Session materials from Blackbaud's Higher Ed forum at Simmons College in Boston; May 5

1. Online Engagement – Using Web Analytics to
Focus Your Efforts
Dominic Taerniti, Internet Solutions Manager
Jeff Terry, Higher Education Account Manager
Read our blog:
www.netwitsthinktank.com

2. Ground Rules
Jeff Terry | Page #2 © 2008 Blackbaud

3. 1) Participate!
Jeff Terry | Page #3 © 2008 Blackbaud

4. 2) Ask Questions
Jeff Terry | Page #4 © 2008 Blackbaud

5. 3) Be Courteous
Jeff Terry | Page #5 © 2008 Blackbaud

6. 4) Enjoy Yourself
Jeff Terry | Page #6 © 2008 Blackbaud

7. A Word From Our Sponsor…
Blackbaud’s Data Management Services
o Located in Cambridge
o Provides outsourced staffing for The Raiser’s Edge
o Database Management
o Annual Fund Performance Reporting
o Segmentation
o Gift Processing & Acknowledgement
o And more…
Jeff Terry | Page #7 © 2008 Blackbaud

8. Agenda for today
8:50 Introductions
9:00 Crash Course in Google Analytics
9:45 Simmons’ Alumni Community
-What does Google tell us?
-How do we interpret the data?
-Simmons’ strategy to drive engagement
12:00 Group Discussion/Sharing of Best Practices
1:00 Lunch
2:00 Wrap up
Jeff Terry | Page #8 © 2008 Blackbaud

9. Introductions
Tell the group:
o Who you are, where you work & what you do
o What you are hoping to get out of this session
o One thing you are passionate about OR your guilty
TV pleasure
Jeff Terry | Page #9 © 2008 Blackbaud

10. Introductions
Tell the group:
o Who you are, where you work & what you do
o What you are hoping to get out of this session
o One thing you are passionate about OR your guilty
TV pleasure
Jeff Terry | Page #10 © 2008 Blackbaud

11. Lets Talk Online Engagement

12. Here’s a list of
Online Engagement
schools doing
online engagement
perfectly
Jeff Terry | Page #12 © 2008 Blackbaud

13. Jeff Terry | Page #13 © 2008 Blackbaud

14. No one is doing it perfectly
Jeff Terry | Page #14 © 2008 Blackbaud

15. No one is doing it perfectly
Jeff Terry | Page #15
Why is that?? © 2008 Blackbaud

16. Who is f*cking it up?
Because, it’s hard...
Jeff Terry | Page #16 © 2008 Blackbaud

17. Because, it’s hard
...And,
sometimes life
comes at us fast
Jeff Terry | Page #17 © 2008 Blackbaud

18. So...Focusing on the activities that
produce results is critical to success
Jeff Terry | Page #18 © 2008 Blackbaud

19. Google Analytics – A Crash Course
Dominic Taverniti, Internet Solutions Manager

20. What is a Metric?
A standard unit of measure.
A measurable element of a process or function.
A measuring system that quantifies a trend,
dynamic, or characteristic
Jeff Terry | Page #20 © 2008 Blackbaud

21. What is a Metric?
Jeff Terry | Page #21 © 2008 Blackbaud

22. Why Do Metrics Matter?
Help you understand what’s working and what’s not.
Gives you insights into your constituents.
If you can’t measure it, then you can’t manage it.
Jeff Terry | Page #22 © 2008 Blackbaud

23. What Online Metrics Tell You
How did they What did How did it
get here? they do? work?
Jeff Terry | Page #23 © 2008 Blackbaud

24. Jeff Terry | Page #24 © 2008 Blackbaud

25. No shortage of data…what is most valuable?
Jeff Terry | Page #25 © 2008 Blackbaud

26. Hits
A request for a file from the web server.
A single web page typically consists of multiple files.
A hit is registered for the page, every image, and any other
files present on that page.
Jeff Terry | Page #26 © 2008 Blackbaud

27. Page Views
A request to load a single web page.
A metric for the entire site or specific content.
A useful metric over a period of time or for a specific event.
Jeff Terry | Page #27 © 2008 Blackbaud

28. Visits
A site visit during a set period of time.
A visit contains one or more page views.
A visit helps understand what people do when they
visit your site.
Jeff Terry | Page #28 © 2008 Blackbaud

29. Unique Visitors
A visit by a unique individual.
A unique visitor is typically based on an IP address or
cookie.
A unique visitor metric helps compare new visitors to
repeat visitors.
Jeff Terry | Page #29 © 2008 Blackbaud

30. Unique Identified Visitors
A visit by a unique identified individual.
A unique identified visitor is tracked based on
information stored in a central database.
A unique identified visitor metric is the ultimate metric
for tracking website visitor behavior.
Jeff Terry | Page #30 © 2008 Blackbaud

