I’m excited about this one.
For Immediate Release
For more information, a review copy, cover art, or an interview with
the author, contact:
Kathryn Barrett (707) 827-7094 or kathrynb@oreilly.com
Optimize Your Online Business Through Data Analysis
O’Reilly Releases “Web Site Measurement Hacks”
Sebastopol, CA–Most companies measure their web activity because they
want to know how well their marketing and advertising budget is being
spent. It just makes sense. You wouldn’t want your doctor to recommend a
treatment for you after just glancing at you, or your mechanic to tinker
with your car based on his gut feeling. As Eric T. Peterson observes in
his new guide for beginning to intermediate analytics users, “Web Site
Measurement Hacks” (O’Reilly, US $24.95), “Our entire world is run using
data collected from the environment around us. Why would you think your
web site is any different?”
Until recently, many regarded web measurement as a murky subject loaded
with confusing and ambiguous terminology, that was often considered the
domain of data-loving geeks. But great strides have been made in the field
of web measurement in the last few years resulting in applications that
are easier to understand and use.
“In 2005, web measurement applications are as important to the Internet
business framework as web servers and commerce engines,” says Peterson.
“Few serious businesses spend money online without having a tool in place
to measure the effect of that expenditure, providing data for critical
analysis of the question, ‘Was that money well spent?’”
Peterson also points out that there are plenty of sources for purely
technical information about web data–how to parse logfiles, optimize
server performance, and write cool JavaScript. “Unfortunately, it is
usually the ‘why,’ not the ‘how,’ that leaves businesses hanging,” he
explains. “Web data collection is a simple practice, as is parsing the
data into relatively meaningful buckets. The hard part is the
analysis–figuring out what data is important and what it means relative
to the business problem at hand.”
“Web Site Measurement Hacks” is designed to help readers learn how to gain
insight into how people use their web sites: it offers bits and bytes of
information that can be used to better explore, understand, and unearth
information about how people interact with sites. “There are scripts and
technical tricks,” says Peterson, “but the essence of hacking in this
context is analysis. This compendium of interesting ideas, built upon a
foundation of relevant and important information about how the Web is
measured, is designed to turn you into a sophisticated web data analyst
(or at least push you in the right direction).”
The book comprises 100 hacks written by some of the best and brightest
minds in web measurement today. Among the wide range of topics in the
book, there are hacks to show readers how to:
-Get up to speed on what’s needed to build an effective measurement
program
-Implement a measurement solution that will help them learn about visitors
while respecting their privacy
-Quantify the effectiveness of banner ads, email campaigns, paid search,
affiliate programs, and RSS feeds
-Use technographic data to guide design decisions
-Enhance a retail site’s effectiveness by improving the shopping and
checkout process and identifying valuable customer segments
Above all, “Web Site Measurement Hacks” will help readers better
understand how to get the full value from their investment in web
measurement technology and make better marketing decisions. It was written
for anyone involved in the process of designing web sites or the marketing
and support of products, service, and content through those sites. “We
cover all four major business models: retail, advertising, marketing, and
customer support,” says Peterson. “IT staff will benefit from our hacks on
technographics just as much as marketers will benefit from our hacks on
marketing measurement, or merchandisers from our entire chapter on retail
measurement hacks.” The book is a must-read for anyone charged with
improving or maintaining a web site.
Additional Resources:
Several sample hacks, including, “Best Practices for Web Measurement,”
“Measure Content Syndicated via RSS,” and “Use Key Performance
Indicators,” are available online at:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/webmeasurehks/chapter/index.html
For more information about the book, including table of contents, index,
author bio, and samples, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/webmeasurehks/index.html
For a cover graphic in JPEG format, go to:
ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/0596009887.jpg
Web Site Measurement Hacks
Eric T. Peterson
ISBN: 0-596-00988-7, 405 pages, $24.95 US, $34.95 CA
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
http://www.oreilly.com
1005 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol, CA 95472
About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media, Inc. is the premier information source for leading-edge
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