How Posadas uses Event Tracking to analyze conversion funnel abandonment

One of the most important features you have access to in Google Analytics is the conversion funnel, which is particularly useful for analyzing your website’s efficiency in converting visitors into customers. Using the conversion funnel, you can easily find optimization points that will help you generate more profit for your business, perhaps without even increasing your advertising budget.

However, conversion funnels show aggregated data of all traffic flowing through them. That is, it does not let you make a differential analysis by product.

Posadas, the largest hotel chain in Mexico, with hotels in Mexico, Brazil, the U.S., Argentina and Chile, decided to adapt their Google Analytics implementation to segment the traffic flowing through the conversion funnel and make a differentiated analysis for each of their more than 100 hotels. In addition to segmenting traffic flow by product, Posadas was able to enrich the abandonment analysis by uncovering the opportunity cost of letting people leave the process before completing a transaction.

The conversion process is simple, it starts with a search for room availability in one of Posadas’ travel destinations. The search results provide a list of rooms for which the visitor can request an instant quote. After selecting the preferred room, the visitor proceeds to make the payment and complete the reservation.

Conversion Funnel:

• Step 1: Check room availability
• Step 2: Request an instant quote
• Step 3: Reservation payment

To get more details about this process, Event Tracking was implemented for step 1 and 2 of the conversion funnel by calling the function _trackEvent() while loading both pages.

The _trackEvent function has 5 parameters:

_trackEvent (category, action, opt_label, opt_value, opt_noninteraction)

However, in this case we decided to use only two parameters for step 1:

• Category:  "Availability"
• Action: The unique identifier for the hotel being searched

_trackEvent ('Availability ', Hotel_Id)

and three parameters in step 2:

• Category: "Quote"
• Action: The unique identifier for the hotel being quoted
• Value: the total amount of the quote

_trackEvent ('Quote ', Hotel_Id, '', Quote_Value)

Of course, in the final step of the funnel —the sale— the e-commerce tracking code is implemented, so there’s no need to use Event Tracking as the reserved hotel Id and the final reservation cost are already tracked.

With this customized implementation, Posadas was able to get a data matrix that shows the differences in traffic flow for each of the steps, for each hotel. They were also able to look at the differences between quoted prices and actual revenue. In this matrix, Posadas can look for significant fluctuations in traffic and money amounts and discover potential optimization points with more detail than they might find in the standard conversion funnel report.

Abandonment matrix showing percentage of dropouts and the difference between quoted prices and actual revenue for each hotel

To further improve their analytics, Posadas decided to implement a survey to get feedback from their visitors and find out why they abandon the process in each of the high fluctuation points. After identifying significant fluctuation points and receiving feedback directly from their customers, they are able to make sound decisions when optimizing for particular hotels, perhaps by experimenting with specific sales promotions or pricing policies.

Monica Herrero, eCommerce & Online Marketing Manager at Posadas says:

"Analyzing the behavior of our visitors at this level of detail has many benefits. The first is the ability to track the differences in traffic flow through the conversion process separately for each of our hotels. We realized that there are some hotels that consistently show excellent conversion rates, but these special cases were hiding behind the average showed in the standard funnel report. The second benefit is finding the exact points in the funnel that we must optimize, which are different for each hotel. And the third benefit is discovering the reasons why our visitors abandon the process. 

With these three pieces of information we were able to improve our site and our sales strategies, which led to an 18% increase of our conversion rate on average, and an increase of up to 88% for some specific hotels. 

Understanding why people leave your site before converting and trying to retain them can be a challenging endeavor, but the benefit of doing so is highly worthwhile.”

As always, we invite you to try new ways to use the features Google Analytics provides, and to share those experiences with us.

Published by Enrique Quevedo, Google Analytics Latin America

How One Online Food Retailer Increased E-commerce Sales By 70% In Key Regions

LaTienda is an award-winning, family-owned business supporting artisanal firms in Spain. The firm works with small family-run businesses, many of which are dedicated to centuries-old food-making traditions. 