31. Other Website Metrics
Referrers
Bounce Rate
Conversion Rate
Click Density
Page View Duration
…..
Jeff Terry | Page #31 © 2008 Blackbaud

32. Google Analytics – Simmons College Alumni Community
Original goals in launching community
Site Objectives
What has worked/not worked
Most active/valued audience segment
Audience targeting - initiatives
Jeff Terry | Page #32 © 2008 Blackbaud

33. Google Analytics
What are the objectives of the site?
Donation
Event Registration
Site Registration
Online Participation - active
Visits - passive
Analysis should lead to actionable steps for improvement.
Jeff Terry | Page #33 © 2008 Blackbaud

34. Google Analytics
Measure Results
Relevant Visits
Conversions / Goals
Constituent Action
Jeff Terry | Page #34 © 2008 Blackbaud

35. Google Analytics
Monitor Trends - tie trends to objectives
Traffic – email cadence, events
Keywords – search engines, on site
Sources – email, social networks
Conversions – do other objective surface
Jeff Terry | Page #35 © 2008 Blackbaud

36. Google Analytics – traffic trend comparison
Furman University
Simmons College
Jeff Terry | Page #36 © 2008 Blackbaud

37. Google Analytics – keyword comparison
Furman University Simmons College
Jeff Terry | Page #37 © 2008 Blackbaud

38. Google Analytics – Simmons College Alumni Community
Jeff Terry | Page #38 © 2008 Blackbaud

39. Giving Page Analysis
Jeff Terry | Page #39 © 2008 Blackbaud

40. Giving Page Analysis
Navigation Summary : 35% go to tertiary pages
• Contact Us
• Make An Online Gift
• Why Support Simmons
Jeff Terry | Page #40 © 2008 Blackbaud

41. Giving Page Analysis
Browser size : http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/
Jeff Terry | Page #41 © 2008 Blackbaud

42. Giving Page Analysis
Actionable Steps
• Move the call to action
• Position above the fold
• Make it the first action
• Include more supporting information
• Contact info, Gift types
• Provide audience-centric navigation
• Fund, Interest-based, Major, Parents
• Use live chat for high touch, personalized service
Jeff Terry | Page #42 © 2008 Blackbaud

43. Google Analytics – Simmons College Alumni Community
Unique Identifiable Visitors
NetCommunity Tab in RE
Jeff Terry | Page #43 © 2008 Blackbaud

44. Final Word: What to Remember
Metrics help you understand what’s working and what’s not.
Metrics give you insights into your constituents.
If you can’t measure it, then you can’t manage it.
Start measuring!
Jeff Terry | Page #44 © 2008 Blackbaud

45. The Market is Noisy
Resources
Extending Google Analytics
Desktop Reporting's Polaris: http://www.desktop-
reporting.com/index.html
Excellent Analytics: Microsoft Excel Plugin :
http://excellentanalytics.com/
TRACKING
URL shortening services:
Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/
Tinyurl.com: http://tinyurl.com/
Google link tracking:
http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/bin/answer.py?answer=5
5578&hl=en
RSS Feed subscription tracking: Feedburner: http://feedburner.com
Extras
Google Browser Size: http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/
Jeff Terry | Page #45 © 2008 Blackbaud

46. The Market is Noisy
Want to learn more? Be sure to check out….
http://interactive.blackbaud.com
http://www.blackbaud.com/connections
http://www.blackbaud.com/netwits
http://www.blackbaud.com/events/webseminars.aspx
Or email your presenter at:
Jeff Terry | Page #46 © 2008 Blackbaud

47. Unique Identifiable Visitor – As Viewed in The Raiser’s Edge
Jeff Terry | Page #47 © 2008 Blackbaud

48. Unique Identifiable Visitor – As Viewed in The Raiser’s Edge
Jeff Terry | Page #48 © 2008 Blackbaud

49. Simmons College Alumni Community
What’s Next for https://alumnet.simmons.edu?
Jeff Terry | Page #49 © 2008 Blackbaud

50. Final Word: What to Remember
Metrics help you understand what’s working and what’s not.
Metrics give you insights into your constituents.
If you can’t measure it, then you can’t manage it.
Start measuring!
Jeff Terry | Page #50 © 2008 Blackbaud

51. Questions
Jeff Terry | Page #51 © 2008 Blackbaud

52. The Market is Noisy
Want to learn more? Be sure to check out….
http://interactive.blackbaud.com
http://www.blackbaud.com/connections
http://www.blackbaud.com/netwits
http://www.blackbaud.com/events/webseminars.aspx
Or email your presenter at:
Jeff Terry | Page #52 © 2008 Blackbaud