Combine Web Analytics With E-Mail

What many marketers don't realize is that Web site behavior information is exactly what you need to get accurate return on investment reporting, combat list fatigue and improve the relevance of your e-mail campaigns.

By working with your e-mail service provider, you can place Web analytics tracking codes into your HTML e-mail content.  This will fool your Web analytics system into thinking your e-mail content is just another page on your site, and you'll get revenue reporting, click paths and all the other analytics reporting - but for your e-mail campaigns.

Your Web analytics system will reveal detailed per-campaign revenue data, typically down to the individual subscriber.  You'll learn what links in your e-mail content actually make money, and exactly which customers are spending it.

You'll also see who hasn't completed a transaction - when an online customer browses your site and places an item in a shopping cart but then abandons the process.

Your Web analytics system will give you an opportunity to reach out to that customer, to encourage him or her to resume the shopping process. You can also find out what pages individuals visit from your e-mails, how often they visit and at what time.

Depending on your analytics program, you can also determine demographic interests - how different groups of visitors interact with your site. You can follow and respond to trends, and monitor activity in specific timeframes. All this information will help you better plan your campaigns, and better address your customers' wants and needs.

To make your integration as simple as possible, be sure your e-mail service provider offers automatic, seamless integration between your HTML e-mail and your Web analytics program.

This will enable you to focus your energy on strategy and creative, rather than technical headaches. Then you can take advantage of your Web analytics and e-mail integration to the fullest.