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What Thrivalytics Has Been Up To

dustin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:35:17 +0000

Yes, Thrivalytics has been quiet lately. However, that is because I’ve been solidly busy since January 1st. In January, I began a full-time contract providing end-to-end web analytics and search engine marketing for StrataScale, a startup subsidiary of RagingWire based in Sacramento, CA.

More recently, I have begun employment with Unica as a Technical Account Manager for NetInsight, the web analytics tool which has been positioned as the leader by Forrester Research. I am currently at headquarters in Waltham, MA for training. I begin working from home back in Turlock, CA, supporting our West Coast clients on July 1st.

That brings things up to date. So how does this affect Thrivalytics? Of course, I will be focused on Unica, but I am still available for end-to-end web analytics, SEO and SEM consulting that does not impede my work for Unica. Feel free to contact me!

The Small Business’s Online Presence In A Technically Challenged Geography – Survey Analysis

dustin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:39:46 +0000

Following my recent web analytics and SEO seminar in Modesto, CA, I had attendees fill out an industry survey to get a feel for the use of web analytics, SEO and other online marketing techniques in the California Central Valley. Out of fifteen surveys collected, fourteen were from businesses with fewer than twenty-five employees – small businesses. Because of this, I focused my analysis on these fourteen survey results.

Not surprising, since the seminar was hosted by the Stanislaus County Alliance Small Business Development Center. There was a wide variety of industries represented by the small businesses from bookkeeping/income tax services to hair salons to vacation rental properties to agriculture. There were even a few startups.

One very interesting aspect of the survey was a comparison of online tactics utilized in 2009 compared to what is planned for 2010. The table of results is shown below.

	2009	2010	% Difference
Web Analytics	21%	71%	+50%
Search Engine Optimization	21%	50%	+29%
Email Campaigns	29%	57%	+28%
Online Advertising	36%	43%	+7%
Social Media	21%	57%	+36%
Other	21%	29%	+8%

My conclusion is that my seminar influenced businesses to really want to dive deeper into web analytics in 2010. The next largest increase is in social media, which has been a growing topic of interest in this area during the latter half of 2009. Increased interest in web analytics and social media is followed by search engine optimization and email campaigns. Lastly, online advertising promises small growth and small businesses seem more interested in developing other tactics (which can be done home-grown without spending advertising dollars). It is very interesting to note that online tactic usage will be increasing from 25% to 51% in 2010.

The second part of the survey focused on the level of satisfaction with their business’s online strategy. It is not surprising that 45% expressed discontent with their online strategy.

The last part of the survey asked how important their online presence was to their overall business strategy. Not one respondent replied that it was not important. In fact, two-thirds responded that it was very important, while the remaining third deemed it important.

This survey provided me with the following comforting outlook for 2010:

I am glad to see that online tactic activity is promised to double in the California Central Valley in 2010.
Their is a ton of room for growth.
Although technologically behind, small businesses here DO care about their online presence, which leads me to believe that perhaps larger local businesses do as well.

I hope these survey results give local businesses in the California Central Valley insight. I also hope this provides comfort for other practitioners in similar counties. I would love to hear your feedback.

“Optimizing Your Website For Profitability” – Seminar Followup

dustin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:18:14 +0000

Thank you to all attendees of my seminar – “Optimizing Your Website For Profitability” – hosted by the Alliance Small Business Development Center. I think there were about thirty-five in all.

First, I’d like to apologize that I was unable to cover the search engine optimization portion. In the future, I would love to present a seminar covering only search engine optimization.
I received a lot of great, constructive feedback from the attendees that I will be definitely implementing. Sometimes getting better involves swallowing a lot of pills.
It appeared that it would also be beneficial to do a workshop in which attendees develop a web analytics strategy for their online presence.
I will be writing up an analysis of the industry survey that I administered. Thanks to all who participated.
Lastly, there was a nice write up in today’s edition of the “News from the Alliance” newsletter.

“Do you know how many potential customers can’t find what they need on your website?” These and other thought provoking questions were posed at the most recent Economic Survivor seminar at the Alliance SBDC. Web analytics expert Dustin Wallace of Thrivalytics went on to describe a goal driven process for continually improving any company’s online presence.

Just as a storeowner needs to listen carefully to customers, businesses with websites are afforded numerous opportunities to identify client needs. Informed and strategic usage of Google Analytics and other web tools can create a virtuous cycle, tailoring the site to customer needs. Wallace reeled off a number of strategies and tricks-of-the trade for getting inside the mind of the web surfer. One example – take a look at how the search bar on your site is used and what results come up with these queries.

Bottom line: Now that you have invested a lot of time and money to build and maintain your website, is it paying off the way it should? How do you know? Why not find out?

Free Seminar – “Optimizing Your Website For Profitability” Modesto, CA – Prelude

dustin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:35:44 +0000

I’ve been very busy finalizing my slide deck for my upcoming web analytics & search engine optimization seminar in Modesto, Ca. I received word today that there are over thirty registrants! Even cooler is that I have already confirmed a post-seminar meeting with a high-profile client. I’m excited about the power-packed slides that I’ve put together. Putting my thoughts on slides and then sitting through the excruciating process of making them presentable was not enough. So I sat down even longer to make them slick. Here’s a little taste of my talking points for Wednesday morning and a couple sample slides. To find out more details and how to register, visit my seminar invitation post.

