How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Hubbard explains how to "find the value of intangibles in business." An excellent book and one which should be on every manager's book shelf.
Hubbard has made what can be a deadly dull subject interesting and accessible. I found several examples for measuring exactly what I needed and always felt I could not measure. This book is a must read for leaders including the Master Six Sigma Blackbelt on your staff. Finding the value of intangibles in business has always been a challenge. How to Measure Anything is full of practical ideas for getting to a measurement.
Measurement: reducing the uncertainty. As long as we are not willing to accept a best guess, or educated estimate, or range of possibilities for a difficult to measure item we will not move forward. Our decisions will be flawed. Hubbard put forth these four assumptions which I found to be most useful when thinking about measuring:
1.Your problem is not as unique as you think
2.You have more data than you think
3.You need less data than you think
4.There is a useful measurement that is much simpler than you think.

Numbers can be used to confuse people; especially the gullible ones lacking basic skills with numbers. Therefore we, as leaders, must be committed to making sure the whole organization is data driven and understands the way we can reduce uncertainty through the straight forward techniques Hubbard explains. As he states, "The fact is that the preference for ignorance over even marginal reductions in ignorance is never the moral high ground."
Hubbard gives us a very useful check list for a Universal Approach to Measurement:
1.What are you trying to measure? What is the real meaning of the alleged "intangible?"
2.Why do you care -- what's the decision and where is the "threshold?"
3.How much do you know now -- what ranges or probabilities represent your uncertainty about this?
4.What is the value of the information? What are the consequences of being wrong and the chance of being wrong, and what, if any, measurement effort would be justified?
5.Within a cost justified by the information value, which observations would confirm or eliminate different possibilities? For each possible scenario, what is the simplest thing we should see if that scenario were true?
6.How do you conduct the measurement that accounts for various types of avoidable errors (again, where the cost is less than the value of the information)?
I especially enjoy the approach Hubbard takes to quantify the cost of making measurement based on the value of the information obtained. Too often, I have seen projects founder on either inaction to get data which would be of great value and little cost or, perhaps, the exact opposite -- spending great amounts of time and money to obtain relatively useless information.
To emphasize: After reading Hubbard's excellent book on `How to Measure Anything,' I was able to immediately solve several measurement challenges for my CEO and Business Owner colleagues. This book makes accessible measurement techniques that have eluded many of my colleagues. It should be on every manager's desk. - Dave Kinnear, CEO dbkAssociates, Inc. and Vistage Chair.

Click Here to see more reviews about: How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business

Praise for How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business"I love this book. Douglas Hubbard helps us create a path to know the answer to almost any question in business, in science, or in life . . . Hubbard helps us by showing us that when we seek metrics to solve problems, we are really trying to know something better than we know it now. How to Measure Anything provides just the tools most of us need to measure anything better, to gain that insight, to make progress, and to succeed."-Peter Tippett, PhD, M.D.Chief Technology Officer at CyberTrustand inventor of the first antivirus software"Doug Hubbard has provided an easy-to-read, demystifying explanation of how managers can inform themselves to make less risky, more profitable business decisions. We encourage our clients to try his powerful, practical techniques."-Peter SchayEVP and COO ofThe Advisory Council"As a reader you soon realize that actually everything can be measured while learning how to measure only what matters. This book cuts through conventional clich?s and business rhetoric and offers practical steps to using measurements as a tool for better decision making. Hubbard bridges the gaps to make college statistics relevant and valuable for business decisions."-Ray GilbertEVP Lucent"This book is remarkable in its range of measurement applications and its clarity of style. A must-read for every professional who has ever exclaimed, 'Sure, that concept is important, but can we measure it?'"-Dr. Jack StennerCofounder and CEO of MetraMetrics, Inc.

Click here for more information about How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business

Read More...

Data Mining and Predictive Analysis: Intelligence Gathering and Crime Analysis Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)From a technical perspective you won't find details about what algorithms are used and how to implement them in the real world. I came to this book looking for some field applications of DM, Instead a found a very interesting introduction to the kind of decisions related to crime prosecution and prevention without deep technical details.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Data Mining and Predictive Analysis: Intelligence Gathering and Crime Analysis

Click here for more information about Data Mining and Predictive Analysis: Intelligence Gathering and Crime Analysis

Read More...

