New York | March 25–28 Custom Event Strategies for the Analytics Pioneer How to See the Insights Trees for the Data Forest Josh Braaten Rasmussen College Associate Director of Inbound Marketing #SESNY
May 08, 2015
New York | March 25–28
Custom Event Strategies for the Analytics Pioneer How to See the Insights Trees for the Data Forest
Josh Braaten Rasmussen College
Associate Director of Inbound Marketing
#SESNY
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Josh Braaten: ContentScientists.com/about
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Not Everything is Tracked Right Out-of-the-Box
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Enter, the Analytics Pioneer!
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Without Analytics Planning and Custom Events
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Some Things That Should Not Have Been Forgotten…
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
…Were Lost.
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Kick Back and Get Ready…
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
…to See the Insights Trees for the Data Forest
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Ready to Become an Analytics Pioneer?
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Analytics Pioneer’s Guide to Custom Events:
• Always Start with KPI Planning
• Avoid Custom Event Mistakes
• Be Disciplined About Tagging Events
• Use Events With Other KPI to Tell the Story
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Finding Your Path by Finding KPIs
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
@JLBraaten
Acquisition
• Who saw it?
Engagement
• What did they do?
Outcomes
• Did they take action?
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tuition
Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tuition
Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree level
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tuition
Outcome KPIs:
• CR% for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• CR% for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tuition
• Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
• Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree level
• Outcome KPIs:
• Conversion rate for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• Conversion rate for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition info
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tuition
• Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
• Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree level
• Outcome KPIs:
• Conversion rate for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• Conversion rate for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition info
@JLBraaten
Almost everything we need isn’t tracked.
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Slide Header Here
@JLBraaten
Two Trees Do Not a Forest Make
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Events Mistakes to Avoid
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Mistake #1: Not Stocking Up on the
Right Events
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tuition
• Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
• Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree program
• Outcome KPIs:
• Conversion rate for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• Conversion rate for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition info
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tuition
• Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
• Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree level
• Outcome KPIs:
• Conversion rate for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• Conversion rate for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition info
@JLBraaten
Custom events can track most of what we need.
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Mistake #2: Veering From the Path
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
There’s No Replacing a Good Event With More Data
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Mistake #3: Being Fooled by Look-Alike Metrics
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
These Metrics Can’t Do What Events Can Do
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tuition
• Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
• Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree level
• Outcome KPIs:
• Conversion rate for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• Conversion rate for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition info
@JLBraaten
When you need an event, you need an event.
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Forging a Path by Tagging Events
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Anatomy of a Google Analytics Event
@JLBraaten
_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'Category', 'Action', 'Label', Value, interaction]);
Organize different types of custom events
Record unique user behaviors and acts
Associate dynamic or static values with events
Attribute optional integer values
Determine if your event affects bounces
GA event method
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
http://rasmussen.co/gaeventplanner
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
I Think It Works?
@JLBraaten
="_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', '"&B4&"', '"&B5&"', '"&B6&"'"&if(isblank(B7),"", ", '"&B7&"'")&if(isblank(B7),if(B8="Yes“ ,", , true", ""),if(B8="Yes",", true", ""))&"]);"
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Events Can Trigger Goals, Too
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Now We’re Cooking…
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Click-Based Downloads
Category research-guides _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'research-
guides', 'download', 'compare-
rasmussen']);
Action download
Label compare-rasmussen
Value -
Non-Int? -
Example:
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Gated Downloads
Category research-guides _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'research-
guides', 'download', 'business-careers']); Action download
Label business-careers
Value -
Non-Int? -
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Affiliate Links
Category Outgoing Links _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'Outgoing Links',
'Ads', 'Blog Sidebar']); Action Ads
Label Blog Sidebar
Value -
Non-Int? -
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Form Errors
Category errors _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'errors', 'email-
address', ‘valid email|ignition']); Action email-address
Label [rule][value]
Value -
Non-Int? -
Credit: Adam Singer http:rasmussen.co/tfbevents
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Embedded Map Engagement
Category maps _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'maps',
'directions', 'bloomington']); Action directions
Label bloomington
Value -
Non-Int? -
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Video Activity
Category Video _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'Video', 'Play',
'How Do You Become a Nurse']); Action Play
Label How Do You Become a Nurse
Value -
Non-Int? -
Credit: http:wistia.com/doc/google-analytics
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Don’t Forget About Other Analytics Sources
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Organic Keyword Rankings
Category rank-tracker _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'rank-tracker',
'keyword', 'url', 4, true]); Action keyword
Label [page]
Value [rank]
Non-Int? True
Credit: AJ Kohn http://rasmussen.co/kohnevents
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Conversion Rate Optimization Variations
Category vwo _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'vwo', 'visit', 'hp-
007-a', , true]); Action visit
Label hp-007-a
Value -
Non-Int? true
Variation A Variation B
_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'vwo', 'visit', 'hp-007-b', , true]);
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking Article Engagement
Category reading _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'reading', 'article-
load', 'url', 100, true]); Action article-load
Label url
Value 100
Non-Int? true
_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'reading', 'start-reading', 'url',
50]);
_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'reading', 'content-bottom', 'url',
25]);
_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'reading', 'page-bottom', 'url',
10]);
Credit: Justin Cutroni http://rasmussen.co/cutronievents
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
But What About Our Tuition Estimator?
• Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
• Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree level
• Outcome KPIs:
• Conversion rate for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• Conversion rate for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition info
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Tracking a Tuition Estimator
Category tution-estimator _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'tuition-
estimator', 'calculate-tuition',
'55116|bu|mark|ba|0|0', 110]);
Action calculate-tuition
Label [zip]|[school]|[program]|[credential]|[grant
s]|[partner]
Value [credits]
Non-Int? -
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
You’re Not Out of the Woods Yet
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Custom Events Can’t Track Everything
• Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
• Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree level
• Outcome KPIs:
• Conversion rate for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• Conversion rate for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition info
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Sometimes You Need Qualitative Data Too
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Now We Have Everything We Need
• Acquisition KPIs:
• # and % of visitors interested in tuition
• % of visitors who use tuition estimator
• % of visitors who view tuition pages
• Engagement KPIs:
• Price interest by program of study
• Price interest by geography
• Price interest by degree level
• Outcome KPIs:
• Conversion rate for tuition calculator users vs. rest of site
• Conversion rate for tuition page viewers vs. rest of site
• Task completion rate for people looking for tuition info
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Telling the Story
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
People Care About Price…
@JLBraaten
…But They Care More About the Outcome
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
3.9%
5.2%
5.6%
6.1%
6.3%
6.9%
8.1%
School 7
School 6
School 5
School 4
School 3
School 2
School 1
Price Interest by School of Study
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Most Segments Improved in Task Completion
@JLBraaten
…But Website Segment D is a Big Deal
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Another Forest for Another Day
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Analytics Pioneer’s Takeaways
• Always Start with KPI Planning
• Avoid Custom Event Mistakes
• Be Disciplined About Tagging Events
• Use Events With Other KPI to Tell the Story
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY
Thank You
@JLBraaten
New York| March 25–28, 2013 | #SESNY @JLBraaten
Josh Braaten: ContentScientists.com/about