As
important as it is to measure the number of people that come to a Web site, it’s
also important to analyze how people get to a Web site. Customers may use
a direct URL to get to the site, search based on product or service keywords,
or click an ad or link in the company’s marketing materials. All of these
channels are called Referrers. When looking at Web metrics, a Referrer is
a term used to describe the source of traffic to a visit or page (Reed College
of Media, 2015).
According
to Kaushik (2010) analyzing Referrers can show which Web sites are contributing
to site traffic, which marketing initiatives are the most successful, and which
keywords most reflect the content on the site. Kaushik (2010b) also gives
insight into several other types of Referrers.
“Internal Referrer: The internal
referrer is a page URL that is internal to the website or a web-property within
the website as defined by the user.
External Referrer:
The external referrer is a page URL where the traffic is external or outside of
the website or a web-property defined by the user.
Search Referrer:
The search referrer is an internal or external referrer for which the URL has
been generated by a search function.
Visit Referrer:
The visit referrer is the first referrer in a session, whether internal,
external or null.
Original Referrer:
The original referrer is the first referrer in a visitor's first session,
whether internal, external or null.”
Blue Martini & Debenhams
Debenhams,
a British Department Store, was looking to improve the e-commerce experience on
their site. They wanted to increase the number of registered customers,
increase daily transactions, and increase the average basket size on a yearly
basis. They launched a new web site powered by Blue Martini Software in
2001.
The
improvement process for the Debenhams site included evaluating which
cost-per-click (CPC) relationships were the most beneficial. Looking at referral percentages and referral
purchase amounts, Debenhams was able to quickly asses how to capitalize on each
relationship. Learning that one portal
provided a small percentage of visits, but a higher conversion rate than any
other site, Debenhams was able to better understand where to spend their
advertising dollars.
In
addition to looking at which CPC relationships were the most valuable;
Debenhams analyzed a detailed list of keywords that drove traffic to their
site. This assisted in the strategy
development of paid ads based on keywords (Blue Martini Software, 2002).
As
mentioned in the Debenhams example, Referrers can help Web site managers better understand which
portals and relationships are the most beneficial for a company’s Web
site. As with all Web metrics, it’s
important that Referrers isn’t regarded as the sole metric that signifies
success. A company must outline their
goals for what they want a customer to do when they get to the site. For example, a Referrer can drive a lot of
traffic to the site, but if Conversion Rates and Time Spent on Page are low, or
the Bounce Rate is high, that Referrer might not be very valuable. The advertising dollars spent on that
Referrer might be better spent elsewhere.
References:
Blue
Martini Software, (2002) Blue Martini Business Intelligence delivers unparalleled
insight into user behavior at the Debenhams Web site. Retrieved January 19,
2015 from http://ai.stanford.edu/~ronnyk/debenhams_Study.pdf
Kaushik,
A. (2010). Web analytics 2.0: The art of online accountability & science
of customer centricity. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing. ISBN#
978-0470529393
Kaushik,
A. (2010b, April 19). Web analytics 101: Definitions: Goals, metrics, KPIs,
dimensions, targets. Occam’s Razor Blog. Retrieved on March 25, 2012 from
http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/web-analytics-101-definitions-goals-metrics-kpis-dimensions-targets/.
Reed College of Media, WVU. (2015).
Lesson 2: Basic Web Analytics. [login required]. Retrieved from:
https://ecampus.wvu.edu/