Complete Web Monitoring: Watching Your Visitors, Performance, Communities, and Competitors Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book will change the way you think about your online business. From page performance, to conversions, to user experience, to social media, "Complete Web Monitoring" covers the gamut of tools, techniques, and services that exist today to help you truly optimize the success of your online business.
The book breaks down all online business into four categories: Media, Transaction, Collaboration, and SaaS. Throughout the book, as you learn about the various flavors of analytics, usability, surveys, page performance, monitoring, online community management, collaboration...and how all of this fits together...you are given specific, direct, and actionable steps to take that apply to your specific business model. For example, "Transaction" businesses must focus on conversions, uptime of the checkout process, and what customers are saying about their products. "SaaS" companies should focus on the performance of their most common paths through the application, popularity of specific features, and the user experience of the holistic product.
The amount of data and the number of tools at your disposal are overwhelming. At times this book is rather overwhelming. Choosing between an analytics provider, a monitoring service, or a social media tracking service could keep you from actually accomplishing real work. Sometimes too much choice and too much data is a very dangerous thing. It's important to remember to step back, remember the goals behind your measurements, and focus on solving the problems of your customers. With that in mind, the lessons learned in this book will help you zero in on optimizing those end goals.
"Complete Web Monitoring" is valuable for the same reason it is difficult to categorize. The various tools and services that you learn about are generally used by many different departments across an organization, all for very different reasons, generally without any sort of collaboration. What you realize reading this book is that there is a lot more to the success of your business than the limited visibility you get from using these tools independently. To truly understand how your business is doing, and how you can improve not only revenue but also how you build your business, you need a holistic picture that includes data from numerous sources. "Complete Web Monitoring" gives you more then anything I've come across previously in giving you the tools, pointing you to the techniques, and teaching you to focus on what is most important.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Complete Web Monitoring: Watching Your Visitors, Performance, Communities, and Competitors


Do you really understand your online presence? Are you confident that visitors can use your website? Do you know their motivations? How do online communities perceive your company? To innovate and adapt your business quickly, you must know the answers to these questions.Complete Web Monitoring demonstrates how to measure every aspect of your web presence -- including analytics, backend performance, usability, communities, customer feedback, and competitive analysis -- whether you're running an e-commerce site, a community, a media property, or a Software-as-a-Service company. This book's concrete examples, clear explanations, and practical recommendations make it essential for anyone who runs a website. With this book you will:



Discover how visitors use and interact with your site through web analytics, segmentation, conversions, and user interaction analysis
Find out your market's motivations with voice-of-the-customer research
Measure the health and availability of your website with synthetic testing and real-user monitoring
Track communities related to your online presence, including social networks, forums, blogs, microblogs, wikis, and social news aggregators
Understand how to assemble this data into clear reports tailored to your organization and audience

You can't fix what you don't measure. Complete Web Monitoring shows you how to transform missed opportunities, frustrated users, and spiraling costs into online success. "This is a very comprehensive view of just about everything one needs to know about how websites work and what one needs to know about them. I'd like to make this book required reading for every employee at Gomez." -- Imad Mouline, CTO of Gomez

Click here for more information about Complete Web Monitoring: Watching Your Visitors, Performance, Communities, and Competitors

Read More...

Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-By-Numbers is the New Way To Be Smart Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Is it a new brand of cereal? Or maybe it's a granola bar, or a chunky peanut butter spread? Then again, could it be the latest infomercial exercise device designed to give you the six pack abs you've always dreamed of but know in your heart of hearts you'll never achieve? Actually, it's a book - the title a product of the very methods the book describes. Here's what SUPER CRUNCHERS says.
(1) Mathematical regression models generated from large datasets often generate better predictions than human experts, and they provide supporting information on the predictive weight and reliability of each explanatory variable.
(2) Well-crafted experiments using randomized trials and control groups provide good market research and behavioral analysis results.
(3) Technological advances - the Internet, massive data storage devices, rapid computation, broadband telecommunication - are making it possible to share more sources of information and create ever-larger databases for analysis.
(4) Today's companies engage in multiple forms of market research by creating and using large databases and large-scale randomized trials.
(5) Many phenomena conform to normal distributions in which 95% of the population will be found within two standard deviations of the mean, the5% balance generally divided evenly in the two tails.
That's it. I just saved you $25.00 U.S. and a half-dozen or more hours learning how a guy from Yale named Ian Ayres collected a bit of information about applied mathematical techniques that have been in practical use for decades, packaged them up, palmed them off as something new, and cooked up the ridiculous name Super Crunching to describe an ostensibly new technological development. Yet "Super Crunching" is nothing more than the author's marketing hype for a couple of standard mathematical methodologies, a creation of nothing from something. There's no new breakthrough here, no new paradigm.
Yes, the anecdotal information about the future prices of wine vintages, Capital One's teaser offerings, and evidence-based medical diagnosis are interesting (hence the two stars rating). The rest, however, is neither prescriptive nor sufficiently critically analytical. Should we go out shopping for a Super Cruncher tomorrow? Should we delight in the increased accuracy of data-driven modeling and prediction, or should we fear the implied manipulation of our desires and the incessant, single-minded drive toward maximum profit at the expense of creativity? Do we really want movies and books to be developed from mathematical models like Epagogix? Do we really want our every keystroke on the Internet to be fodder for market research that manipulates us in response? John Kenneth Galbraith, among others, warned of exogenous, manufactured demand decades ago.
SUPER CRUNCHERS is part business tome, part econometric paean, and part sociology book, but not fully any of the three. No matter how many time the author uses words like "cool" and "humongous" and "amazing," it's still regrettably a "No Sale" even for someone like me who enjoys reading about applied mathematics.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-By-Numbers is the New Way To Be Smart

Click here for more information about Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-By-Numbers is the New Way To Be Smart

Read More...

