Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Context is Queen – Module 10


While this graph does show us a lot of data, without proper context, we cannot convert that data to useful, actionable, information.

To do so, we could do several things, including:
   
        1.     Segmenting the data to include breakdowns like visitors from search, direct traffic, PPC, etc.
 
   2.     Compare the data to the same time period for 2011.
a.     This would give us a year-over year comparison of the numbers.
 
   3.     Use the contextual data already provided by Google to derive certain outcomes.
a.     For example the various averages or % of totals already provided.

Using these techniques, one can provide context to the data, and help convert it to information that is useful to management. For example, if segmenting the data shows that one sources performed markedly better in June (say PPC), and then suddenly organic traffic makes a strong surge to surpass PPC in July and August, we would want to dig deeper and figure out what changed and why. This would help us determine what resources should be devoted to specific advertising mediums.

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