To interpret website traffic metrics into practical and more strategic actions need you need to link marketing to business outcomes.

You need metrics that are more linked to business outcomes.  The focus needs to be to identify movements in these areas, product opportunities, product positioning, what builds market traction against the competition, and cultivates customer loyalty. To name a few.

I think most look at activity based and operational metrics and I don’t think they achieve strategic effectiveness.  The focus needs to be on outcome based metrics. Outcome based metrics focuses on market share, customer value, brand equity, etc.  You will need to identify indicators to help determine an outcome and then create a model to predict outcomes.  The indicators  are very important and will need to be perfected.  Here are some metrics to consider;  market growth, customer value, product innovation channel, opportunity channel, market value and other that can be identified for the a specific company.

Measuring traffic metrics to turn into strategic actions is very different than seeing reports on campaigns and Web traffic.  You need to choose metrics and establish a way to monitor them.   How you monitor then will help understand performance, decision making, and align strategy with implementation.

Technorati Tags: analytics, strategic, web traffic

Google has put it’s search index from 2001 and you can search it here, google.com/search2001.html

The first Web company that I started was Group One Studios and it was listed in the search.  Its was also interesting to see fox.com and virgin.com show up in that same search.

Technorati Tags: googlesearch

I was asked the other day by a client why their SSL certificate cost more than $29.99 so I decide to explain the basic differences.

Let’s start off with what is a SSL certificate. A SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is the standard security technology for creating an encrypted link between a Web server and a Web browser. It ensures that all data passed between the Web server and Web browser remains private and secured.

A SSL certificate contains the following information, the domain name which the certificate was issued for, the owner of the certificate, the physical location of the owner and the dates that the certificate is valid.

There are a large number of companies selling secure certificates and I think there are primarily 5 major providers.

* Entrust (Founded in 1994)
* Geotrust (A restarted company in 2001 that acquired the security business of Equifax)
* InstantSSL (Owned by Comodo and founded in 1998)
* Thawte (Founded in 1995 and purchased by Verisign in 1999)
* Verisign (Founded in 1995)

The difference between these companies are the types of certificates, the level of encryptions, the older browsers they support and how much transaction insurance they provide for the certificates.

So what type of certificate should you buy and who should you buy it from? Well that depends on your audience so I’m not going to endorse one or the other because there are different reasons why you would need a SSL certificate. As I go through the following reasons consider it as starting from the lowest encryption level to the highest or strongest. You would start out with users changing passwords, entering ordinary account information such as addresses, then move to credit card processing, and then finally financial services or requiring users to enter private information such as social security numbers.

This should give you a good start in deciding on what SSL certificate you will need.

Technorati Tags: eCommerce, SSL

This was great!!! If anyone has dealt with tech support I’m sure you will find this funny.

http://www.thewebsiteisdown.com

Technorati Tags: Humor

1. Promote Your Business Brand or Identity
You can let people know who you are, where you are and what you do 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. By making information about your business available to millions of people through your Web site, you will be promoting who you are. The internet is an information highway that has no geographical limit.

2. Provide Product and Service Information
The internet will enhance your product and service awareness by providing customers with up-to-date information. Information is a powerful marketing tool and providing information to your customers on how they can benefit from your products and services can benefit your business. Your customers can also know instantly if the product they want is in stock, or when it will be available.

3. Broaden Your Customer Base
Use the internet to expand your business to a great number of potential customers locally, regionally and nationally. If customers see your Web site address, they are more likely to look at your Web site to learn more about your business before making a decision.

Over half a billion people worldwide now have Internet access according to new research from Nielsen-Netratings. As of 2002 there were 165.75 million people online in the United States. That’s almost 60% of the population.

4. Improve Customer Service/Valuable Customer Feedback
Customers expect service and answers. You can provide them with answers to frequently asked questions, diagrams, specifications, product updates, user manuals and other services that can help support your customer’s demands. It also allows you to gather information about your customers by providing online surveys and the ability to personalize information based on their preferences.

5. Cost Effectiveness
Your Web site is a low-cost advertising media when compared to the cost of traditional advertising methods such as direct mail, newspapers, magazine ads, radio and television. Many customers can visit your Web site and continuously use it without a recurring expense.