The Deciding Factor: The Power of Analytics to Make Every Decision a Winner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a great book if you have a need to sell executive leadership on the usefulness of extracting additional value out of organizational data.
I bought this book with great anticipation as I have been on the search for books that describe how to leverage data analytics within business...I kept waiting for the punchline. There were many references as to how decision analytics can drive efficiency gains and revenue, yet no noticeable mention of how to go about doing it. It read like a subtle sales pitch as to why you should hire Fair Issac to help you get there. There was barely enough technical jargon included to even go start researching descriptive and predictive analytics models. I found myself going to wikipedia and reading about this subject, then going back to the book, waiting..In protest, I refused to read the last 5 pages.
There's value in the book for those business leaders that have absolutely no knowledge of the topic, which is why I gave it 3 stars. Just don't go thinking that it provides any insight as to how to start extracting that value.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Deciding Factor: The Power of Analytics to Make Every Decision a Winner


Praise for The Deciding Factor

"Both companies and governments have made some poor decisions recently, and almost all would benefit from more fact-based and analytical approaches. This book provides clear methods and extensive examples for organizations that want to make better, faster, and more consistent decisions."-Thomas H. Davenport, author, Competing on Analytics, and President's Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management, Babson College
"The secrets of the decision-making processes employed by the most successful corporations of the world are revealed in The Deciding Factor. Both corporate decision makers as well as analysts will gain invaluable insights from this treasure trove of case studies and expert guidelines." -Robert Heller, former president and CEO of VISA U.S.A., and former governor, Federal Reserve Board
"Information, used correctly and creatively, can be a source of tremendous customer value, competitive advantage, and company profitability. The Deciding Factor will help you understand if you have this opportunity, and how you might seize it."-Nigel Morris, co-founder, Capital One Financial Services
"There has never been a more important time in business history to truly understand both the technical strengths and conceptual weaknesses of decision analytics. If you're prepared to be serious, The Deciding Factor offers the insider's insights that matter when managing innovation risk."-Michael Schrage, author, Serious Play, and research associate, MIT Sloan School of Management

Click here for more information about The Deciding Factor: The Power of Analytics to Make Every Decision a Winner

Read More...

Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Brian Clifton's Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics should, for all intents and purposes, have the term "Advanced" in bold, possibly in a gigantic type font with fun colours and exclamation marks.
The first 3-5 chapters start innocently enough, and if you have been involved in web analytics or read any other material on the topic you will find it largely rehashes what you already know with a few nuggets of gold throughout. For instance, Brian's discussion as it pertains to Google's tracking of data and its privacy implications offers a wonderful metaphor relating to personal identifiable information, though his emphasis curiously seems to be trying to convince the reader, rather than positioning it as a tool that one can use to assuage stakeholders or individuals who are not sold on analytics.
Chapter 4, which aforementioned is innocent enough, gives one a glimpse of what is to come when Brian delves into a discussion on regular expressions (in order to filter data via GA's inline filter). If you are unfamiliar with a command line interface, advanced search expressions or anything of the sort, good luck. Even if you are, this section comes WAY out of left field and perhaps could have been saved for later, but the information itself is useful and I've been utilizing a number of the expressions ever since.
Chapter 7 is where this book really begins, and Brian starts it off by giving an in depth explanation of how Google tracks pages and summarily applies that logic to show how one can track things like dynamic URL's (rewriting them along the way), tracking file downloads, partially completed forms (cool stuff), and E-Commerce settings (with some neat tricks and workarounds for frequent issues and problems), Flash, and a whole host of things. All of this is done very clearly, but if you don't have some technical aptitude/background, you're going to struggle.
After the largely technical Chapter 7, Brian shifts back into a less technically focused discussion on best practices, including a fantastic write up on goals and funnels (including excellent examples for both). His knowledge and ability to write in a clear form is particularly visible when he discusses segmentation, which, while other authors have done a good job championing, Brian, at least to me, easily blows them out of the water. If you're not technically inclined, this is a great section, though you may still be a bit perturbed by the depth of the filter settings.
Chapter 9 is worth the purchase of this book alone, IF you can follow it. For reference, it's prefaced with the words "In this chapter I assume you have a strong understanding of JavaScript" and it holds true. In this chapter you learn a whole whack of cool things, and I literally have a pile of notes sitting on my desk as a result. Brian goes into everything from adding custom search engines to your GA results, tracking error pages and broken links and tracking referral url's from pay-per-click networks to differentiating links to the same page via site overlay. There's just tons of great tricks and tips in this section, and it's clear to anyone with a clue that not only does the author of this section have an understanding of Google that vastly exceeds your own, but that he can write about it in a clear, easy to understand (given the nature of the topic) way.
Chapter's 10 and 11 are also excellent, and one does not need to be overly technical to understand them. The former discusses KPI's in an extremely clear, helpful manner and even discusses creating reports based on specific job roles. In the process, Brian reveals a bunch of custom KPI's that he has created that are fantastic--which is to say, if you are reading this section do not skip a job role just because it's not applicable, there's lots of gold to be mined.
Chapter 11 focuses on real world tasks, such as diagnosing problem pages, delves deeper into funnels and how to use Google optimizer and is a great read that, no matter who you are, I promise you will learn something from.
In summary, if you are technically inclined and can follow some of the more esoteric topics, this book is an absolute must have--buy it right now. If you are not so technically inclined, there is still lots of value in chapters, 8, 10 and 11 which in my opinion still would merit a purchase, but of course, you are not getting the same value. So, as I said to begin this admittedly long review, this book is phenomenal, but there is one big caveat. You need to have some technical knowledge to truly appreciate how much valuable information it provides.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics

Are you getting the most out of your website? Google insider and web metrics expert Brian Clifton reveals the information you need to get a true picture of your site's impact and stay competitive using Google Analytics (GA) and the latest web metrics methodologies.Which marketing campaigns work best? How do you quantify their success? What indicators should you track? Packed with techniques and insider secrets not documented elsewhere, this book has the expert guidance you need to enhance your brand and increase your site's ROI.

Click here for more information about Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics

Read More...

Actionable Web Analytics: Using Data to Make Smart Business Decisions Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Actionable Web Analytics is both well thought out and well written; but it's geared for big business (or medium size at least). If you're a general manager or executive type getting involved with web analytics this is a great book.
However, it's not geared toward the start-up entrepreneur. One of the sections talks about getting your "team" involved... your team being your: CMO (chief marketing officer), web team manager/leader, designer, information architect, usability expert, copywriter, developer, web analyst, strategist, channel manager, segmentation lead, etc. ,etc. For this I joked to my girlfriend that I guess i can have my meeting in front of the mirror! I'm all of these titles I guess. Another section talks about a company that incorrectly spent $150,000 per month on web analytics. While they did mention that this money was somewhat illspent, for entreprenurs this is totally irrelevant.
I gave it a good rating (4 stars) simply because I think the audience the authors intended (corporate types) will get a great benefit out of it. The book is particularly useful if a reader needs to put together a cohesive argument to someone else (e.g. upper management) that analytics (basically measurements) can help with making a company's website more profitable. To that end, the book does a great job!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Actionable Web Analytics: Using Data to Make Smart Business Decisions

Knowing everything you can about each click to your Web site can help you make strategic decisions regarding your business. This book is about the why, not just the how, of web analytics and the rules for developing a "culture of analysis" inside your organization. Why you should collect various types of data. Why you need a strategy. Why it must remain flexible. Why your data must generate meaningful action. The authors answer these critical questions—and many more—using their decade of experience in Web analytics.

Click here for more information about Actionable Web Analytics: Using Data to Make Smart Business Decisions

Read More...

How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Some things are easy to measure. Time, money, exercise, calories, location - all of these are relatively straightforward to repeatably determine or calculate.
But how does one go about measuring happiness? What about compassion, or public influence, or creativity? These are more intangible, harder to pin down to a number that means anything.
Douglas Hubbard has written an impressive work called "How To Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business."
While it's written primarily for business people, the lessons transfer smoothly to self-experimenters. Hubbard begins with a compelling case for why to measure intangibles:
"Often, an important decision requires better knowledge of the alleged intangible, but when a [person] believes something to be immeasurable, attempts to measure it will not even be considered.
As a result, decisions are less informed than they could be. The chance of error increases. Resources are misallocated, good ideas are rejected, and bad ideas are accepted. Money is wasted. In some cases life and health are put in jeopardy. The belief that some things--even very important things--might be impossible to measure is sand in the gears of the entire economy.
Any important decision maker could benefit from learning that anything they really need to know is measurable."
He goes on to explain in detail how to measure intangibles, including sections on how to clarify problems, calibrate estimates, measure risk, sample reality, and use Bayesian statistics to add to available knowledge. He also describes his Applied Information Economics (AIE) Approach that ties together several threads of his ideas:
"The AIE approach addresses four things:
1. How to model a current state of uncertainty
2. How to compute what else should be measured
3. How to measure those things in a way that is economically justified
4. How to make a decision"
I'm working my way through the book, and am incredibly grateful to Douglas Hubbard for writing it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business

Click here for more information about How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business

Read More...

