How to Use Web Analytics to Develop an Online Business

The landscape for web-based businesses is changing. As more and more small to medium sized companies realize the potential of the internet and begin to incorporate an optimized web presence into their overall business model, the investment of resources will demand justification via concrete measurement of ROI. The relative newness of the internet marketing industry (for the general business population) means that – oftentimes – promises are made and go unfulfilled. Many online marketing agencies operate within a “black box.” Other agencies attempt to illustrate successes with self-interested measurement rather than corroborating efforts to direct and concrete returns that make business sense.

Web analytics should be used to develop an internet business – as long as the measurement is not self-interested and data not hidden – ensures that a company’s investment of resources is accompanied by concrete assessment of business value. Internet development agencies that hold long-term profitability as a goal and that operate with forethought should realize the undeniable value of offering services that either (a) add to the top line or (b) cut from the bottom line of a client’s financial statements. This is the intent of actionable web analytics – translating the data that is captured into definite and certain business terms … using the data to corroborate a client’s investment of resources with top/bottom line, dollars and cents results.

Agencies that operate with integrity and honesty have no problem offering their clients transparency when it comes to resources invested versus benefit derived. When long-term profitability is the goal – and if an agency aims to be in business well into the future this should be the case – services that are value-adding are the only services that should be paid for. Internet marketing does not work for all websites. Online business development does not work for all companies. For certain verticals and for certain budgets, a move into the online arena just doesn’t make sense.

It becomes increasingly important, then, to perform a competitive landscape analysis prior to any investment of resources. And once the investment has been made, it is critically important to be partnered with an agency whose primary goal is to make your business (and not their own) a success by translating their efforts into factual business terms: dollars & cents, or ROI. In other words: an honest interpretation of benefit derived.