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Must buy for anyone looking to grow and succeed in the Internet Oct 15, 2009 (4 of 4 found this helpful)
As with most books, I started by taking a look at a few sample pages of the book before getting deep into it. My first data point was page 248: where Avinash describes elegantly a case study on measuring offline applications using Google Analytics. Exquisite. Than, on page 279 he shows how to analyze video influence on revenues. Amazing.
After leafing through the book for a while I went back to the beginning and I really enjoyed the way Avinahs Kaushik links the content; bringing basic and important concepts and very advanced techniques side by side. The book has a friendly tone, i.e., it feels like walking down the street and talking to a friend. Avinash knows when to soothe the reader and let him know that this might be frustrating or difficult, he does not pretend to give all the answers.
A central theme on Avinash philosophy also in his previous book (Web Analytics: An Hour a Day) is that people will bring change, not tools. So, even though he proposes several techniques for choosing vendors, he puts in in its place: if you don't have people, you better look for them, no tool will help you. For every $100 you have, you should invest $90 on people and $10 on tools.
This book describes a holistic approach of the Web Analytics field which he defines as "the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from your website and the competition, to drive a continual improvement of the online experience that your customers, and potential customers have, which translates into your desired outcomes (online and offline)."
The book treats all the aspects that need to be understood in order to have a successful web strategy: clickstream data, testing, Voice of Customer, social, mobile, video, you name it. In addition, you will learn about planning and growing a web analytics career, so if you are serious about your career, this book is for you.
Concluding, 'Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity' is a landmark on the Web Analytics field and a must buy for anyone looking to grow and succeed in the Internet.
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Analytics bliss is a must-read! Nov 10, 2009 (3 of 3 found this helpful)
This book is like dark chocolate covered pretzels on top of walnut ice cream- blissful & enlightening... Whether you're a seasoned analytics practitioner or a newbie, you'll find Web Analytics 2.0 engaging and informative. Avinash breaks down hard-to-grasp concepts into digestible nuggets by pulling in relevant examples and using real analytics tools to illustrate each point. If you're in the process of vendor selection, chapter two will be your guiding light. If you're re-visiting your initial implementation, or are still trying to figure out how to use the tool you implemented, look no further. This book will help you figure out what you're looking at, isolate actionable metrics, and tell a story with the data that will drive your online and offline strategies. It doesn't hurt that Avinash is hilarious and paints a colorful picture with every insightful anecdote. Who knew web analytics could be this simple?
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Fantastic book for leveraging the power of analytics Oct 30, 2009 (2 of 2 found this helpful)
If you manage a website, run your own online business, or handle the Internet marketing for your business, you really need this book. You might be spending oodles of money on pay per click ads or hiring firms to redesign a site or manage your campaigns - but you'll want Web Analytics 2.0 to provide you with the foundation you need to make intelligent decisions, to ask the right questions, and make sure you're taking advantage of every ounce of data you can collect about your site visitors. As the book tells you early on, you'll want to align your site to increase your revenue, reduce your costs, or improve customer loyalty and satisfaction.
One of the best things of this book is that it helps to clarify the heaps of data and reporting you can get from the many available analytics tools. What data should you look at? What are actionable outcomes you want to measure? What are some ways to measure success of your site?
I'd go so far as to say that every site designer should read this book - not just analytics or marketing pros. This is because it has some great sections about how you should be testing the impact of site designs and changes. The book also includes a CD and one of the items is a usability checklist that every designer should have. And if you're interested in a career in analytics, there's even a chapter at the end dedicated to this - I'm happy in my job, so I didn't read this section, but he closes out with some ideas and advice on how to find the right people for analytics jobs you may need to fill.
It's difficult to make a book about data interesting - but Avinash Kaushik has definitely done so with this book. I've already given a copy of this book to a colleague knowing that he'll find it valuable.
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Beautifully written - practical, understandable, & expert Nov 18, 2009 (1 of 1 found this helpful)
Most books about Web analytics are either too dry, too geeky, or too hypey. I dutifully plow through a chapter or two and then the book hits the discard pile. But, Avinash is completely different sort of writer!
This book has the same friendly, truthful, useful advice that has made Avinash's Occam's Razor blog so popular. I feel like I have a friend at my side, instead of a boring geek or pushy salesman. The illustrations are dead-on perfect as well. Many feature real-life stats from Avinash's own projects. It's useful to see these examples. They bring the text to life.
I recommend this book to all fans of Web analytics, but also to everyday marketers who may not be very technically inclined. I can see how this would also be a useful training tool. If you're a marketing or Web department director, you can hand a copy of this book to new hires and tell them, "Read this first and come see me when you're done."
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Web Analytics Made Easy & Actionable by Avinash Nov 18, 2009 (1 of 1 found this helpful)
Avinash's new book is a must read for any online marketer or website owner that wants to understand their website traffic more effectively. Avinash teaches you to act on data instead of just presenting pretty reports and devotes a good chunk of the book reviewing other website tools (many of which are free) that you can use to improve your websites key performance indicators.
Most SEM and Analytic books suck or are to basic. Avinash's book explains intermediate/advanced topics in a basic tone that any future "analysis ninja" can quickly apply to their own website. To top it off he is donating all his proceeds to two charities he supports. I would recommend anyone that is new to web analytics reads his book at least twice and applying his techniques to your website before reading another analytic or online marketing book.