Google Analytics 2.0 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have read a ton of guides and information on Google Analytics, have taken a 6 week training course (provided by ROI Revolution who happen to be mentioned in this book as it would have it) and have used it for my companies sites as well as some of my clients. I had never read the first version of this book due to the not-so-flattering reviews of it so I decided to take a look at the latest version to see what it had to offer and if it had any useful content I had missed.
After reading it I would say that it is a useful basic guide for anyone getting started with Google Analytics as well as for those looking to brush up on their knowledge and to have a handy guide. There are also some solid, advanced topics they cover in the book such as regular expressions, advanced filters, as well as many side bars and notes during chapters. However,some of these advanced topics feel like they have been thrust upon the reader under the assumption that the reader already has some understanding of some of the advanced topics. I feel as there was not enough back-story to properly introduce some of their advanced topics and many times the location of these advanced topics messed with the flow of the book; they were introduced at times when the section of the book you were reading was rather basic.
The flow of the book (and the interesting tone at some points) seemed a bit off to me and one of the biggest things in Google Analytics was completely left out or barely even touched upon and that was setting up tracking for an E-Commerce site. There is a lot that goes into this (though it is not necessarily difficult but there are many different variables and codes you will need to know and utilize) and you truly need to assess your website and how it is structured before setting up the tracking code, the hidden form and some of the other utm functions (too little time and space to explain all that here). I was very surprised, and quite dissapointed actually, this was completely left out as it it really is a huge part of Google Analytics. They also did not mention or explain many of the other different variables and codes that allow you to more fully take advantage of Google Analytics and make it work just right for you and your business.
Not a bad basic guide to have handy for understanding the reports and some other things but really surprised at how much they left out for the sake of some of the really basic stuff they left in or espoused upon way too much. There are other resources you will need to truly grasp the whole setup process for more complex websites; this book makes it all seem so simple and basic as it doesn't explain that all too well.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Google Analytics 2.0

Site statistics give you raw numbers, but Web analytics crunch those numbers into meaningful metrics you can actually use. Here's what's new in Google Analytics 2.0, such as cross-segment reporting and drilldown content that enhance analysis. Learn to set up Analytics and choose filters, explore goals and goal-setting, use customizable dashboards and date ranges, and master basic analytics and Web statistics concepts. Examine every aspect of available reports, learn to use those best suited for e-commerce sites, and more.
BONUS: Each copy of Google Analytics 2.0 includes a $25 Google AdWords gift card compliments of Google. With this $25 gift card , you can attract new customers to your website on Google's dime.

Click here for more information about Google Analytics 2.0

Read More...

Web Analytics: An Hour a Day Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)'Web Analytics: An Hour a Day' describes in an absorbing and insightful way the most important topics for a Web Analyst or any professional related to the management of a website. Topics covered include: basic terminology, tool selection/implementation, online segmentation, conversion rates improvement, competitive analysis, and many others.
The Business trinity, created by Avinash, is a very powerful business process that can radically improve the performance of online efforts. It is also the spirit of the book. Avinash describes the trinity as follows: "The goal of the Trinity mindset is to power the generation of actionable insights. Its goal is not to do reporting. Its goal is not to figure out how to spam decision makers with data. Actionable Insights & Metrics are the uber-goal simply because they drive strategic differentiation and a sustainable competitive advantage (...) The Trinity mindset empowers you to Understand the customer experience so explicitly that you can influence the right customer behavior which will lead to win-win outcomes for the company and its customers."
The book is indispensable to those who want to understand and practice the art and science of web analytics. It is organized in a very friendly way, turning the reading into a pleasant break amid the rush of day-to-day duties; like a challenging conversation. It is rich in examples, facilitating the understanding of the `what', `how', and `why' of online measurement strategies.
I have profited from Avinash's writings in various situations; the practical advices given in the book are clear and bring great results. I warmly recommend reading this book and following the author's blog.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Web Analytics: An Hour a Day

Written by an in-the-trenches practitioner, this step-by-step guide shows you how to implement a successful Web analytics strategy. Web analytics expert Avinash Kaushik, in his thought-provoking style, debunks leading myths and leads you on a path to gaining actionable insights from your analytics efforts. Discover how to move beyond clickstream analysis, why qualitative data should be your focus, and more insights and techniques that will help you develop a customer-centric mindset without sacrificing your company's bottom line.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Click here for more information about Web Analytics: An Hour a Day

Read More...

Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, 2nd Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Advanced Web Metrics is an outstanding book. It covers from shallow to Deep Ocean and gives the necessary tools to navigate through waves, tempests and calm seas. And it shows the reader how to find islands of insights!
Brian Clifton describes techniques that will help you understand and improve your website using Google Analytics. He goes over very important concepts and questions that are usually misunderstood: Why Web Analytics is important & what are the available technologies? How Google Analytics works & how it deals with privacy? Which reports should you use & how to do it? How to ensure that your data is accurate & how to enhance your reports using advanced implementation techniques?
The book is not a theoretical read; it goes into real world tasks and shows the reader what he needs to know in order to succeed using Google Analytics. In addition to showing all there is to be shown on Google Analytics, he also provides some very useful examples on third party applications that use the Google Analytics API and out of the box integrations with other tools or sources of data (CRM, call tracking, Website Optimizer).
But the biggest quality of this book is the way Dr. Clifton approaches the subject. Even readers acquainted with Google Analytics and optimization techniques described in the book will find insights that will help them understand the subject deeper and organize the knowledge in their brains.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, 2nd Edition

Packed with insider tips and tricks, this how-to guide is fully revised to cover the latest version of Google Analytics and shows you how to implement proven Web analytics methods and concepts.
This second edition of the bestselling Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics is the perfect book for marketers, vendors, consultants, and Webmasters who want to learn the installation, configuration, tracking techniques, and best practices of Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is a free tool that measures Web site effectiveness and helps users better understand how web site performance; this book is a detailed usage guide written by one of the software's original creators
Explains what filters keep data accurate, how to measure Flash usage and tag for e-mail marketing, and what visitor segmentation provides the most useful feedback
Examines principles and practices of Web analytics, then shows how to use GA's reports and how to track dynamic Web pages, banners, outgoing links, and contact forms
Discusses advanced setups for configuring goals and filters, how to integrate GA with third-party systems, and how to leverage the new API

Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, Second Edition is valuable for both novice and experienced users of Google Analytics.

Click here for more information about Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, 2nd Edition

Read More...

Google Analytics, 3rd Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Google Analytics is one of the best finds for those of us who find ourselves technically-challenged in a technically-heavy world.
This book covers every possible aspect of Google Analytics. I found the language simple, without talking down to anyone. By the time I had completed it, all my questions were fully answered.
I highly recommend Google Analytics to anyone who wants a down-to-earth explanation of the ins and outs of Google Analytics.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Google Analytics, 3rd Edition

Get the most out of the free Google Analytics service—and get more customers
Google Analytics allows you to discover vital information about how end users interact with their Web sites by collecting vital data and providing tools to analyze it, with the intention of improving the end-user experience and, ultimately converting users into customers. This indispensible guide delves into the latest updates to the newest version of Google Analytics—3.0—and explains the concepts behind this amazing free tool.
You'll discover what information to track, how to choose the right goals and filters, techniques for reading Google Analytics reports and graphs, and, most importantly, how to compile this data and use it to improve your Web site and attract more potential customers.
Takes an in-depth look at Google Analytics 3.0 and walks you through the possibilities it offers
Explains how to read Google Analytics reports and graphs so that you can compile this data and use it to improve your Web site and attract more users
Shares techniques for converting end users into customers
Features tips and suggestions for getting the information you need from Google Analytics reports and then converting that information into actionable tasks you can use

With Google Analytics, Third Edition, you&'ll be well on your way to retrieving the information you need to convert visitors to your site into customers!
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Click here for more information about Google Analytics, 3rd Edition

Read More...

Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Interpreting, and Using Metrics Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is not a how-to book. It's more of a "why should I", or "which tool do I buy" book? There are many books that address why companies need to be using Social Media, how to sell it to the C-suite, how to set up a Facebook page, or how to engage with fans and followers. Social Media Analytics is the only book that takes a deep dive into several of the major vendors of monitoring and measuring tools. Whether your are selling a brand or monitoring a political campaign, you'll need to know what to measure, how to measure, and how the data can provide actionable results. You're not buying analytics just to look at pretty charts and graphs, are you?
The importance of the analyst is emphasized in this book, and for good reason. Without a solid understanding of what you're looking for before setting up an analytics platform, you could end up with reams of data that are meaningless, and provide no value to your business, or client. Too many agencies are using an ax when what they really need is a scalpel.
Many of the tools discussed in the book aren't designed for very small businesses, but the concepts can be scaled down and used with free or inexpensive tools. For the larger business or agency, Social Media Analytics provides the framework to make the best tool/platform choices. Decision makers will learn the vital importance of understanding what they want from data, before they commit to a platform/vendor. The wrong choice can waste time and money!
Marshall Sponder is the only Social Media Analyst with access to dozens, if not hundreds of analytic platforms. He is able to discuss each tool from the perspective of an experienced user, rather than relying on sales pitches to determine a platform's capabilities and limitations.
Social Media Analytics is full of relevant case studies, and in-depth interviews with executives and developers of analytic platforms. Digital versions of the book include many links to companies and articles cited in the book.
There's a lot of value here for PR, marketing, and MarComm agencies, but perhaps even more for their clients and other decision makers who want to know the quality of the data they are paying for, and how useful the resulting reports will be.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Interpreting, and Using Metrics


