Top 10 things I wish I knew when I started in web analytics. Based roughly on this article that I wrote:
http://june.typepad.com/june/2010/03/top-10-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-started-in-web-analytics.html
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Top 10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started In Web Analytics
1. ACCELERATE 2011 – SAN FRANCISCO
TEN THINGS I WISH I KNEW WHEN
I STARTED IN WEB ANALYTICS
2. About June Dershewitz
• Director of Web Analytics at Apollo Group
• WAA Board Member (2008 to present)
• WAW Co-Founder (2005)
• 13+ Years in Analytics
Practitioner a Consultant a Practitioner
@jdersh at #ACCELERATE
17. Newbie Resources
• Web Analytics Association
webanalyticsassociation.org
• Web Analytics Wednesday
webanalyticsdemystified.com/wednesday
• Analysis Exchange
webanalyticsdemystified.com/ae
@jdersh at #ACCELERATE
Hinweis der Redaktion
I remember what it was like to walk through the door at my brand new job, my very first job as a web analyst, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. In retrospect, what did I wind up learning the hard way? What would been helpful to know up front? What should I have been prepared to expect? With that in mind, here are 10 things I wish I knew when I started in web analytics:Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/errantfool/2631193252/
Figuratively, and sometimes literally.Make friends on both sides of the fence.Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffanddayna/3339502974/
Not just the stats part.Not just the web part. The work you do in web analytics will only make sense once you’ve put it in the general context of your business.Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yospiff/3879736075/
Know your standard web measurement definitions by heart.Recite them concisely for people who ask.They will ask.Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiocrae/4828750972/
Numbers won’t match, they won’t add up, sometimes they won’t even exist.Know how much dirt you’re willing to live with, then accept it and move on.Data quality sucks. Get over it.Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hr_hartley/5492824100/
You will come to see it as a beautiful haiku.You will know it backwards and forwards.You will repeatedly explain its usage to people who need to append campaign codes to URLs.
... it's a file format, every data analyst's friend, and –it doesn’t even need to be comma-separated. Huh.Anecdote about business acronyms: STI and KPI.
Know the support hotline number for your commercial web analytics vendor of choice, and don't be afraid to call.<update this>
Manually-repetitious activities are not a good use of your time, so automate wherever possible. Strive to spend your cycles doing thinking fellers work.Leave robot work to the robots. Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/miabuelanoloentiende/2111000930/
Right now there are other web analysts sitting at their own desks, somewhere between the techies and the marketers.They’re facing exactly the same issues that you are. You will find them on LinkedIn.You will meet them at Web Analytics Wednesday.
From the very beginning, think about where you want your career to go and make every effort to develop in that direction. Your entry-level position in web analytics can/should/will lead to other things, so know what you're targeting and go for it.Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcthetree/4305555118/