On The Pavement Case Study for GAIQ Opportunities

Old Fashioned Service Case Study

I thought I would take this opportunity to let any of the visitors to GALearning understand the reason behind this site. This post is inspired by a comment that is frequently made by visitors, “nice site but where do you make money?” Having a revenue model is important to any business but there is usually a pathway (phases) to that revenue model. Let me try and fill in some of the blanks for people that are wondering why GALearning.com exists.

In January of 2009 I retired my 2 year position as web analytics manager for a GAAC (Google Analytics Authorized Company). I had this vision of becoming a company that could take care of setting up and optimizing websites at reasonable rates. Optimizing your website today is easier then it ever was with all the tools at our disposal. That is because the meaning of optimization (SEO) has been redefined into a craft of marketing and conversion. There is no longer the gray cloud of what exactly is optimization? Optimization includes many areas of marketing, research and planning. One of the “MUST have” website tools is web analytics. In my case, I chose Google Analytics in the beginning because it worked well with AdWords. At that time in my life I was managing AdWords accounts for others and realized the need for a deeper analysis. A full integration of Google Analytics into your marketing world without any hick-ups or bumps should not have to be painful at all. It seems for quite a few businesses, getting Google Analytics optimized for your specific marketing needs is still a mystery. So, that is the primary focus of GALearning.com…to help you connect more dots.

We spent from Jan 2009 to May 2009 creating and executing a 5 step plan after testing the market with a “hands on” approach.

Testing Phase

In the test phase I utilized a small local advertising campaign that promoted face to face meetings. Yep, that’s right I wanted to go and meet people because that is the best ways to connect with anyone. Besides, none of your competitors are doing it! I started pounding the pavement with the mission of learning what businesses really think of Google Anlaytics. What kind of guiding hands would be needed to help a business leverage the power of this software? What I learned was not surprising to me. The majority of people I talked to or did business with understood the need but did not know how to implement a sound measurement and analysis plan. I gathered these findings from local advertising and direct sales calls. Here are the results starting from May 2009.

With two of us, we did 20 Google Analytics set ups in May 2009. It does not sound like much but our set up process is very thorough. A few questions that needed to be answered by the client can delay a professional set up for as long as they site on it. E.g. internal IP address blocking. On average a set up takes 3-4 hours (task on time). Our installations covered the gamut of typical installations. After a total of 20 installations we also picked up 2 SEO contracts, 3 WordPress Blog Installations and one AdWords management contract. Due to confidentiality I cannot share any personal data but the results below are all that really matters for the points I want to make.

May 2009 Summary & Test Results

After Installation

We Explain The Following Based on Site Type…

Lead Generation Site

The majority of sites were lead generation. Two of them were using Adwords to push Traffic to their lead funnel in which case the set up process changes. One of the clients wanted a full integration of Adwords and Analytics to be handed over to them once complete. In this case we needed to begin our set up in AdWords and insure conversion tracking code was placed for AdWords along with 2 goal Funnels (3 steps ea.). We also created separate profiles for paid traffic only with a few other filters and modifications made to the GATC (Google Analytics Tracking Code).

The other lead generation sites all included at least one goal. In one case the client needed to be coached into creating a conversion point. My feeling is, every site needs to have a defined purpose which is the foundation of goals and conversion. Without a clear purpose, analytics tools are not as useful to your business, especially if you are using AdWords or any other paid traffic source.

A lead generation site has the primary end goal for a site to simply develop leads by way of phone calls and/or lead forms.

Key Performance Indicators

1. Conversions- The amount of leads you are getting from that all sources of web traffic.
2. Conversion Rate- How effectively your traffic sources are at delivering prime visitors to your site and through your goal funnel.
3. Per Visit Goal Value- This is the value of each visit as they relate to goal fulfillment. You can stack this metric up against the costs of each visitor to estimate whether you are coming out as a winner or loser.
4. Closing Rate- This is not included in Google Analytics but is an essential part of determining the true value of each lead. For example if your sales team gets 500 leads from a lead form and has a very low closing rate from its sales people it may be time to look at changes. Look back at the ad chain from the keyword right down to your sales team.
5. CPA- Cost per acquisition helps you watch costs. With Google Analytics we can track Paid traffic sources such as Adwords, Facebook, Yahoo!, and MSN. The cost to obtain the sale or lead is easily determined with Google Analytics.

Ecommerce Site

We did a total of 6 ecommerce integrations. Four of them were Google Analytics supported ecommerce carts, two of them were a custom checkout forms. One of those two had ecommerce and leads being generated which required Ecom and lead goal funnels (we can actually use ecom to track leads as well). A note to always add goal values in non-ecommerce goals. Then you will see $index and per visit goal value in reports.

There are also filters you may need to apply in your ecommerce set up depending on cross domain linking, third party checkout or sub domains.

