Product Management Insight

I read an interesting post regarding the Page View KPI no longer being part of the Web Analytics metrics in the future as Nielsen/NetRatings have decided to scrap Page views from their rankings. The article alleges that the Page View metrics is incapable of telling us about the overall user experience as nowadays most websites make use of widgets, videos , flash, AJAX content etc and it is impossible to measure those attributes with the use of Page Views. The article mentions “If you have widgets, you don't really have page views. If you do videos, you don't have page views.”

Will Page Views suffer the same fate as the Hits metrics? In the nascent stage of Web Analytics, Hits used to be the key metrics tracked in place of Page Views but as the Web Analytics community became mature, the Hits metrics was found wanting. This is because Hits measured everything from loading of images, CSS to JavaScript which meant that Hits will count all the individual requests and report them seperately which in turn was termed as inaccurate. One of the reasons why Hits noticed a quick exit was due to the fact that it could only be tracked via Server Logs and with the advent of conventional Web Analytics tools, it was easier to find a replacement in the form of Page Views.

Are Page views dead? Personally I think it is too early to say that. I say this because around 90% of the companies today would be using Page Views in their day to day reporting/dashboards and also all the major Web Analytics tools report this as a prime metrics. Page Views have been widely accepted as an industry standard and it would be really difficult to replace it immediately as a suitable replacement would not be easy to find. Though we have noticed in the past that Visits and Unique Visitors have been considered a better metrics than Page Views but it doesn’t really mean that we can totally discount Page Views as they have their own value in Web Analytics.

What can be the possible replacements for Page Views? I don’t think the existing prime metrics like Visits, Visitors would replace it but I agree with what was written in the article about User Engagement. User Engagement according to me is the Visitor experience on a webpage ranging from clicks on specific links, interaction with the embedded applications like Videos, Widgets etc and most importantly Time Spent. Based on my experience, I’ve noticed that majority of the exits on a website happen within the first 15 seconds and it is crucial for us to decrease the exit rate for this time range. Ideally in case of eCommerce websites, a user session should range between 5-10 minutes as I think by this time the user is well adept with the website interface. He would then decide to perform the appropriate task like filling a form to buying something. Similarly the user engagement metrics would be different for a content, classifieds and News website. So the Time Spent metrics is in a way a subset of User Engagement.

All in all I think it is too early to totally discount Page Views from Web Analytics but sooner or later the industry will decide to replace it. But whenever that happens, I sincerely hope that Page Views would be given a graceful exit unlike it’s predecessor Hits.

My last article mentioned ways to measure the drop off rate but through this article I’ll try to list ways by which you can reduce the drop off rate. Drop off Rate and Conversion Rate are two sides of the same coin as the below points would relate to both equally. A Conversion Funnel can start from the homepage, a search results page or a campaign specific page. Now let’s look at some of the ways by which we can reduce drop off rate:

1) A/B or Bucket Testing: A/B testing means testing many variants of the Conversion pages (Homepage, Product View etc) by sending a proportion of traffic on each page and eventually determining which page led to the minimum drop off or the highest Conversion. The important factor to keep in mind while conducting A/B test is that one of these pages should be the control (the original page). We can test pages by changing button color, size, text, placement etc or by modifying forms in order to minimize the customer drop off during the Registration process. Eventually by using a unique page name/bucket page name we should be able to determine which page performed the best.

2) Segmentation Tests: These are different than Bucket Test because in Segmentation we are looking to target certain segments of customers/users. We target customers based on their status (New user, not yet registered and Registered Customer). The “not yet registered” customer segment should see the login page so that he can continue the Conversion process where he left it. Similarly new users would see a different page and registered customers see a page only listing products of their choice. We can also segment customers according to their country (I.P.), Campaign Tracker ID, Direct/Indirect source of traffic. Ultimately we want to be able to determine which segment has the lowest Drop off/Highest Conversion rate.

3) Products Out of Stock: This is one of the mistakes that online retailers might make in order to make a customer purchase a product by pretending that the product is in stock when it is not. When the customer actually believes and purchases the item then guess what he gets an error message saying “Payment failed as Product out of stock”. I’m not saying this is a common practice but this scenario is possible and when it does happen it will surely leave a bad mark on that customer and maybe potential customers. So if a specific product is out of stock, then make sure you don’t display it.

4) Detailed Product Description: One of the reasons why sites like Amazon and Dell are pioneers in Online Shopping is because they make sure they provide the in depth coverage of the product. The users should also be made well adept with the specs of the product before they enter the cart with detailed textual description along with pictures. Sometimes including user comments also help.

