Web Analytics Action Hero: Using Analysis to Gain Insight and Optimize Your Business [Paperback]

Brent Dykes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2011 | ISBN-10: 032179401X | ISBN-13: 978-0321794017 | Edition: 1

Companies need more than just web analysts and data-savvy marketers to be successful–they need action heroes!

While most of us never battle evil scientists or defuse nuclear warheads, successful web analysts benefit from the same attributes that fictional action heroes embody. As a web analyst, your main goal is to improve your organization’s online performance. You can become an “action hero” by translating analysis insights into action that generates significant returns for your company. How you approach analysis is critical to your overall success.

In this book, web analytics expert Brent Dykes addresses the unique challenges facing analysts and online marketers working within small and large companies, teaching you how to move beyond reporting and toward analysis to drive action and change. Taking a principle-based rather than a tool-specific approach, Brent introduces you to the Action Hero Framework that breaks down the analysis process into three key stages: Prioritize (what to analyze), Analyze (how to analyze), and Mobilize (how to drive action). And he reinforces these topics with real-world examples and practical tips from seasoned analysts at leading companies.

• Defines the type of environment in which action heroes thrive–not just survive–as well as how to defeat the villains of web analytics that stand in the way
• Arms web professionals with a strategic framework for executing online analysis, as well as an arsenal of analysis techniques
• Reveals how companies need to be both data-driven and action-agile to drive business value from web analytics
  

For more action hero resources and information, check out the book’s companion site at www.Analyticshero.com.

"The ideas in this book will take you days (or even weeks) to work your way through, and they fly in the face of the emotional approach to marketing. The question is: would you rather have your competition lead the way with data and science when it comes to reaching your market, or are you going to go first? That's how it is with action heroes--no guts, no glory."
 
-Seth Godin
Author
We Are All Weird

"Don't let the jaunty, breezy style of this book throw you off. Brent successfully - and entertainingly - packs years of experience into these pages along with case studies and insightful help on getting the most out of web analytics, adding value to your company and boosting your career trajectory."

-Jim Sterne
Founder of eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit, author of "Social Media Metrics" and Chairman of the Digital Analytics Association
 
 
 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brent Dykes is a director of consulting at Adobe. He has spent more than seven years as a web analytics consultant at Omniture/Adobe, working with several Fortune 500 companies. Brent is an active blogger for Adobe on web analytics and has delivered more than 20 presentations at various web analytics conferences around the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Adobe Press; 1 edition (December 16, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 032179401X
• ISBN-13: 978-0321794017
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Computers & Technology > Web Development & Design > Website Analytics

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good career advice book, title and subtitle mostly inapplicable March 25, 2012

By M. L Lamendola VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This book can be useful to people in many careers, not just the career of Web Analyst. That statement might seem odd, considering that the title and subtitle say nothing about the Web Analyst career. So before I talk about where this book excels, let's look at where it has some problems.

The target reader of this book is the Web Analyst who works in a large corporation. Most of the text is devoted to the theme of making your case to executives and other stakeholders, so that action can come from your analysis. Thus, the subtitle should be changed to "How to Be a Successful Analyst in a Corporate Environment."

The current subtitle implies that the book is targeted to the typical small business that can't afford to hire a Web Analyst except maybe on the occasional special project basis. The phrase "your business" does not apply to people who are not business owners.

It makes sense that Dyke, who works for Adobe, would have this big company perspective. For the small business, this book is not appropriate.

The bulk of this book pertains to any technical department head, albeit with the backdrop being the Web Analyst. When I was a plant engineer, I knew some of these principles at the start, but had to learn many of them as I went along. They are universal principles that any technical department head or manager should know and practice (emphasizing "should," here).

What this means is if your job involves interacting with senior management, you can disregard the relatively small part of this book that's about analytics and use this book as a framework for better dealing with your management.

When Dyke strays from the career advice and actually "talks shop" about analytics, there is some good information.... But anyone with formal training in analysis already knows this stuff. I'm an MBA and found nothing new here, other than specific examples. Someone who's working as a Web Analyst and doesn't yet know this information is probably in the wrong line of work.

Another problem with this book was it needs proofreading. The text contains numerous gaffes in grammar, along with compositional errors that force the reader into "decipher" mode around strangled syntax and other problems.

I noted I found nothing new in the analysis part. That's the same technical stuff that all MBAs learn, unless they go to really bad schools or don't pay attention. In fact, what Dykes presents about analysis isn't even complete; it leaves out many standard tools and techniques. I think if he wants to write a book on analysis, then he should do that. This is not that book.

If he did write such a book, it would not be merely a rewarming of Google's tutorials on Google Analytics. As good as those tutorial are, they don't teach analysis. They teach how to use the tool itself, the same way an Excel tutorial shows you how to use this or that feature of Excel but not how to create a casino scenario with it or analyze the trend in stock price movements with it. In this book, the reader gets a teasing insight into Dykes' high level of analysis competence. A book that focused on developing this would be most welcome.