With warehouses in Williamsburg, Virginia and Alicante, Spain, the company ships hundreds of thousands of orders throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

LaTienda’s brand equity is built on its fundamental commitment to the customer experience. They guarantee a positive experience for its customers – quality products delivered in excellent condition, or they will replace or refund the purchase. 

Overall, they had been seeing great success with their online orders, though they wanted to continue looking for opportunities to grow sales. To assist with this, they worked with WebStrategies, located nearby in Virginia. 

They knew that a key product category in particular required more expensive shipping methods if it was too far from LaTienda’s Virginia warehouse. Their challenge was to understand the impact on sales of varying shipping rates for this subset of products. 

LaTienda grouped visitors into two regions: Region A visitors were close enough to the warehouse to always get reasonable shipping costs. Region B visitors were everywhere else, and had to use a more expensive shipping method for the key product category.

WebStrategies wanted to measure the impact on sales whenever one of the key products was placed in the cart. To measure this, they installed Event Tracking to the “Add To Cart” buttons on every product page. 

They then used Advanced Segments Custom Reports to separate visitors in Region A from Region B, and drilled down to view performance by product category. Sure enough, visitors from Region B were found to be 48% less likely to purchase if they placed an item from the key product category in their cart, which raised total shipping costs. 

To combat this effect, LaTienda.com implemented a less expensive, flat rate shipping model in region B and monitored sales. After the test, the rate at which Region B visitors completed the shopping cart were found to have increased by nearly 70%.

Just to be sure, they checked to see if there was a similar increase in conversion rate for Region A visitors, and found that it did not fluctuate more than 3.4% over the same time period. The analysis confirmed that product shipping rates greatly impacted shopping cart behavior, and used data to measure the results of a key business decision. 

Check out the full case study as a PDF download, and see additional success stories in our analytics case studies and success stories section.

Posted by the Google Analytics Team

How WBC Used Advanced Segments To Boost E-commerce Conversion Rate By More Than 12%

Established in 1989, WBC is the UK’s largest supplier of hamper, deli and drinks packaging to independent retailers. As the website is the company’s main business generation tool, it is essential that it promote their range of 850 products in the most attractive and accessible way possible. 

With a view to redesigning their e-commerce site and increasing the number of sales it generates, WBC was keen to understand how web traffic interacted with the site, and where potential improvements could be made.

Following an audit of their implementation, WBC’s search engine marketing agency, Periscopix, began tracking micro-conversions such as brochure downloads and crucial interaction data like on-site search tracking. Using advanced segmentation, they found that a high conversion rate for loyal customers was hiding a very low conversion rate for users completely new to WBC.

Aesthetically, the changes Periscopix proposed were subtle and focussed on two main areas: showcasing the range of products stocked by WBC and imposing a sense of authority in the marketplace. Using Google Analytics, Periscopix identified WBC’s most popular products. These were given prominence in the center of the homepage. The previously under-utilised right-hand side was optimised to feature media that previously had been hidden deeper in the site.

Periscopix ran an A/B test on the homepage for three months. This resulted in a 2.2% increase in homepage engagement and a boost to the e-commerce conversion rate by 12.2%. WBC have now committed to redesigning the website, with the homepage variation proposed by Periscopix forming the cornerstone of this new structure. 

Read the entire WBC case study and see additional success stories in our analytics case studies and success stories section.

Posted by the Google Analytics Team

Learn How Google Analytics Helped BuildDirect Increase Sales By 50%

BuildDirect operates in over 100 countries and aims to simplify the sourcing of materials for its customers. As a virtual organization they credit much of their success to savvy use of online marketing and advertising. 

With a comprehensive marketing mix of search advertising, email newsletters and conversion optimization BuildDirect uses Google Analytics insights to get more value for every dollar they spend on marketing. Read a brief summary of the techniques BuildDirect used and results achieved below:

Linking AdWords to Analytics enabled BuildDirect to increase search marketing conversions by 37%

By importing AdWords data for analysis, BuildDirect found that long tail keywords helped drive users closer to the products they were actually looking for. This resulted in a better user experience as visitors needed to do less site navigation, and took less clicks to complete a sale. Now, long-tail keywords perform three times better than regular keywords 

Campaign Tagging led to a doubling of email conversion rates 

Tagging links in different email creatives helped BuildDirect discover which versions drove the most customer conversions -  doubling the conversion rates of their email campaigns. Additionally, BuildDirect uncovered that customers who bought a sample were most likely to return and purchase if if they were subsequently shown highly relevant messages. 

