing), SEO masters Xiaoshuai (Nanqi) and Robin and Shaowei, Shen Tongyi Butcher, Mr. Gong Xin, Daniel Mars, Baidu’s Tianfang, Mr. Wang Yuquan of Frost & Sullivan, Miss Luffy of Innovation Works (you are now speaking The speed is really fast!), Vincent and Tenly from AdMaster (I have never doubted your talent, now is your chance to break out!), Peter from Cellbikes (see you in Australia after the Spring Festival!), IBM’s friend Frank (I wish you the best) Find a better job as soon as possible), Intel's customer Kai Nan (when will we discuss interstellar?), Air China's Xiao Cai, Lenovo's customers Zong Hui and Cheng Hao, L'Oreal's Wenwu baby, OMG America's Elin (you agreed to my request Oh, I hope to see you again in Chicago), my good brother Dayou, Youmi.com, Wu Kai and Chidori from Xiao Ai Statistics, two Davids (David Chen and David Wu)... and website analysts who I get along with day and night. My wonderful colleagues in the field (Vyse, Lillian, Karen, Michael, Darryl, John, Louis, Suraj, Oliver, Kobe, Ling, Ann...) and all my friends who have helped me in various ways (sorry I cannot mention With all your names, it’s really hard to recall a year at once, but thank you so much!). Of course, the most important thing to thank is all my readers. Your support has allowed my blog to reach this stage safely. 2010 was not an easy year for me. I survived constant changes, fought seriously against depression, lost some things I was proud of in life, and continued to seek some answers to life through hard work and travel. A lot. But finally I firmly believe that I can make myself happier and happier, and extremely fulfilled. I have not even squandered a single minute of my life this year, so I can smile at the end of the year. This feels really good. There are still many hopes and goals in 2011. Keep working hard and keep working hard.
The articles and documents I promised my friends to participate in the case analysis have not yet been sent out, and they will be sent out before the Spring Festival. The pioneering work in 2011 comes back to talk about website analysis tools. A friend named Zhuxiao who works in ShopEx in the QQ group asked me many questions about this aspect very persistently. I believe your questions represent It solved the doubts of many friends. Now let me answer slowly.
Some friends have complained that my articles are too long. I decided that starting in the new year, all my posts would be shorter. Break long articles into shorter articles and publish them in more installments. Everyone seems less tired, and I can write more leisurely. :)
Start with needs
Yes, there are too many website analysis tools. What kind of tool should I use?
If you asked me this, I would be speechless because the tool you use depends on your needs. The needs of website analysis are usually very segmented. Maybe there is a particularly important need that you are particularly concerned about, and only a certain website analysis tool can meet this need, so you should choose this tool. If you want me to choose a tool for you (frankly speaking, I am not happy to do this), then you should talk about your needs and the situation of your website, instead of asking me directly: Which tool do you think is better?
Any tool in this world that can be made and has a certain user base will not be a "bad" tool. If you think it is not easy to use, 80% of the time it is not that it is not good enough, but that you have to use it from the beginning. The positioning is wrong.
Don't ask about the quality of a tool until you know your needs clearly.
Correspondence between needs and tools
Now everyone’s question may be, if I know my needs clearly, how should I choose a website analysis tool? Don’t worry, let me take my time. Due to the complexity of the requirements, I will help you sort out several common websites and their requirements, and then look at what kind of website analysis tools correspond to them.
Type 1: Small e-commerce website
I think that from the perspective of website analysis, the definition of small e-commerce websites should not be based on the size of the turnover, but should be based on the number of product categories. Relatively speaking, the more categories there are, the more complex the website analysis will be. An e-commerce website with no more than 50 categories should be considered a small e-commerce website.
However, if a small e-commerce website asks me what website analysis tool I should use. I would still say that there should be no difference between the tools used by large e-commerce websites, that is, if possible, commercial paid website analysis tools should be used.
