Customer Reviews

Measuring the Success of Your Website: A Customer-Centric Approach to Website Management

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I can't believe I'm going to be the only fan of this book once its popularity spreads further out of the author's native Australia. It is the best book yet that I have read on the topic of Web site measurement and analysis. Admittedly there aren't that many out there yet on this increasingly hot topic but it is infinitely better than, say, "Web Site Analysis and Reporting" and soon I'll be able to judge how it compares to Jim Sterne's book "Web Metrics" which is just out.

Why do I like it? Hurol Inan, the author, spent eleven years at Andersen Consulting and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, which helps ensure that the focus is a commercial one and based on a wealth of business experience. Furthermore, far from being too `management consulting' to be intelligible and practical, the book addresses operational and implementation issues as well as giving enough technical detail without being overwhelming.

That said, I found the first half of the book, which is more business and marketing in focus, to be superior to the second half which is a little light at times on the operational and implementation side of things. That does mean it is easy to read, however, and communicates the key concepts, practices and approaches clearly and succinctly.

Definitely worth a read. The accompanying Web site is also a good resource of supplementary information including vendor details.

Ashley Friedlein
CEO: e-consultancy
Author: 1) "Web Project Management: Delivering Successful Commercial Web Sites" 2) "Maintaining and Evolving Successful Commercial Web Sites: Managing Change, Content, Customer Relationships and Site Measurement" (pub. Oct 2002)

I am responsible for the web metrics in a financial corporation in California. This is the first book I have come across that brings the much needed business perspective to our online initiatives (not biased towards online marketing and advertising).

Equipped with the ideas and the framework put forward in the book, I was able to influence the direction of our web site. It was full with material that helped me raised the awareness of measurement across our organisation. Additionally, it also provided some starting points towards the implementation of web metrics.

This book is definitely one of the first when it comes to web site management.

I like the style of the book as well. Well written, to the point.

You are not going to find such an useful review of the state of the art in Web Metrics in any other book. The content is clear and structured. Perhaps the only weakness is the length of the book. Hurol Inan has knowledge enough on the subject to expand the information about specific metrics that are just defined, but not thoroughly explained in the book. Fortunately, the companion website helps to expand some of the topics in the book. Additionally, other books on the topic seems more like a presentation of the services provided by the author rather than a true explanation on web metric. Fortunately, Hurol Inan writes in a much more objective style.

In summary, an extremely useful introduction.

The information presented in this book, is like its style and presentation, simple, immediately accessible and implementable.

The book may not apply to highly trained and experienced web designers, but will serve as a terrific information source for non-ICT people that need to get an immediate grasp of the key concepts, the terminology, the possible applications and ultimately in implementing the strategies and ideas.

This is a terrific, and ongoing introduction into this important area of website marketing.

This is a guide anyone can use. Hurol's terminology is descriptive and to the point. The case studies illustrate the topics clearly. His idea's are carefully organised, clearly presented and above all sensible! I have been applying this to a simple web site (currently being designed) and it is generating hundreds of ideas. A must have book for people involved in the design or maintence of web sites.

I am a Web analyst, and I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in, or must report to management about their comapny's Web site. There are other great writers on the subject (Jim Sterne, Bryan Eisenberg, Jim Novo), but Hurol's book has the great advantage of being really to the point. This book WILL help you start an analysis practive whithin your company (which I urge you to do!). Once it's done, move on to the above mentioned authors. The book will tell you about filters (are they important!), actionable metrics, marketing issues, etc. This excellent work is really worth reading.

Hurol Inan has made a unique contribution to understanding the broad sweep of developments in web site measurement. The measurement framework he puts forward definitely ties together the real business and marketing principles with the internet technology. The metrics and analysis techniques introduced have enlightened me about the possibilities of what you can learn from the user activities on web sites.

Measuring the Success of Your Website is informative, concise and easy to understand. Ideal for newcomers to the online environment and a fine checklist for existing online initiatives.

Do you have reliable metrics to illustrate your website is world class?

Was the time and $$ put into your website worth it?

What do clients really want from your website and are you giving it to them?

This book helped me to answer all these questions and more.
If you are serious about ensuring that your website is a success, you must get this book.