Web Analytics

Establishing the need for Web Analytics
Establishing the need for a Web Analytics process
Thrivalytics four-step Web Analytics process
Practical Insights
- Internal Search
- Visitor Surveys
- Content Distribution
Cultivating a data-driven culture (or getting buy-in)
The truth about online data

SEO

What search terms to target
On-page optimization techniques
Off-page optimization techniques
Discovering valuable search terms

Questions To Ask A Potential Web Analytics Consultant

dustin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:17:25 +0000

If you’ve realized you need a web analytics consultant, here are some screening questions to ask. Many clients are new to web analytics. It is not hard for someone who knows a little bit about web analytics to pull the wool over your eyes. You need to have a solid way to discover their true ability. Fire away!

1. Can you give an example of an outcome directly related to an insight that you provided?

This question is about understanding their analysis capabilities and, more importantly, have they really done any analysis. Many web analysts can provide “real life” examples of how web analytics can help you succeed, but you need to hear how they have actually used it themselves. After all, they’ll be providing the analysis and should have experience digging around.

2. Can you explain an implementation challenge you faced and how you overcame it?

Even if you have capable web developers to handle implementation tasks, it is important that your web analytics consultant have at least a basic understanding of the ins and outs of implementation. If you don’t have developers on staff, then you definitely want your consultant to know more than basic tag placement in the site footer.

3. If a company had no experience with web analytics, what would your strategy be?

It is very important, regardless of technical facility, that your web analytics consultant have a clear end-to-end strategy well thought out. This end-to-end strategy should include starting with business goals to determine a few success metrics. The continuous improvement process is then used to affect these success metrics appropriately. Web analytics needs process to ensure that reporting is not random. There may always be a need for ad-hoc reporting, but a clear method will provide the best results.

4. What are common errors that you have discovered during QA testing (Quality Assurance)?

Web analysts usually use HTTPFox with FireFox or IEWatch with Internet Explorer to perform QA. This is a way of making sure that all the parameters are being sent to your web analytics tool with the proper values. Some common issues are variables not being set properly and improper placement of JavaScript tag.

5. What web analytics tools have you used?

Your web analyst should have experience with Google Analytics, even if it is just on their own site. Google Analytics is the common denominator among web analysts. However, they should be intimately familiar with at least one other platform and hopefully more. If they are certified by a web analytics vendor such as Omniture, that is great also. Beyond the main tools, they should also mention some of the special-feature vendors like Tynt, FeedBurner or AddThis. These vendors provide niche web analytics for behaviors like copy/paste, RSS and social bookmarking.

I hope this has been a helpful list. It is by no means complete, but covers enough for you to understand your potential web analytics consultant’s breadth of analysis, technical skill, strategy, QA and tools. If you have been through the process of hiring a web analytics consultant, do you have any questions or insight to add?

Free SEO & Web Analytics Seminar – DATE CHANGE!

dustin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:12:01 +0000

I have had to change the date of my upcoming seminar to Wednesday, December 2^nd. I have also received word that there are already twenty registrants! The details are repeated below…

“Optimizing Your Website For Profitability”

Want to leverage your website more effectively and boost your revenue? Search Engine Optimization and Web Analytics expert, Dustin Wallace, shares tips, tools and outcomes from enterprise-level experience that demonstrate high value. Learn how to effectively bring qualified search engine visitors to your website and optimize your website for desired outcomes.

7:30am-9:30am, Wednesday, December 2^nd, 2009

1020 10TH St. Ste. 102, Modesto, CA 95354-0851

Located in Downtown Modesto in the Brenden Theater Plaza directly across from Jamba Juice

Also, if you plan on attending my free SEO & Web Analytics seminar, drop me a note via the blue feedback button to your left. I would like to know what topics you are interested in and what your website is. Also, don’t forget to register.

Free SEO & Web Analytics Seminar In Modesto, Ca – Dec. 2nd

dustin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:29:37 +0000

I have just received confirmation on a free SEO & Web Analytics seminar that I will be presenting in coordination with the California Small Business Development Center in Modesto, Ca. If you plan on attending, please register.

“Optimizing Your Website For Profitability”

7:30am-9:30am, Wednesday, December 2^nd, 2009

1020 10TH St. Ste. 102, Modesto, CA 95354-0851

Located in Downtown Modesto in the Brenden Theater Plaza directly across from Jamba Juice

New Website – High Search Rank In Less Than One Month

dustin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:43:01 +0000

Achieving high search rank for a new website is a challenging task. Especially in less than a month. Nevertheless, thrivalytics.com has done just that. As a website optimization consulting practice offering search engine optimization, it is important to be the best example of SEO to clients.

In less than one month from thrivalytics.com launching, it is now ranked #1 for “web analytics modesto”.

It also ranks #4 for “seo modesto ca”. It is also ranked on the first page for variations of these two searches. No doubt, to continue being the best example, I will be working on improving the rest of these related searches over the next few months.

It may surprise you, but this was achieved by only using best practices. With a little bit of competitive analysis and some minor tweaking, I can make significant improvements on related keywords within just a few months.

If you have a new website that you would like high search rank for in less than one month, contact Thrivalytics!