Forrester Research says that the effectiveness of conventional stand-alone web analytics software is limited by the “action chasm.”
The “action chasm” is the delay in action between when an analytics report is generated vs. when it is read, reviewed and acted upon. The longer the delay between metric measurement and corrective action, the more money you leave on the table.
Now, improved analytics technology makes it easier for content authors and online copywriters to enhance web copy and design – in an accurate and timely manner – in response to metrics reports.
This enhanced technology – integrated analytics — enables the analytics software and the CMS to share a common data set. Data-level dialogue between the two applications takes place automatically in real time.
How can integrating analytics software with your site’s CMS help you improve key web metrics such as page views, time on site, conversions, and ultimately revenues and ROI?
If web content, which could be a complete page or block of content, is not performing well, the analytics software reports the under-performing metrics in real time to the CMS. The CMS automatically alerts web administrators that changes are needed.
In large enterprises, it is easy to lose track of who authored original content. Integrating analytics with the CMS enables web administrators to instantly notify authors via e-mail that their content is performing under par and changes are required.
Authors can make immediate changes based on the analytics report. The analytics charts for page metrics can be calendar-stamped with the time and date the changes to the page are implemented. Calendar-stamped metrics make it easier to compare the page performance before and after the changes are made.
We can see on the report whether the improvements to the page in fact boosted the conversion rate. And often, they do: changing headlines or images, adding more keyword-rich copy, or shifting the position of a landing page form can increase conversion rate 10% to 50% or more.
Taking this even further, a fully integrated analytics and CMS can create dynamic profiles of each visitor based on their site actions including pages viewed, forms completed, and documents downloaded.
The CMS can then drive relevant, persuasive content to visitors based on their user profile in real time — virtually eliminating the action chasm. Result: dynamic portions of the site (banner ads, page headlines, forms, case studies) display copy and content that is most compelling to each visitor based on their interests and preferences.
