By Massimo Paolini
Analytics is now trendy. As a data guy, I didn’t know it wasn’t in fashion until all the hype around Big Data emerged into mainstream business parlance in 2012. In actuality, the term was first used in a 2008 academic paper entitled “Big-Data Computing: Creating revolutionary breakthroughs in commerce, science, and society.”
Analytics is pushing new frontiers as business must sort through terabytes of information. Given the availability of big data, our short attention spans, and a business’s driving need to synthesize insights quickly, where is the bleeding edge of analytics? And, how does it apply to technical communication?
Moving from Closed to Open Ecosystems
In the past, technical content primarily lived on an intranet, a network or closed ecosystem with limited or controlled access. Information was primarily contained in Word documents, pdfs, pictures, etc., all not easily searchable by algorithms. In this scenario, there was no need to analyze data. In a closed system, users hunted around for what they needed. Not a perfect system, but it worked.
Now with the shift of publishing technical content to HTML on public-facing servers, information hidden to search algorithms is a now a bigger opportunity (or liability depending upon how it’s positioned). You’ve most likely heard the phrase “content is king.” Consumers have a growing appetite for content to answer their burning questions. Businesses are now hyper aware of their visibility in search (e.g., SEO rankings). If an organization’s content isn’t well poised for search, that translates into online invisibility. Now it’s a business viability issue.
Key Takeaway: This is good news for those who create and publish technical content. Forward-thinking companies are now capitalizing on user-centric content (e.g., product data sheets, how-to guides) to help drive awareness, engagement, and sales. With searchable content you can now measure how end-users interact with your content. That’s the power of analytics.
Getting to the Source
Since content—even technical content—is the new business currency, most organizations should be tracking its performance. In an ideal world, you’d be given access to your organization’s analytics so you can view real-time data and mine for gold nuggets you can use to improve the performance of the content you create and edit.
There are a variety of Web analytics tools. Sitecatalyst is probably the best known, seconded only by Google Analytics (GA). On the horizon is Universal Analytics (just out of beta), which will replace GA soon. Yet some organizations invest in more robust analytics solutions to capture all sorts of data (including personally identifiable information via reverse-lookup technology).
Just as content is emerging from closed ecosystems, so will access to data. As you begin your analytics data-gathering journey, here are the metrics that should be on top of your list:
- Bounce Rate—how quickly a visitor arrives and leaves a page. Be aware that analytics programs can define bounce differently. It can be set as “viewed one page and left” or “stayed less than 10 seconds.” The right setting depends upon your industry, target audience, and their sales behaviors.
- Length of Time on a Page—this metric is pretty self explanatory. There is a correlation between time on a page and how content is consumed.
- Number of Pages Viewed—for this number, more is better, especially for complex products or lengthy sales cycles. The more content a visitor consumes is an indication of how engaged they are. Ultimately more engagement can drive sales and profitability.
- Best and Worst Performing Pages—to determine what content is connecting with your audience contrasted with those pages which may be missing the mark.
- Segmentation—all the above information can be viewed at the 30,000′ level. However, if you’re a global company and/or have different target audiences, you’ll want to segment for greater insight depending upon:
- Demographics
- Geography/Language
- Behavior (new vs. returning visitor, frequency/recency, engagement)
- Technology (browser, OS, network)
- Mobile (devices)
- Behavior—to see how visitors flow through your content. On the Web, any page can be a landing page. Meaning, a visitor may arrive on product manual page and navigate up to a product overview or data sheet. You’ll find that a visitor’s path isn’t necessarily linear. Seeing how they trek through various types of content can illuminate how they use the information you write (or not).
- Site Search—is a website best practice. Typically located on every page, it enables visitors to search for specific keywords or phrases within the site. Analytics can be set up to track this piece of invaluable information. Compare what visitors are searching for with terminology used in navigation and content. You’d be surprised at the disconnect between what businesses think their visitors want and reality.
Key Takeaway: Analytics can be a deep source of information. Before drilling down into the data and getting lost in the minutiae, be clear as to the questions you want answered. For example, do you use personas when creating content? If yes, then use analytics to validate your personas.
If you don’t use personas, what demographic or user-behavior questions do you need answered in order to develop them? Lastly, if your content resides in a location where users have to log in, you most likely have access to even greater insight on visitor demographics, behavior, and content performance.
