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Developing a Website for an Internet marketing campaign is only half the battle.  True understanding of whether and how an online property is being used by visitors requires regular collection and analysis of Web analytics data.  Key metrics online marketers should be tracking include: 

• How people are finding your site (i.e., via sponsored or organic search, and news/blog posts)
• How many people are taking action based on a site visit, or conversion rate
• How many people are leaving your site after only visiting its  home page (or the bounce rate)

Marketers use a variety of tools to track Web metrics.  For those on a tight budget, Google offers a powerful and free Web tracking tool called Google Analytics.  This software provides basic information regarding conversion rate, search engine traffic and other key metrics.  Installation requires including a simple Web script on a Website.

The Importance of Dashboards

Dashboards are tools marketers can use to better understand how a Website is performing.  In addition to tracking standard Web metrics, a dashboard should provide information linked to key campaign or business objectives.  Once data has been collected, it can be imported into a spreadsheet program for ease of analysis.  See below for a sample dashboard featured in a July 2009 iMedia Connection article focusing on web analytics.

Image Source: iMedia Connection

The CDC Collects Web Data & So Should You

Currently, many health marketing communications campaigns have robust Web components.  Given this, it is critical that campaign managers have in-depth information about how a Web property is faring so that efforts can be adjusted over time.

One health organization that recognizes the importance of Web analytics is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to tracking how individual campaigns are faring online, the U.S. government agency tracks and analyzes incoming and internal traffic on CDC.gov.  The organization publishes a Web Metrics dashbord on its Website on a quarterly basis.  See below for a sample panel from the dashboard featuring data collected during the second quarter of 2009.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention