WebTrends Industry Survey Finds Most Businesses Are Not "Very Confident" in Measuring Web Marketing and Have Not Adopted Accuracy Best Practices
Latest Version of WebTrends 7 Helps Bridge the Confidence Gap in Marketing with Accurate and Actionable Web Analytics
PORTLAND, Ore. - June 7, 2005 - WebTrends Inc., the global web analytics market leader, today unveiled initial results from its "Web Marketing Confidence Survey," which polled hundreds of business professionals on the growing need for better accuracy and actionability in marketing performance measurement. Initial results suggest that while many professionals are "fairly confident" in the measurements of their web marketing efforts, few are "very confident" as they have not adopted accuracy best practices and a comprehensive analytics framework.
Conflicting visitor counts and inaccurate conversion rates can make it tough for professionals to act with confidence, and with third-party cookie blocking accelerating by as much as 300% in the past 16 months, web-smart organizations need to adopt accuracy best practices for web measurement, including the use of legitimate first-party cookies, in order to help ensure accurate, predictable metrics on which to base decision-making. When it comes to measuring web marketing efforts, 43 percent of respondents said they were "fairly confident," while only five percent said they were "very confident". Further accentuating the confidence gap that exists in online marketing today, the remainder were equally split, with 26 percent being "moderately confident" and 26 percent admitting to "flying blind".
While industry research has pointed to consumers` lack of understanding about what cookies are and how they are used as reasons for increasing cookie deletion and blocking, marketers also lack knowledge about their site`s cookie strategy and web analytics best practices. This contributes to the uncertainty of whether web metrics represent an accurate picture of campaign performance and visitor behavior. Other results of the survey include:
39 percent of respondents said they have "no idea" what method their web site is currently using to identify unique visitors
Just 19 percent of respondents utilize legitimate first-party cookies, the recommended best practice to track unique visitors
13 percent identify visitors by IP address only-a largely inaccurate method to track visitors and their behavior
Only 20 percent have a comprehensive set of metrics to measure campaign performance, and a combined 52 percent are still only looking at clickthrough rates or nothing at all
Few respondents (20 percent) know the "detours" or paths people take when falling out of conversion scenarios, which are critical action points for optimizing conversion rates
"Together, the growth in third-party cookie rejection and the confidence gap in using measurement to optimize web marketing efforts, will drive business professionals to more deeply understand their metrics, which is a great thing in the long run," said Greg Drew, WebTrends CEO and president. "By moving beyond simple reports and flashy visuals, business professionals will focus on what matters most-the ability to easily make the right decisions in order to improve their results."
WebTrends On Demand Accuracy Advantages
By offering the broadest support for legitimate first-party cookies in the industry and cookie-less backup sessionization methods for both software and hosted, on-demand web analytics solutions, WebTrends helps assure marketers and business managers that their metrics represent the most complete set of visitor information possible. WebTrends unique first-party cookie management solution adheres to the best practices in the industry by enabling customers to retain ownership and management of their SSL certificates-which is something that many hosted first-party cookie options require handing over management of at additional expense and with the associated risks.
For best practices information and a checklist for evaluating first-party cookie solutions, visit www.webtrends.com/upload/BB_1st_Party_Cookies_FINAL.pdf.
Methodology for Web Marketing Confidence Survey
Five optional questions were asked of business professionals who viewed the "Marketing with Confidence" webcast conducted by WebTrends and available for replay at: www.webtrends.com/Products/WebTrends7/AccuracyWebcast.aspx?cid=701300000001MmK.
The results communicated in this press release were collected from May 23, 2005 through June 3, 2005. Full survey results are available upon request. Initial survey respondents represented a diverse sampling, including:
By geographic region:
70% North America
16% Europe, Middle East, Africa
11% Asia, Australia, South America
3% Unknown
By primary site objective:
29% Lead generation
18% E-commerce
16% Content/Media
7% Branding
7% Self-service
3% Intranet
20% Unknown
By role:
22% Marketing
22% Web Developer/Producer
16% Technical/IT
12% E-commerce/Merchandising
9% Analyst/Consultant
8% C-level Executive
11% Other
About WebTrends
Thousands of web-smart organizations worldwide, including more than half of the Fortune and Global 500, rely on WebTrends to improve their web site conversions and optimize their marketing performance for maximum return on investment. As the worldwide market leader for web analytics, WebTrends has become the trusted standard not only for award-winning technology, but also for a full range of consulting services and unmatched industry expertise. By delivering accurate and actionable metrics through both on-demand and software options, WebTrends ensures that its customers are positioned for both immediate and long-term success with a solution that can adapt to ever-changing business and technical requirements. For more information, visit www.WebTrends.com.
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