There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about behavioral targeting, especially since Yahoo acquired BlueLithium for $300 million earlier this month. (Click here to check out my story on the deal.)
But how does behavioral targeting and web analytics fit together? Anil Batra gives it a good explanation in his blog. He writes, “Web Analytics provides insight into visitors’ behavior. But insights are only as good as the actions that come out of them. Behavioral Targeting is one of the (better) ways to make those insights actionable.”
I agree wholeheartedly, Anil. You predicted it and you nailed it on the head. Of course, the key now is overcoming the clamor of privacy advocates who don’t like the concept. I spoke with the Electronic Privacy Center’s chief and he was dead set against it. (Click here to read that story.)
Of course, this isn’t the first privacy battle and it won’t be the last. And that’s not even the point. The point is, as Anil succinctly put it, that insights are only as good as the actions that come out of them. Web analytics meeting behavioral targeting is a profitable meeting.
Dennis Mortensen introduces a term called “report surfing.” He defines it as “an unfortunate behavior in the usage of Web Analytics tools and one of the greatest sins one as a Web analytics practitioner can do.” In essence, he’s talking about browsing the canned reports with no real agenda.
I agree. This is a sin. He also talked about how to avoid it. Click here to learn from his insights.
In the meantime, what’s your opinion? What are the most dangerous Web analytics sins?
There’s a good article at e-advertising new source ADOTAS on The Web Analytics Revolution.
“The Web analytics industry has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years. The rise in prominence of relatively easily deployable tag based systems has catapulted the industry into the mainstream and everyone from the smallest mom & pop operation, right up to giants like Comcast & QUALCOMM, have embraced the discipline. The extent to which their analytics programs integrate within their existing business of course differ greatly, but whether it’s Joe’s Crab Shack down the road or a global corporation with thousands of employees, the ultimate goal remains the same: performance insight.”
According to the writer, the revolution is being driven by:
Accessibility
KPIs vs. FGRs (Feel-Good-Reports)
Integration
Awareness
Check it out- Full article