The career advice is excellent. I have seen far too many (as in, nearly all) technical folks in all specialties lack the ability to properly articulate the problem, the recommended solution, and the need for action. The standard approach is to hide weak analysis behind jargon. Many even go so far as to totally alienate managers via a condition called Powerpointlessness. This involves convincing people to gather into a room, where they sleep while you drone on and read PowerPoint slides. Why people do this instead of trying to actually communicate, I am not sure. Maybe it's a fear of rejection thing, so they don't even try to communicate.

Something that happens in niche technical areas is the technical experts expend so much effort developing their technical skills that they neglect developing the really important assets that can make them far more effective in their own companies and far more marketable when a recruiter seeks to get them a hefty raise by placing them with another employer. Those are assets such as company contacts (for getting the job done right in your own company), industry contacts (vital to the max), interpersonal skills, presentation skills, and listening skills. And quite often, they have good technical problem solving skills but can't apply them appropriately because they are deaf to context.

Dykes addresses these issues in this book. For the technical expert who reads Dykes' advice and takes it to heart, the book easily pays for itself. That's true whether the reader is a Web Analyst or not.

I hope now it's clear that my problem isn't with the content of the book, but with the marketing of it. The Action Hero part of the title does match the metaphor used throughout, but the book really isn't about Web Analytics. Nor does the subtitle apply to this book. If properly titled and subtitled, this book would deliver on its promise.

This book consists of an introduction and eight chapters spanning 223 pages. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for Solos and micros June 7, 2012

By Karen Tiede VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

If you think "your business" means, "the company that you own / control / manage/ depend on," don't buy this book. If, OTOH, "your business" means, "the company that pays your salary," you might find something useful here.

Given that I belong to the first subset and not the second, I found WAAH to be a waste of time.

Hint: If the people in "your business" regularly use the term "stakeholders" to describe other people within your company, you might find this book more helpful than I did. "Stakeholders" is not a term used in the micro world.

Given that most of the intended audience was probably born in the 1980s and doesn't know that Apple ever crumbled, using the quotation from John Sculley as the opening call-out is at best confusing.

Mostly? This is a book about how to be an analyst who happens to focus on web-driven / web-related data, at a company big enough to have executives, a real marketing department, and all the other functions that go into a significant corporation with +-100 or more employees. If your company's revenues are at the very much smaller end of the SBA's "small business" category (which ends at $50M / year, I believe), keep looking.

I make this point twice because i don't think the description of the book provided in the Amazon listing makes it sufficiently clearly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A great read in a different format May 27, 2012

By James Beswick VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Web Analytics Action Hero is a must read for any digital professional -- whether you're a web analyst, IT professional, marketer, social media professional or website guru. This book provides a detailed framework for how to formulate and analyze website data with the goal of teaching you how to create insights. The best part of the book is profiling internal clients within the corporate and how you can put yourself in their position ultimately tailoring your message to satisfy even the most challenging of clients achieving results rather than becoming frustrated. The case studies used in Chapter 7 are extremely helpful in illustrating key areas and providing take-aways to explore in your business.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for anyone who wants to become a Web Analytics Action Hero May 11, 2012

By Alain B. Burrese TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

If you are a web analyst, or are seeking a job as one, you need to read "Web Analytics Action Hero: Using analysis to Gain Insight and Optimize Your Business" by Brent Dykes. In an interesting and engaging format, experienced web analytics consultant, Dykes, addresses topics that analysts and online marketers need to know to move beyond reporting and toward analysis to drive action and change within their businesses.

Did you ever think you would be reading about Indiana Jones when reading about web analytics? In this book you do. That's what made this book more interesting and engaging than many dry business type books. The action hero slant was fun and worked at teaching the lessons the author wanted to make.

Action hero and superhero jargon aside, this book really does address some serious issues regarding analysis, and using the action hero model just makes it easier to remember and identify with. I mean, what computer nerd doesn't dream of being an action hero? So now, you can be an action hero behind the computer screen doing analysis.

The format and layout of the book also makes it easier to read and learn the information presented. There are interesting quotes throughout the text, graphs, charts, and side boxes illustrate key points and continue to make it an interesting read. (As interesting and analysis can get anyway.) Some of the side boxes are Insider Insights that provide tips from top people in the field. Others contain Villain Profiles that illustrate things to watch out for and how to defeat these "villains."

The book will help someone become an analyst, and it will help analysts become better. It describes the best environment for analysts and provides a strategy for executing online analysis with a variety of techniques.... I especially liked the call for "Action." Data is fine, but the real reason to analyze data is to provide recommendations to act, and to do so in a way that your recommendations are acted upon.

So, while most of the book focuses on transforming data into business insights, the final chapter looks at what a company can do to be more agile and ready for action. I thought that was a very good way to finish the book. Granted, this book has a limited audience. But for those interested in the analyst field, either to enter it, or become better at it, this book is a great resource. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to become a Web Analytics Action Hero.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of the "Tough Guy Wisdom" series. Read more ›