Align Strategy With Metrics Using Social Monitoring Best Practices

"Two or three years from now, every public relations firm that wants to be taken seriously in the C-suite and/or a lead marketing role will have someone like Marshall in its senior leadership ranks, a chief analytics officer responsible for ensuring that account leaders think more deeply about analytics and that thfirm works with the best available outside suppliers to integrate analytics appropriately."—Paul Holmes, The Holmes Report

"Marshall has provided much-needed discipline to our newest marketing frontier—a territory full of outlaws, medicine men, dot com tumbleweeds, and snake oil."—Ryan Rasmussen, VP Research, Zócalo Group

"Marshall Sponder stands apart from the crowd with this work. His case study approach, borne of real-world experience, provides the expert and the amateur alike with bibliography, tools, links, and examples to shortcut the path to bedrock successes. This is a reference work for anyone who wants to explore the potential of social networks."—W. Reid Cornwell, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The Center for Internet Research

"Marshall is a solutions design genius of unparalleled knowledge and acumen, and when he applies himself to the business of social media, the result is a timely and important commentary on the state of research capabilities for social media."—Barry Fleming, Director, Analytics & Insights, WCG, and Principal, DharmaBuilt.com

About the Book

Practically overnight, social media has become a critical tool for every marketing objective—from outreach and customer relations to branding and crisis management. For the most part, however, the data collected through social media is just that: data. It usually seems to hold little or no meaning on which to base business decisions. But the meaning is there . . . if you're applying the right systems and know how to use them.

With Social Media Analytics, you'll learn how to get supremely valuable information from this revolutionary new marketing tool. One of the most respected leaders in his field and a pioneer in Web analytics, Marshall Sponder shows how to:
Choose the best social media platforms for your needs
Set up the right processes to achieve your goals
Extract the hidden meaning from all the data you collect
Quantify your results and determine ROI

Filled with in-depth case studies from a range of industries, along with detailed reviews of several social-monitoring platforms, Social Media Analytics takes you beyond "up-to-date" and leads you well into the future—and far ahead of your competition. You will learn how to use the most sophisticated methods yet known to find customers, create relevant content (and track it), mash up data from disparate sources, and much more. Sponder concludes with an insightful look at where the field will likely be going during the next few years.

Whether your social media marketing efforts are directed at B2B, B2C, C2C, nonprofit, corporate, or public sector aims, take them to the next step with the techniques, strategies, and methods in Social Media Analytics—the most in-depth, forward-looking book on the subject.

Click here for more information about Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Interpreting, and Using Metrics

Read More...

The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big In Business Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We're not designed to think unemotionally nor about abstract statistics. But Ma's book shows us that if we do learn to do so, we can achieve something we are designed to pursue--success. This book outlines and explores just how to do that. It's a great read for various demographics: the not-so-business savvy who wants to become so; the "layperson" looking to find ways for making better life-decisions; or the expert businessperson looking to uncover an edge in bringing down their own sort of house.
Ma describes things for the reader that will get you up to speed on both your gambling--i.e. the nuances of 21--and your business-speak--i.e. I finally learned what an option is and then how it relates to volatility and the Mexican economic crisis' affect on the U.S. dollar--without turning the expert off in either arena. Not an easy task as a writer and is done exceptionally well here.
The book is of the same genre as Lewis' Moneyball (a book Ma cites as life-changing in the Acknowledgments). Ideal for the neophyte interested in economics, finance, etc., combining the highfalutin world of casino gambling with modern day finance. In a sense, Ma urges us to put our faith in something that we believe in--which is rooted in clear thinking and statistics--and forge ahead, regardless of the valleys that may occur in the arena of "ups and downs."
Ma uses well-told personal anecdotes to explain cognitive errors common in academic psychology such as the gambler's fallacy and confirmation bias. Clearly not a man of superstition, frowning up on the "same-roller" phenomenon in craps and the concept of `statistical atheist', making sure the reader knows he's not involved in magic or some form of voodoo. Instead, he employs a more stoic approach that follows the logic--follows the math--and never gives up.
This book isn't just fun, it isn't just interesting (though it is both of those) but it's also something that will help the reader make better decisions both inside the business world and out.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big In Business

Click here for more information about The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big In Business

Read More...

