What is Website Optimization Anyway?
Since we are still in the introductory phase, let me just position this whole website optimization thing as it fits in the marketing world.
Site optimization is multidisciplinary, and as such requires a polymath to enact it. That creates a real problem when things change as quickly as they do on the Net because it is virtually impossible to stay up on every aspect of Internet Marketing. Each of the silos in the graphic to the right are extremely deep and sufficiently broad. It is nearly impossible for a single person, or entity, to be simultaneously good at all of these disciplines. The solution is specialization.
Specialization creates a challenge with consistency across the various disciplines within the organization. Website Optimization is really the process of communicating the necessary information to the appropriate parties in a timely and useful manner. It is a process not a one-time event.
Web analytics (an inappropriate label, but a great marketing ploy) at its core is just data collected from your website. There are various ways to collect the data, and each has their merits and demerits; we’ll leave that discussion for another day. For now, web analytics, or web usage data, is the best medium for understanding and communicating the various aspects of website optimization.
The next series of my blog posts will be dissecting each of the disciplines in terms of their role in website optimization and how to use web analytics as a communication tool. Stay Tuned . . . .