E-commerce websites emphasize several key requirements: conversion path analysis, marketing effect analysis (which also includes the familiar origin analysis), key page analysis, product category analysis, cross-sales analysis and customer segmentation. During the testing phase, A/B testing is emphasized. None of this is possible with free tools.
However, you will say, after all, my website is still small, we can get started slowly. I agree that if you have absolutely no experience with website analytics, it’s actually okay to start with a basic free analytics tool for a small e-commerce website. The basic logic of website analysis is to pick the lowest hanging fruit first. If you want to pick the low-hanging fruit, you don't necessarily need a fancy website analysis tool. The so-called lowest-hanging fruits refer to the most obvious problems, such as poor landing pages, poor end-to-end conversions (not considering the process for the moment), and disproportionate sales and visits to products. I feel like some of these can be made even without a website analytics tool. Another basic logic of website analysis is to never miss the forest for the trees. Start from end-to-end, start with the big picture - these tools don't need to be very powerful, and then break down to the details - this requires more powerful tools.
Small e-commerce websites should first ask themselves a few questions when choosing a website analysis tool.
Do I know nothing about website analysis? If so, and you don’t have time to learn it, then don’t choose free tools, find someone who understands it, and find the service staff of the tool supplier to explain it to you.
Do I have a dedicated website analyst? If I do, and he is familiar with commercial tools, then it is okay to try commercial tools. Otherwise, if you want to use commercial tools, be sure to find a good consultant - let him help you analyze a running case, and then tell you how he used this tool to complete the analysis. This method is the fastest way to learn website analysis.
Do I have a clear understanding of the current problems with website and Internet marketing traffic? If I don’t have this understanding, first use good free tools to find problems with the website. Without a doubt, I recommend Google Analytics.
Can data that cannot be obtained by free analysis tools be obtained through other methods? For example, the sales volume and amount of goods, such as the number of items added to the shopping cart but not completed at the end of the sale, etc. It is indeed difficult to obtain this data using website analysis tools such as Google Analytics, but after all, the website is yours. If you can get this data, it will actually extend the effect of Google Analytics.
Is there such a state? - I already know that there is a problem. For example, I know that there must be a problem with the form page where the shopping information is filled in, but I don't know where the specific problem is. At this time, you may need more in-depth analysis (segmentation). In this case, free tools may not work. You should use paid commercial tools, and you must explain your problem to them specifically and let them Provide technical solutions to solve this identified problem.
My feeling is that small e-commerce websites should not try to eat a big fat one in one bite. It’s important to master the phases and rhythm. When you don’t know anything, start with free tools, learn some basic knowledge about website analysis, and understand the definition and classification of traffic; then, use free tools to discover obvious problems on some websites and define some key indicators related to performance; Then, more and more problems began to be discovered, and when it came time to dig deeper to discover the truth and solve these problems in more detail, I started using paid tools. If you feel that the problems discovered by free tools have been very clear, or the problems discovered have simply exceeded the possibility of being solved by current resources, then you should use free tools for the time being.
There are two (strictly speaking, three) website analysis tools for small e-commerce websites that I recommend: Google Analytics (the best choice for getting started with website analysis, a free tool) and Adobe SiteCatalyst+Discover (a solution for e-commerce website analysis) More comprehensive and flexible, paid tool). I'm afraid I'm biased. If you think you can use other tools well, please suggest them.
Regarding the key analysis needs of e-commerce websites, whether various tools can meet them, and to what extent, I will explain them in detail later in the tool analysis of large-scale e-commerce websites.
Okay, that’s it for the first episode, and I will continue with the analysis needs and corresponding tools of various websites later. In addition, the resource allocation and price structure related to tools will also be discussed, as well as some misunderstandings in selecting tools. This article is ready for at least 4 or 5 episodes! If you have any questions, please feel free to discuss them!
Original address: http://www.chinawebanalytics.cn/how-to-choose-web-analytics-tools-1/