Website Analytics - How they can help you build your business

It used to be a standard practice to see a website counter along the bottom of a website. While it would show you how many website visits your site had received, it wasn’t able to tell you what pages were visited, how long visitors stayed, what they clicked on, what pages they left the site on, etc.

If you are still relying on information that a website counter provides, you are missing out on much more important information that a free website analytic program will provide.

Website Analytics is the collection and analysis of website information. Information, such as the most visited pages on your website, is collected by an analytics program that is connected to your website and the information it provides can help you improve your website overtime.

If you have a content management system through a web designer, you may also have the ability to check and monitor your website statistics. If you are not sure if you have a way of tracking statistics, ask your website designer.

If you don’t have currently have an analytics program or the program you are running is not giving you as much information as you would like, Google Analytics is one of the top programs available – and it is free!

So, why should you monitor website analytics? Analytics can show you:

• What pages on your website are the most often visited – meaning these pages being found in searches the most.
  
• How visitors are finding you – did they type in your website domain, have they bookmarked the site, did they come across your website through another website (i.e. novascotia.com) or did they find you in a search on a search engine. It will even tell you the search engine country (i.e. www.google.uk).
  
• What page do your website visitors most often leave your website on – an indication that there is work needed on that page (or pages)!

For more information on how analytics can help you focus your website efforts, please contact me at (902) 496-7481 / 1-800-948-4267 or email michelle_sears@tians.org.

"User Persona" - Who is your website's target audience?

The internet plays a major role in our businesses, and most often the first impression of your company is through your website. Is your website answering your customers’ questions? Who is your customer?

The above questions can be answered by creating a “user persona”. Take a moment to think about who your customer is:

• Age
• Gender
• Education
• What is their lifestyle?
  - i.e. recently retired, very active
• Why are they travelling?
  - i.e. enjoy nature and exploring the outdoors, antique hunters
• What are their travel goals?
  - i.e. Relax, enjoy the outdoors, learn about a new area
• What are their interests?
  - i.e.Hiking, reading, good food and wine, photography

In addition to the above information think about:

• Questions that your customers have asked,
• Things that they have liked and disliked, and
• Any other comments that your customer has made

From the information above, write a mini-biography about your “potential customer”.

Example User Persona:

Mary and Bill - Retired Couple residing in Boston, MA

Lifestyle
• Recently retired: Mary was a nurse and Bill a school principal
• Family: No kids living at home
• Fitness: Staying fit and eating well are very important

Travel
• Mary and Bill enjoy traveling to new locations
• Activities – enjoy anything outdoors, hiking, camping, etc.
• Enjoy cabin stays and the use of a few amenities

Attributes
• Outdoor Enthusiasts
• Self-Directed Travel Planners
• Enjoy reading
• Enjoy good food and good wine

Goals
• Enjoy the outdoors
• Relax
• Learn about a new region

Based on this user persona, these are just a few of the types of things you should include on your website. Knowing your customers have an interest in good food and wine, be sure to list local restaurants and wineries and knowing there is an interest in learning about a new region gives you the opportunity to share information on local museums and historic places of interest.
Understanding your target audience will help you decide what information your website needs to provide. New information you receive will assist you with updating your website content for new and future clients.

Why should I create a user persona?

It will help you to better understand your customers’ interests and needs and will help you to develop information to include on your website.

For example - If you notice many of your customers travel with their dogs, make sure you let your potential customers know you are dog-friendly on your website. You could even include information on dog-friendly trails and parks in your area on your.

If you are looking for ways to start collecting this information, consider:

- Adding questions to your online reservation form (i.e. How did you find us? What are your interests (provide a list pertaining to your area), etc.)
- Adding questions to your welcome email upon receiving a reservation – let customers know you have received their reservation and ask how you can add to their stay in your area.
- A short questionnaire for clients to fill out upon check-in/check-out or sale.

Learning the Keys of Technology and their power in the Tourism Industry with Todd Lucier (and Natalie too!)

In Spring 2008, the Nova Scotia Tourism Human Resource Council, as part of their annual Nova Scotia Masterclass Series of workshops, arranged for two, 2-day hands-on technology workshops with Todd Lucier of TourismKeys.ca. As a welcomed bonus, his daughter Natalie joined him which made for an even more interactive experience for the workshop attendees in the April sessions.

For those of you that are not familiar with Todd, he is a self-taught guru in online tourism marketing through technology available to us online and offers helpful and informative tips, tools and findings on his website, http://www.tourismkeys.ca/, and blog. Todd facilitates workshops throughout Ontario and presents at Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism (GMIST) each year.

The first of the two technology workshops was held in Port Hawkesbury at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Strait Area Campus while the second session was held in Dartmouth at the new NSCC Waterfront Campus.

In both sessions, Todd introduced participants to ways that they can enhance their websites using free, online tools such as Wordpress and Blogger blogs, Animoto for creating audio/video slideshows of pictures and more. He explained why blogs are becoming more important and beneficial to have and walked participants through the setting up and building of a blog using Wordpress.

Participants had been asked to bring 10 digital pictures of their property and/or area to use over the two days and with these pictures, slideshows were created in the free online tool, Animoto. While everyone was working on this, Natalie was setting up a sound room in order for participants to record a short, 30 second blurb on their business. After these were recorded, Natalie, a radio and television arts graduate, edited the clips and added Celtic music to the background which allowed everyone the chance to add them to their animoto creations. Once finished, the files were then uploaded to YouTube and then embedded into the newly created blogs.

These workshops gave operators a hands-on approach to learning about social media and the ease and benefits of using it.

For tips and tricks and informed opinions, please visit Todd's blog.