Optimizing Websites with Heat Map Analytics

In the largest web browsing study ever conducted, University of Hamburg researchers leveraged ‘Heat Mapping’ web analytics software to record and visualize user click-activity to identify patterns of web usage. This technology is now available at a very reasonable cost for mid-sized enterprises and complements traditional web analytic software by helping marketers improve website usability & architecture.

What are the Benefits of Heat Maps?

• Visualize Data – many organizations have the ability to track website visitor behavior, but few actually utilize this information to make improvements. Heat Maps, which visualize web analytic data, are much more user-friendly.
• Increase Conversions – organizations wishing to generate leads or sales can identify where users are falling-off and make tweaks to their web pages to improve usability and ease of navigation, thus increasing conversion rates.
• No Technical Skills Required – implementing heat maps is very simple and can be done without requiring any deep technical skills. Generally, a small piece of code can be pasted into the HTML of the pages you want to analyze.
• Instant Insights - heat maps show you which components of your website are most popular among visitors, allowing you to focus on items that are adding value, or remove items that are not being viewed or downloaded.
• Cost-Effective – software licenses range from Free to about $100/month, depending on the number websites and amount of clicks you need to record.

Governing your Corporate Website

You have just put the finishing touches on your new corporate website. Before you market your web presence and start attracting users to your site, be sure to implement proper governance policies to reduce the risk of expensive litigation. Use Demand Metric’s downloadable Privacy Policy template, and Terms of Use template as a base-line when creating these essential website policies.

What Goes into a Privacy Policy?

• What Information We Collect – this section outlines what information you collect, including name, contact details, credit information, etc.
• How We Use This Information – the purpose for collecting information.
• Who We Share This Information With - documents who, if any, third-parties will receive information that your organization is collecting.

Free Web Analytics from Google

Google Analytics is a free application that provides website visit statistics, designed to help marketers track and optimize online advertising and search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns. If you are interested in analyzing where your website visitors came from, page navigation, how long they stayed on your site, and geographic location, Google Analytics can certainly help you.

Google Analytics Features:

• Keyword Campaign Comparison – all online advertisements, email newsletters, affiliate campaigns, referrals, paid links, unpaid links, and keywords are tracked so you can evaluate across campaigns and mediums.
• Executive Summaries – reports on traffic, e-commerce, and conversion trends are provided within an executive dashboard. There are three dashboards to choose from (Executive, Marketer, Webmaster) that provide the ability to quickly view & compare revenue, conversions, and campaigns.
• Google AdWord Integration – Google Analytics is accessible directly from the AdWords interface, and automatically populates all keyword & cost data.
• Trend Reporting – the Google Analytics interface provides reporting that compares metrics across time, to guide proactive decision-making.
• E-commerce & Funnel Visualization – if you are running an e-commerce site, Google Analytics traces all transactions to campaigns and keywords, helps identify loyalty & latency metrics, and report revenue sources. The funnel visualization feature helps marketers understand bottlenecks in the checkout process so they can increase their chances of successful conversion.
• GeoTargeting – this feature provides a visual map which highlights where your visitors are geographically located.

Estimating Website Design Costs

As a result of new technology and an increase in competition, the overall cost of a website has decreased significantly in recent years. However, the cost of development is still dependent on functional requirements for your organization.

An experienced developer can provide an estimate based on a breakdown of the hours required to meet your functional requirements. Although there is no standard when it comes to the hourly rate of developers, most charge $50-150/hour.

Cost Estimate Based on Project Size

Small Business

Number of Pages – 5 to 16 Pages+
Graphics – Mostly Stock Photos
Flash – Little or none
Functional Requirements – Web forms, Mostly Informational
Programming – Mostly Templates
Project Duration – 1 to 35 Days
Cost Range – $300 to $6,000

Simplifying Search Engine Optimization

While direct marketing still reigns supreme in the world of demand generation, many mid-sized organizations have significantly improved their ability to generate quality leads with search engine optimization techniques. If you haven’t already, investigate this opportunity to support sales with a steady flow of qualified leads.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Considered by many to be a subset of search engine marketing, SEO is a term used to describe a process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines, usually in “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. Many site owners and consultants engaging in SEO attempt to pursue qualified visitors to a site, and the quality of visitor traffic can be measured by how often a visitor using a specific keyword phrase leads to a desired conversion action, such as making a purchase, viewing or downloading a certain page, requesting further information, signing up for a newsletter, or taking some other specific action.

Key Benefits of Search Engine Optimization:

• Increased Lead Generation – by driving traffic to your website, SEO campaigns can provide an inflow of qualified sales leads. Contact forms, whitepaper/case study registration forms, and online shopping carts can be leveraged to gain contact information (leads) of your website’s visitors.
• Improved Brand Awareness – even if users do not end up clicking through to your website, ranking high in search pages provides an excellent opportunity to increase visibility and awareness for your brand.

Build an RFP for Web Design Services

Many mid-sized organizations are in the process of redesigning their website, but few have the required capabilities to design their website internally. Use this research note to understand the benefits that web design consultants can deliver. Additionally, use Demand Metric’s downloadable Website Design RFP Template to compare vendors systematically based on pre-determined requirements.

Website Design Consulting Benefits:

Consultants are great at focusing the attention of senior executives who can otherwise be difficult to engage. Consider purchasing a Business Requirements Workshop professional service to build organizational alignment on the role & risks of web programs.