Web Analytics Demystified: A Marketer's Guide to Understanding How Your Web Site Affects Your Business [Paperback]

Eric Peterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2004

Web Analytics Demystified: A Marketers Guide to Understanding How Your Web Site Affects Your Business is about the field of Web traffic data and how it can be leveraged to improve one's Web site.

It is a book about making data actionable, about turning information into insight...

Focusing on the data, the tools, and the metrics that are common to nearly every analytics package available today, regardless of price, performance or popularity, Web Analytics Demystified will help you understand which reports you need to be looking at to run your online business successfully. With a focus on key performance indicators (KPIs), broken down by those best suited for each major business model, this book is truly about making your analytics program work for you!

Written by someone who has worked in the field for years, Web Analytics Demystified is as complete a guide to the field of Web Analytics (traffic analysis, log file analysis) as exists today. The author stands on the shoulders of giants like Jim Sterne, Bryan Eisenberg, Jim Novo and Hurol Inan, expanding on each gentleman's ideas on the subject.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I [wrote] the book on why, but this is indisputably the best resource on what, where, when and how. -- Jim Sterne, Author: Web Metrics

Peterson collates a whole range of existing material and presents it as a practical and comprehensive guide for website operators. -- Hurol Inan, Author: Measuring the Success of Your Website

About the Author

Eric T. Peterson is a normal guy who has dedicated some small part of his waking hours to developing vendor neutral documentation on the topic of Web Analytics via the publication of Web Analytics Demystified. Mr. Peterson has worked in the analytics space since 1998 at industry-leading companies like WebTrends (now NetIQ), WebCriteria (now Coremetrics) and WebSideStory.

Mr. Peterson has recently joined Jupiter Research as a Site Operations and Technology analyst, following in the footsteps of Matthew Berk. As of March 1st, 2004 Eric will be working with analytics vendors and Jupiter customers towards continuing Web site improvement.

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Celilo Group Media (March 2004)
• ISBN-10: 0974358428
• ISBN-13: 978-0974358420
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #920,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Computers & Technology > Web Development > Website Analytics

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the top books on the subject, June 21, 2004

By 

Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Web Analytics Demystified: A Marketer's Guide to Understanding How Your Web Site Affects Your Business (Paperback)

I've read the 'classics' by Sterne and Inan, as well as some other good and bad books on web analytics, and this one is among the best.

What I especially like is the way each approach to analytics is thoroughly examined, and the strengths and weaknesses objectively discussed. Some books are dogmatic in their approach, locking the reader into the author's view of analytics. This one differs by giving readers enough information with examples, clearly articulated factors, and other identified best practices to accept compromise solutions based on budget, level of in-house expertise and other considerations.

Another aspect of this book is the way the author cuts through ambiguous terminology that is rampant in the web analytics discipline, which does demystify. The comprehensive discussion of tools, classified by type, is another area where this book shines. There is too much vendor hype that promotes fear, confusion and doubt, and this book cuts through the hype and uncovers what is and is not important, as well as sets realistic expectations.

Using the same comprehensive approach as in other parts of this book, the author covers metrics in great detail. This is, afterall, the essence of web analytics, and the thoroughness and scope of metrics make this book an invaluable resource.

If you need to learn web analytics, select tools to support it, or are a practicing web analytics analyst this book is one which should be on your desk - and given to other team members and stakeholders. It raises the bar in books on the subject and is destined to become a classic.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Narrative introduction to Web Analytics, November 8, 2006

By 

Daniel Waisberg (Israel) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Web Analytics Demystified: A Marketer's Guide to Understanding How Your Web Site Affects Your Business (Paperback)

In this book, Eric Peterson describes the basics of Web Analytics in a story-kind way. The text is very accurate, easy-to-read, and interesting. It is surely a good buy.

However, I prefer by far his book "Web Site Measurement Hacks" (I also wrote a review there), it is much more complete. Additionally, the Hacks are organized in a better way, more web analytics' friendly; I believe that it is more helpful to have a book divided in many subjects and not in an ongoing narrative, that's the way I practice Web Analytics, and I like to refer to a book as my doubts appear (though both styles are valid and important).

I bought both and I like both. But if I had to choose, I would go for the Hacks.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any serious Internet Marketer, July 24, 2006

By 

Carsten Cumbrowski "Carsten aka Roy/SAC & Cir... (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Web Analytics Demystified: A Marketer's Guide to Understanding How Your Web Site Affects Your Business (Paperback)

If you are doing Web Analytics already and use tools like Google Analytics, Web Trends, Web Position Pro, Clicktracks or similar products today, grab this book and get a deeper understanding of the various metrics you have already seen or ignored to this day, because you were not able to apply the results to your business.

If you are not doing Web Analytics, but have an online business and even use methods like PPC Advertisement and/or Search Engine Optimization to promote your products or services, get a copy of the book today and a Web Analytics Solution implemented into you Website "tomorrow".

You are throwing money out of the window every day you wait to get proper tracking and analytics in place. Read this book and you will understand why.