The Bleeding Edge of Search
As mentioned earlier, consumers’ appetite for content to answer specific questions is growing. Google’s search engine algorithm underwent a major overhaul last September by releasing “Hummingbird.” It represents the first major step of incorporating artificial intelligence into online search. Rather than focusing on a specific search term—called a keyword—the algorithm now focuses on search intent where synonyms and geography can dramatically affect search results. For example, searching for “Thai food” on my smartphone while traveling at lunchtime will give me different results compared to doing the same search query via my office laptop.
Key Takeaway: How we search is changing. Instead of using a smartphone’s touch keypad, consumers frequently use Siri or similar voice-activated programs to find what they need. Most search queries are posed in the form of a question á la Jeopardy. Google’s Hummingbird—named for its precision and speed—rewards content that answers a question. So, does your content answer questions? Is it easily searchable for phrases consumers use to typically find content like yours?
Analyzing an HTML5 World
HTML5 is emerging as the new standard for Web content. It’s more flexible than Flash, which isn’t supported on every browser or device. It’s more search friendly, as content isn’t hidden in elements like pdfs or images. By creating integrated and interactive content, users can navigate to the pages most relevant for their query. This improves overall user experience, product adoption ratios and satisfaction ratings.
Key Takeaway: Consumers are demanding relevant content delivered quickly. HTML5 can help deliver beautiful and interactive content that’s device agnostic. Not convinced? Dig into your analytics to find out what devices and operating systems your audience is using. Chances are the percentage of visitors using mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones has increased significantly in the past two years. Don’t be lulled into complacency if your mobile device numbers are in the 10–20% range. The tipping point is coming, and coming up fast.
The Next Generation of Analytics
The world of search is getting smarter, applying artificial intelligence to ferret out search intent rather than word strings. What’s on the horizon for analytics? Expert predict these analytic trends:
- Analytic programs will evolve to the point where a large percentage of digital advertising will be automated. The industry is moving away from cookie-based Web-tracking to a more advanced form of proprietary data collection. Our appetite for big marketing data continue to grow. How much is too much? That remains to be seen. Expect to see more about predictive analytics to help combat fraud and improve the purchasing experience.
- Mobile and geo tracking is the new “black.” The consumption of content across mobile devices is expected to continue its exponential growth. Expect to see further personalization of the Web experience and fine-tuning of the buying experience to the small screen. Some pundits expect mobile devices will generate more Web traffic than desktops by 2014–2015 (www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2013/12/20/experts-speak-2014-predictions.aspx).
- Shift from product centric to customer-centric focus. This should be music to technical communicators’ ears. More brands will embrace their end-user’s perspective rather than their internal view of the business. This translates to how content is organized on a website to availability of how-to content.
- Content and social currency will marry (or at least date steadily). Social mentions are impacting search rankings. Analytic programs will get better at tracking content that’s shared, raising a brand’s online authority.
- A/B and usability testing is gaining awareness and stature. More companies will use scientific testing methods to measure and analyze human behavior. In turn, these insights can be translated into improving Web experience and revenue performance.
Key Takeaway: Technical communicators who have the agility to visualize and navigate the analytic measurement of their content with human behaviors will be well positioned for 2014 and beyond. Content is the new Web currency. Support content is now integral to customer retention and potentially upselling. Analytics can measure the effectiveness of a company’s sales funnel, including the content that drives visitor engagement and purchase behavior.
Putting It Together
I’ve touched upon how online search is changing and that HTML5 is becoming the new gold standard for Web content. Now what?
The value of technical content is rising in business importance. “Content is king,” after all. Product manuals and how-to guides are becoming integral and pivotal pieces of a searcher’s buying decision. Organizations that map out their sales funnel to online content will win the very competitive game of online search. You may want to read up on topics like search engine optimization, keyword research, search intelligence, and analytics trends. There are lessons in these disciplines that cross over to technical and customer support.
Beautiful, relevant, and interactive content is fundamental to visitor engagement. Technical communicators are known to advocate for the customer. Now armed with analytics data, you’re perfectly poised to leverage this new and emerging landscape.
How will you embrace this new big data world?
Massimo Paolini is co-founder and CEO of The Spectrum Group Online, a digital marketing agency located in the heart of Silicon Valley. A self-professed geek, he’s been online since the early 90s, a time before Google ruled the Internet. Massimo is a data guy; he has a knack for turning analytics information into strategic insights for search engine optimization and marketing, content marketing, website management, and more.
