Valitics. Web Strategies, Net Results

Web analytics in a vacuum is not effective.  I would even go so far as saying that "analyzing" your data without some sort of context is actually harmful to your ability to make good business decisions. One of the problems I see beginners (and even novices)  have is basing success on some nebulous concept of personal fulfillment.  It smacks of the feel-good approach people take to ad design -- the highest paid person likes it, and therefore it is good.  I am being a bit over the top, but the reality is:  making decisions without context is dangerous. So, here are three suggestions for getting some context on your data.

1- Compare Recent Data to Prior Data

This is sort of a no-brainer, but that's why it is the first one; it is the easiest too.  Some web analytics packages don't allow you to easily compare two time periods (if you have one, nuke it and get Google Analytics or ClickTracks Appetizer).  If you had 8,000 visits this month one way to tell if that is good is to compare it to prior months.

2- Compare Data with Competitors

This is obviously quite tricky, but depending on your industry and circumstances there are ways to get good data.  A critical piece of any website assessment is competitive comparison.  This also includes comparing your site to best practices, industry averages, and general online statistics (more on this later).

3- Compare Your Performance with Reasonable Goals

Reasonable means you have some experience with what drives success on your site, and you can set stretch goals and be proactive about meeting them.  If you have a static site, and you don't focus your resources on improvement this is a meaningless approach.  However, of the three it will be the most valuable in terms of motivating action.