5) Hyperlinks to Popups: While in the Conversion Funnel, a user might be distracted to click on a link/button that he finds appealing and this is the time when most customers leave the page. So in order to minimize that point of drop off, try to create links that open a new browser window/popup in order to retain the users on that page. It is however a highly debatable point because we need to be able to measure the links which lead to the customer exiting from the Funnel (Exit links). So I would suggest you to include links to Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Product Specs and others in the form of popups so that you do not loose the customer in case he doesn’t go back in the Conversion process.

6) Trust: If your company is a public company/Fortune 500 company, always mention it on the Conversion funnel pages. In case of other companies, be sure to display a secure page icon (Verisign) on the encryption pages in order to generate a sense of trust for the customers. Having a privacy policy and terms of conditions page is also very important. A clearly defined Privacy Policy goes a long way in making the user feel secure before making a payment.

7) Shopping Cart Indicator: It is very important for visualize the Shopping Cart through a Step indicator on Conversion Cycle pages. As soon as the user selects a product you need to make him feel as if he’s entering a Shopping Cart and also listing what step it is so that he knows exactly where to go next.

8) Simple Registration Process: Try to make the registration process as simple as possible and try to minimize asking questions about PII (Personally Identifiable Information). Make sure the spellings are correct in the Registration process as it can really leave a bad taste for the user experience. Include as much predefined information as possible to reduce the amount of information the user has to fill in. For e.g. If a user has selected UK as the country then if possible auto populate the City, County, Country Code in the drop downs/text boxes and let the user select from that list rather than him entering it manually. Also radio buttons can work better then drop downs in most scenarios especially if there are only 2 choices.

9) Search Functionality: It is usually not advisable to include a search text box in between the Registration process but having it would only make things better. I say this because if a user wants to search for any information then he might want to exit the cart and go back to the Homepage. But if you have a search box which displays results in the form of a popup then you reduce your chances of jeopardizing your Funnel process by retaining the user on that page.

10) Web Analytics Tool to Measure KPIs: Finally the most important step is proper configuring of your Web Analytics tool to measure relevant KPIs or metrics. The Web Analytics code implementation according to the pages is of pivotal importance which hold true for Bucket Testing or Segmentation. The KPIs/metrics that might be of up most importance in case of the Conversion cycle can be Drop off Rate, Conversion Rate, Time spent on page, Exit Rate and Click Tracking.

These were just some of the ways that can help you maximize your ROI in terms of Conversion as there might be a lot more. I hope you like this article and if possible, let me know your thoughts about it.

eCommerce is really an interesting term to talk about because it is becoming popular day by day in developing countries and is already successful in the Western world. Countries like United States and United Kingdom have setup the appropriate infrastructure for Online shopping to thrive whereas developing countries are a little behind in terms of the facilities needed for eCommerce to boom. I also wrote an article on online shopping in India. Internet speed, latest aAntivirus protection, updated spyware and malware protection, firewall protection, ground shipping etc are really important to make Online shopping successful in any country. So, it's necessary that we ensure appropriate steps are taken to secure our computer before we shop online.

Ground Shipping is another important aspect of online shopping. I was browsing www.amazon.com and looking for some game DVDs for my cousin in India but unfortunately Amazon has a policy which doesn’t allow people to ship DVDs outside of US. So such things do go a long way in hampering the growth and popularity of online Shopping around the world but these are exceptions that will exist everywhere.

On a brighter note, a study by J.D. Power and Associates in 2006 revealed that used car buyers increased from 53 % in 2005 to 59 % in 2006. Websites like www.carfax.com, www.kbb.com have made it very easy for people to compare used cars online and portals like www.cars.com have made it a breeze for people to buy/sell cars without hassle. Another successful online shopping industry is the electronics market. Personally I have always believed in buying electronics online because I can get an in depth review of the product with detailed specs. Laptops and Digital Cameras in particular have experienced a huge Internet market as majority of the people end up buying them online because they are cheaper in comparison to retail store prices.

Other important industries gaining popularity online are Clothing, Home Decors, Perfume and Cosmetics. Websites like www.ebay.com have made it possible for people to browse for their favorite brands in clothing. They also have the option to select the design, color of the fabric by simply sitting at home. Perfumes too fall under the same category offering consumers the option to easily select their favorite fragrance and brand. Home Decors is a booming industry in the making as shopping for these in stores is not a good idea as they might be bulky and difficult to carry so buying them online is a really good bet as they can be delivered to your home without you having to go to that crowded store.

Online shopping will continue to gain more popularity worldwide as it has more advantages than disadvantages but it will take some time for people to understand its worth in some parts of the world. I hope you like this article and please feel free to comment with your opinions.