Digithoughts

Raise your hand if you got your undergrad degree in Web Analytics. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Chances are you’re like me, who accidentally fell into the wonderful world of web analytics. After learning a lot through many trials and errors, I felt it was time I help interested “students” and newcomers sharpen their online analysis acumen. Participating in forums, groups and associations is fun, but being able to mentor someone to help them grow as a web analyst is much more rewarding, in my opinion.

Enter in the Analysis Exchange, an initiative spearheaded by Eric Peterson and John Lovett at Web Analytics Demystified. According to the Analysis Exchange website, “By connecting great causes with experienced mentors and motivated students, The Analysis Exchange is creating an entirely new way to teach digital measurement best practices.” I was so excited to find a place where I can grow as a mentor, guide a motivated student in the ways of web analysis, and help a non-profit organization optimize their visitors’ experiences. Each mentor and student gets to pick an organization to work with, and I chose the Los Angeles Conservancy. At the beginning of the project, I was hoping just to finish the project with satisfactory results (it IS a free program, after all). I had no idea how fun and rewarding the experience would turn out to be.

I had the pleasure of working with the Analysis Exchange student, Danielle, and Cindy from the LA Conservancy. From our first meeting over the phone, I realized this was going to be a special project. Cindy and Danielle were really excited and had such amazing attitudes toward web analytics. They may not know all the ins and outs, but they knew the importance of understanding online behavior for site optimization. Wow! Half my job was done for me – they were onboard and ready to help.

The LA Conservancy uses Google Analytics for their site, a great tool to measure online behavior. Danielle and I interviewed Cindy about the Conservancy's business goals and strategy, upcoming launches, and current issues or problems. Based on Cindy’s answers, Danielle was able to create a document outlining the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the website. I was able to guide and provide supportive feedback to Danielle as she took the initiative to really own the deliverables.

The project lasted around 6 weeks, during which I mentored Danielle in creating custom reports, dashboards, and goals for Cindy to gather the most crucial data for her business goals. At the close of the project, all three of us were extremely happy with the analysis and final monthly reports. Eric Peterson received amazing feedback from Cindy, and we all grew as analysts.

I would recommend the Analysis Exchange to anyone – as a student, mentor, or non-profit organization. The project scope and deliverables are flexible, you get to meet new and interesting people, and you’re helping an organization that doesn’t have the internal resources to support web analytics. And of course, you get more experience with this still fairly new world. Buckle up, log in, and join in the fun!

Joy Billings Web Analytics Manager

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