Web Analytics and SEO Explored

According to IMC Lesson 1, web analytics first came to existence in 1995. For five years, the market grew rapidly. Certain companies analyzed clickstream, others used web blogs and some used browser tags as a solution to a service. The market grew from $140 million to $400 million in the first five years. Over the next few years, the companies consolidated the market and standardized certain products. The web blogs that one company used have now become standard to every other company. By 2007, the integration of social media became a standard also. Other platforms include mobile devices, gadgets and widgets. These make it easier for the blogs, podcast and other social media content to be displayed. Currently, the integration of the semantic web is in process. This is building relationships between the content and the content creators.

Web analytics is essential in the marketing world today. Consumer behavior is an important aspect that businesses use to shape their campaigns. Web analytics is the process of analyzing this behavior, specifically on business websites. The information is given back in real-time allowing companies to change their campaign instantly.

It gives companies a general idea of what works and what doesn’t on their website and what could potentially interfere with the goal of the website. With the instant updates of analyzed information, companies can continually change their website to better target their customers. More specifically, it can create a more user-friendly online experience.

Some of the data provided include the number visits, visitors, the amount of time spent on certain pages and the amount of time spent on the site in general (Kaushik, 2010). Companies can turn this information into successful website management. This is important so businesses can increase their customer engagement and possibly be able to predict consumer behavior. This will allow for a better-rounded website and campaign experience. While analyzing the web metrics is essential, pairing that with search engine optimization or SEO helps enhance that experience for the company and the brand.

SEO is an important part of a company’s marketing strategy. According to the SEO Moz Beginner’s Guide to SEO, search engine optimization can be defined as the practice of improving and promoting a web site in order to increase the number of visitors the site receives from search engines. It can be used in a variety of ways. One aspect is optimizing the website for a given keyword. These are the words entered into Google or other search engines that can be found on your website. This is a main way the search engines find a website and put them into the results.

Showing up on the first page of results is very important for a brand. However, showing up as the number one result is even better. According to an article on Clickz.com, being the number one result on a search engine is 53% better than just being on the first page. After that 53%, the rest of the 47% were spread out among the other results. So 87% of organic clicks belong to the top five results. Since being number 1 is highly rated, it should be a number priority for companies and brands.

Web analytics and SEO work together to provide advanced data to companies and brands. When used correctly, they can optimize their brand online presence and ultimately enhance their customers' experiences.