Presented at Pubcon Las Vegas October 21, 2013 - In this presentation the misinformation contained in digital analtyic reporting and software is explored with the solution on how to dig through the data for the truth

1. Analytics – Logs Don’t Lie
or
Do They?
Alan K’necht
Partner: Digital Always Media
@aknecht

2. @aknecht

3. Including Logs & Analytics Data
@aknecht

4. The Truth
Lies, damned lies, and statistics
– Mark Twain in the 19th Century
@aknecht

5. The Truth
Lies, damned lies, and statistics
– Mark Twain in the 19th Century
• 21st Century
– Nothing has changed!
@aknecht

6. The Truth
Lies, damned lies, and statistics
– Mark Twain in the 19th Century
• 21st Century
– Nothing has changed!
• Statistics are there to prove whatever
you need to prove!
@aknecht

7. The Truth
Computers are incredibly fast, accurate
and stupid: humans are incredibly slow,
inaccurate and brilliant; together they
are powerful beyond imagination.”
– Albert Einstein
@aknecht

8. Lies or is the Data Flawed?
• Putting all your trust in an out of the
box analytic solution = Flawed Data
• Flawed data generates inaccuracies
• Inaccuracies = Not the Truth = Lies!
@aknecht

9. Lies or is the Data Flawed?
• Do you know:
–
–
–
–
Are you capturing 100% of all data?
Are you counting things you shouldn’t?
Who is auditing the data source?
Do you know how your analytic tool:
• Counts Visits?
• Determines Bounce Rate?
• Defines an Unique Visitor?
@aknecht

10. Lies or is the Data Flawed?
• Are you capturing:
– Downloads
– When people click on links to other sites
– Interaction with page objects
• Did they watch the whole video
• Where did they exit from the video
• Broken links on pages (i.e. 404 errors)
@aknecht

11. @aknecht

12. Your analytic tool doesn’t make it true
@aknecht

13. Finding the Truth
• Don’t just rely on your tool
– Learn what makes it tick
– Isolate areas that just don’t feel right
– Get professional help/training
• Customize the installation to track
what you need to track!
@aknecht

14. @aknecht

15. Not What You’re Looking For!
• Customize the out of the box reports
– Report on what’s important to you
• Avoid standard dashboards
– They are what the tool thinks is important
• Educate data consumers
– Too often, they don’t know better
@aknecht

16. Finding the Truth
@aknecht

17. Start Making Changes
• Identify causes for lies!
– Counting the wrong thing
• Exclude internal usage from general reports
• Exclude junk traffic
– Know what you’re measuring & why!
• Page views meaning less for most companies
– Identify what quality traffic is
– Measure quality!
@aknecht

18. Don’t Set It & Forget it!
• Need to review filters regularly
– i.e. did some IP addresses change?
• Are goals/conversions set correctly?
• Are defined segments still appropriate?
• Websites are organic & constantly
changing , you need to change with
them
@aknecht

19. People choose the paths that
grant them
The greatest rewards
for the least amount of effort
@aknecht

20. @aknecht

21. Don’t Be Lazy
The greatest rewards await those who
dig for the truth and never give up. Keep
digging, you’ll find the truth!
- Alan K’necht
@aknecht

22. Thank You
Alan K’necht
alan@DigitalAlwaysMedia.com
@aknecht
Type my name into Google
@aknecht