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Keeping today’s online consumers satisfied is a difficult task
for corporate Web sites. The pioneering work done by some of the most popular
online spaces has meant that consumers now expect similarly interactive, dynamic
content on all Web sites. One of the key aspects of meeting this requirement,
and managing content effectively to drive traffic, increase prospect to customer
conversion and build revenue, is to understanding user behavior: the way that
visitors navigate through a Web site and the information they access.
CMS and Analytics: Where the Twain Meets
Content
management and assessment of Web results have traditionally been two independent
domains serviced by different sets of tools. Online marketers are now beginning
to realize the utility in bringing the two together to get measurable and
actionable analyses.
A primary reason for the popularity of integration
between Web Content Management Systems (CMS) and Web Analytics tools is that Web
site creation and management now involves an increasing number of non-technical
users. This is thanks to a variety of tools that have simplified the process of
creating, editing and publishing content online. Understanding and shaping
change efficiently - and in the best interests of the company - is made much
simpler for such users when a CMS is linked with good analytics. The data from
both are combined to present a more coherent picture of Web site traffic.
Integrating content management and result measurement is also
important because it allows Web sites to maximize personalization and
accessibility. And of course, there is the advantage of a single interface
solution that is easy to set up, access and use without requiring technical
assistance.
Integrated solutions offer advantages
through:
- Data Access
Both the CMS and the analytics program are
able to share data between themselves. The shared data can also be blended to
provide more sophisticated, actionable reports. Moreover, an integrated solution
overlays analytics information on pages, allowing users to access in-context
metrics and real-time data. Content changes can be made without having to toggle
between systems. Thus, users can:
- Receive at-a-glance analyses of traffic data
- Receive accurate information on areas such as conversions for campaigns and
promotions
- Pinpoint how close or far customers are to conversion and
why
- Leveraging Information
For non-technical users without
full knowledge of a system’s content IDs, understanding traffic measurements
based on HTML titles is difficult since they fail to provide proper context.
With an integrated solution, however, users can easily add meaningful page names
that are easier to track.
At the other end is the issue of tracking
content categories and different kinds of metadata. For Web site managers, it is
important to be able to track content by certain authors or under certain
categories, which can belong to multiple content groups. By setting custom
variables on each page for such categories and extending the CMS to include the
defined data in a template, pages can be automatically tagged to feed such data
into reports.
Finally, there is also the issue of search engine
optimization, and the need for analysis that goes beyond a basic listing of
queries and page hits. Here too, the Web analytics program would need access to
CMS data in order to provide a meaningful analysis.
- Tag Management
The link between CMS and analytics can
also be leveraged by automating the process of tagging new content added to a
Web site. This can be done by aligning content areas in a CMS to analytics
content groups, and then extending the CMS to automatically set appropriate
content group tags on each page. This ensures that all areas of the Web site are
tagged consistently and optimally for analytics tracking, reducing the risk of
errors caused due to hand-coding.
- Automating Content Position and Display
At the level of
automation, integrating CMS and analytics can actually affect the workflow of
content based on certain metric. For example, users can automate the process of
elevating the most popular links — most visited, most emailed, etc. — so that
such content becomes more easily accessible. This is done by making the CMS tag
reports generated by the analytics system at regular intervals, to generate a
hierarchy of items accordingly.
Seize the SaaS Advantage
To get the most out
of an online presence, companies should also look beyond traditional installed
CMS solutions. With the arrival of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models,
installed solutions are looking increasingly costly, time-consuming and complex
- without offering commensurate advantages. What makes SaaS or hosted CMS
solutions all the more attractive is their easy interoperability: the best Web
CMS solutions readily and seamlessly integrate with a variety of Web Analytics,
email campaign management, CRM and other systems, removing the need for
customized solutions.
Leading hosted CMS providers have gone further to
forge strategic tie-ups with analytics companies to offer best-of-breed
solutions already integrated with their CMS offering. Thus, users now enjoy the
advantages of an enterprise-class CMS, combining the best solutions on offer
across a range of domains - without any of the hassles and barriers of installed
software.
Conclusion
With inputs and revenues from
e-Commerce growing at a rapid rate, leveraging analytics for effective content
management is critical to success. In the Web 2.0 world, where online content
grows more dynamic by the minute, Web content management is a constant,
up-to-the-minute responsibility. Marketers cannot ignore the need for a
streamlined approach that provides actionable information on visitor behavior
and marketing effectiveness, and allows on-the-fly changes to optimize results.
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