Paynter emphasized that web analytics is a strategic investment, and that the right implementation strategy will yield the highest ROI. She advised the group to measure for action, meaning you should:

• Gather business requirements. An effective analytics system involves more than the tool; it takes people and decisions to program it.
• Determine your key performance indicators (KPIs). Identify five to seven very basic metrics that you can use as standards across your site. This way, the entire operation is talking and understanding the basic data in the same way. Also, simplify the view of the data so at least 80 percent of the organization understands and can use it.
• Understand the WHOLE conversion process. Look beyond the scenario or funnel at the every part of the process that required acquisition and persuasion.
• Set your tools to collect the right data. Take advantage of the customization capabilities of Webtrends. Make it your own.

She also discussed the importance of:
• Using onsite search reporting to ensure visitors are locating the information they are looking for.
• Using onsite advertising to help direct visitors. Ad tagging and reporting can provide insight on how to improve site design.
• Tracking more than the terms and search engine that people use. You also need to know what they do after they arrive, and if they make it to the locations you want them to visit.

Other tips Paynter shared include:
• Use your own culture to lead the way you title your chapters. Create a basic user template to view the standards you determine.
• Set a base to measure from, so you can determine if the changes you make to your site are moving toward your desired outcome.
• Focus your attention on the anomalies in your analytics.
• Build flexibility into your analytics, so your system can adapt to business changes.

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