Yahoo Web Analytics: Tracking, Reporting, and Analyzing for Data-Driven Insights Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have worked in the analytics industry for nearly 6 years and anyone who tells you analytics is easy is talking out of their hat! However, as any experienced analyst will tell you there are certain guidelines you can follow that will ease your use of a web analytics product.
Having read Dennis' book and personally worked in Yahoo Web Analytics for over 5 years, there are two things that struck me.
1) Dennis has cleverly turned what can be an incredibly dry subject, into an exciting one; the reader simply has to try putting chapters to the test. The order of the book is logical and, with little jumping around, keeps the reader focused on the job in-hand. As the title denotes: "Tracking, Reporting, and Analyzing for Data-Driven Insights"
2) Equally as important, he has also written the book in such a way that both the 'newbie' and experienced web analyst feels engaged and can leave with takeaways at their respective levels.
I would highly recommend Dennis' book to anyone currently using/starting to use Yahoo! Web Analytics or to complement an experienced users analytics library!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Yahoo Web Analytics: Tracking, Reporting, and Analyzing for Data-Driven Insights

Yahoo! Web Analytics teaches readers how to collect data, report on that data, and derive useful insights using Yahoo!'s free Web analytics tool . This detailed resource from Yahoo!'s Director of Data Insights discusses the why of Web analytics as well as the how while revealing secrets and tricks not documented elsewhere. The thorough book also offers step-by-step instructions and advanced techniques on everything from using data collection groupings to creating compelling data visualizations. It's a must-read for all analytics professionals and those who want to be.

Click here for more information about Yahoo Web Analytics: Tracking, Reporting, and Analyzing for Data-Driven Insights

Read More...

Marketing by the Numbers: How to Measure and Improve the ROI of Any Campaign Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book was a disappointment. There are a number of similar books on the market that basically have the same theme: Go out and generate a bunch of complicated metrics and "sort of" get an idea if your marketing is working.
There is nothing new here and the basic approach is neither useful nor practical for real marketing practitioners. With predictive modeling and analytics, marketers can know the complete and accurate story of marketing ROI in all its detail.The authors are obviously clueless to this and therefore really are not plugged into what practitioners are doing.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Marketing by the Numbers: How to Measure and Improve the ROI of Any Campaign

With marketing budgets stretched tight, it's harder than ever to justify expenditures, and ensure that marketing dollars are spent in ways that get results. Market ing by the Numbers shows readers how to implement, evaluate, and utilize key analytics to maximize marketing ROI. Explaining best practices and the most useful dashboards and tools, the book equips readers with proven methods to: Predict, monitor, and measure the success of campaigns based in both traditional and Internet media Align business and marketing goals Concentrate on the right metrics rather than drowning in a sea of data Turn data into actionable recommendations Providing case studies, techniques, and checklists, the book pays special attention to the new generation of web tools, and reveals how any business can effectively use the data available to them; and take advantage of every marketing opportunity.

Click here for more information about Marketing by the Numbers: How to Measure and Improve the ROI of Any Campaign

Read More...

Cult of Analytics: Driving online marketing strategies using web analytics (Emarketing Essentials) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Yes this is true, people seem so much fascinated about the tools these days. If you have one of the strong performing analytics tools like Omniture, Coremetrics, WebTrends, Google Analytics, etc you feel happy and contended that you are moving in the right direction but this is just a hallucination. And you know that at every month end when you send the excel report of your KPI's to the stakeholders and it just goes unnoticed as they don't know what to do.
Once you read this book, understand what is being told here, I bet you would know exactly what you have to do with those tools that puke data. The author has stressed on the entire process of Web Analytics which includes advance level understanding of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), Benchmarking and even how to make your organization Web Analytics friendly.
I loved the How to Develop KPIs chapter. I read it twice - thrice, though mine is just a lead generation website but for me the Micro Level KPIs formulas were helpful. Second most important thing is the REAN model on which the author has stressed. I tried to ignore it at first thinking that its just another technical term to get famous but it turned out that if I think and plan according to the REAN model, the understanding and implementation becomes very easy of KPI's, reporting, Dashboard creation and other things. But this is a secret which I am not going to disclose to anyone in my organization because it simplifies things too much.
In all ... implementing the high end tool is of no use if at the end of the month you do not have any thing to action upon. In order to understand the actionable elements you need to get deeper (both Macro and Micro level) of your KPIs. If you believe Avinash Kaushik's 90 / 10 rule then this book is to help you in the 90 part.
Thanks ! Chandan Sharma
(Certified Google Analytics Individual, Certified Google AdWords Professional & Certified Usability Analyst from Human Factors International)

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cult of Analytics: Driving online marketing strategies using web analytics (Emarketing Essentials)


If you want to understand and get true value from your online content you need to understand how it is used by your customers. If you work with web analytics and online search optimization, this book will provide you with the tools and insight you need to do just that.

Even more, it will give you an actionable plan to transform the culture of your organization into one that uses web analytics on a daily basis, focusing on real changes you can make to your department and processes to transform the way your business works.

With examples from dozens of companies ranging from small businesses, to consumer sites like Amazon, to some of the largest companies in the world including Tesco and Google, Cult of Analytics demonstrates just how to apply web analytics to your business.

* Unique: demand from marketers for a guide to building web analytics into business* Real-world examples show what does and doesn't work online to meet online business objectives * Covers both the technicalities of web analytics and the strategy behind using them in one handy guide to give marketers the complete picture

Click here for more information about Cult of Analytics: Driving online marketing strategies using web analytics (Emarketing Essentials)

Read More...