With eCommerce sites, the primary goal is to sell products online using a payment gateway. When you have an eCommerce website all the important data is already logged in Google Analytics. A few important Ecom items that are tracked include total purchases, ROI, conversion rate, average order size, total revenue or amount spent on advertising to create sales. When you have enough data collected you can zoom in between the cracks and dig deeper by using both AdWords and Analytics Reports combined.

Key Performance Indicators

1. Revenue- Take a close look at the total revenue, what traffic sources bring the revenue and the highest converting keywords? What are your most popular selling items?
2. Pathways to Purchase- What are the most popular paths a visitor takes to purchase (goal funnel)?
3. Abandonment Rate- What are the highest abandonment pages in the goal funnel?
4. Per Visit Value- This is the value of each visit as they relate to goal fulfillment. You can stack this metric up against the costs of each visitor to estimate whether you are coming out a winner or loser.
5. Visits to purchase- Learn about the buying cycles of your website visitors.
6. ROI- Comparing AdWords spend to Analytics Ecom data will give you an idea for your return on investment.
7. CPA (Cost per Acquisition) – Google Analytics does not have a metric for this. We can use the AdWords conversion tracker to give us all the information needed to determine the precise revenue required for each sale.

These factors closely examine revenue generated.

Branding Site

A total of 4 Branding sites were configured. One of them we had a series of sequential pages that lead to a white paper download. We created a goal funnel for that along with a virtual page view for the PDF file as the last step to goal. For that same account a (filtered) social marketing profile was created to measure their success with Twitter, Facebook (paid only) and a few other networks they were prevalent in.

Key Performance Indicators

1. AdWords and Search Engines- Look Closely at: CPC (if Applicable) and Organic Traffic
2. Visitors- The traffic for brand lift sites can also be analyzed easily by keeping an eye on bounce rates, loyalty, and time on site, visits, and pages views. ‘
3. Top Content- What are your most important pages? For brand lift sites traffic sources, top count and visitors are gong to be your favorite metrics.

I did not include test test phase as a phase in the plan because its’ the way I work. I always test the ground before I make my plan to move forward. What I learned here really gave me some insights into where we can go with this. I will not discuss any prices here but the truth is Google Analytics installation prices have very little consistency in the marketplace. I attribute that to the growth, potential, experience, and discovery of website analytics. There is plenty of foundation now to offer a great service for Google Analytics professionally integrated. The difficult areas for most businesses are filters, expression, goal configuration, advanced segmentation and methods to find meaningful data.

GALearning.com Business Plan Summary

Phase 1

Create a site with a simple site layout. The design is web 2.0 with emphasis put on readability and usability. The site will have a list of the most commonly asked Google Analytics questions that clients asked of me as a GAAC. The core design will be the shell design for all other phases. I think it’s important in a business plan to identify the biggest misconceptions or myths and answer them truthfully.

Phase 2

Document all necessary steps required to implement the Google Analytics tracking code and configure each account in an optimized fashion. Because there are so many variables along with a few limitations Google web analytics software has, a smart form was developed for determining the needs of every website. This form is the key to any installation you do. Once you answer all the questions and click submit, a recipe is given to you on how to proceed with that specific site. Workflow documents are created in Mind map, Google Docs and MS Project formats (only available to working individuals).

• Google Analytics Tracking Code Introduction
• Google Analytics Tracking Code Installation

These are the basic steps we follow.

Phase 3

Develop a complete wireframe map to the Google Analytics Interface. This will be used to help new and existing users navigate through reports and reference in our web based user’s tutorials. It starts with viewing a video or direct navigation to the flowchart view, then you can click each metric and dimension for an explanation. After the wireframe map went live we also produced an expandable PDF file of the Google Analytics Interface.

Phase 4

Compose a broad level view of the most effective ways to generate traffic to your website. The white papers include Organic ranking, Google SEO, Social Marketing, Wireframe website design, and Google Analytics. The idea here is we connect more dots. I believe Google Analytics is a primary tool for doing that. This internet marketing brief is intended to be general and not too technical, enough to give a reader the general idea on how traffic drivers can potentially work for them. They can all be tracked in Google Analytics not to mention phone calls, radio/TV or direct mail.

Phase 5

Grow a network of competent Google Analytics qualified Individuals that can follow a process, learn, grow, contribute and make money. Think of GALearning as a way to help people that need help with free information the information created in the prior phases. From my experience in the business world there are many small, medium, and large businesses that just want you to handle the tasks. As of today I have opened the registration for GAIQs. The GAIQ would be called in to implement code, troubleshoot, or possibly do a face to face meeting with a prospect in your area. There are terms and conditions you will be asked to sign if you are hired to perform tasks. In the beginning, GAIQs receive immediate exposure on our blog with a link back to their site.

The goal here is to create a network of professionals that are qualified in Google Analytics. This elite network can develop local clients through lead generation at very affordable rates. GAIQs will perform all work required supervised by a GAIQ and retired GAAC. Yes, we do have a marketing plan for attracting international traffic

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