Improved Site Usability resulted in 100% increase in sample orders and 50% increase in sales

By reducing the steps from cart to payment confirmation from three steps to one, BuildDirect was able to increase sample orders by 100%. Using the In-Page Analytics feature BuildDirect could understand what content users were actively engaged in so they could make better decisions to prioritize, improved or eliminate pages and refine the checkout procedure. 

Be sure to read the full case study [PDF link] to learn all the techniques BuildDirect used to maximize their marketing spend. 

Posted by the Google Analytics team

How Two Nonprofits Improve Their Site Performance With Google Analytics

At Google, we’re proud that our products are used by nonprofits to help them better achieve their objectives and improve the world. We believe that data holds amazing power for all types of organizations and it’s inspiring to see some forward-thinking nonprofits live at the edge of adoption. Today we’d like to share two brief case studies we’ve published: how the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) are using Google Analytics. Links to the full case studies are included after each summary if you’d like to dive deeper.

By tailoring the features of Google Analytics, LunaMetrics helps PBS increase conversions and visits by 30%

Top Notch Programming, The Public Broadcasting System’s interactive arm, helps individual PBS producers and local PBS stations create and promote each section within PBS.org for programs such as NOVA, American Masters, and Sid the Science Kid. A selection of web analytics tools had been installed, but these proved difficult to maintain and use. PBS wanted to develop a coordinated approach to analysis and reporting that would inform their future strategic decisions.

Led by Web Analytics Director Amy Sample, the team at PBS needed a cohesive system across the entire enterprise, and for this they turned to Google Analytics. In addition to top-level analysis of PBS.org and PBSKids.org, they also hoped to implement a solution that would allow producers of individual programs to see only the data on those pages and microsites that related to their own shows. It was critical to have a solution that gave Amy the over-arching view she needed, and the microcosm view that each producer needed. To meet these requirements, LunaMetrics devised a custom technical solution for PBS that expanded their existing standard implementation. 

Google Analytics has been a key facilitator in the transformation of PBS online. The tool enables reporting that is robust, tailored and meaningful, which means that stakeholders are no longer focused on static monthly reports. Instead, they are increasingly able to use analytics to inform  critical and timely business decisions on a day-to-day basis. Analysis of search engine trends led to an increase in PBS traffic by 30% during the first year after implementation. PBS also used valuable conversion funnel data to optimize the registration path in PBSKids; this activity increased conversions by one-third. Furthermore, since Google Analytics was set up to allow PBS to evaluate the way users consumed video, the broadcaster created two new portals: PBS Video and PBSKIDS Go!

Read the full PBS case study here.

SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) chooses Google Analytics and masters the art of metrics

In 1995, SFMOMA was one of the first museums to launch an institutional website. SFMOMA.org offers a fluid space of exploration in which visitors can easily navigate an online collection of more than 9,000 artworks and a rich archive of studio and video content. The site also has an online store and a detailed calendar of exhibitions and events. 

Their primary goal was to develop rich, dynamic content that engages visitors and keeps them coming back to the website as well as the physical museum. SFMOMA’s website receives nearly four times the number of visits than the physical museum. Providing compelling digital content that visitors want was as critical as hosting popular exhibitions.

Google Analytics Certified Partner E-Nor helped SFMOMA connect key business objectives to a robust web analytics strategy and recommended Google Analytics as the best solution for their needs. As a result of the switch to Google Analytics with a thorough implementation plan, SFMOMA saw a tremendous increase in available insights about their online presence. They realized a 15% gain in traffic accuracy, and so were more willing to make decisions based on the data. 

They could clearly see what content users liked best, and made changes and improvements to their website to keep them coming back. Their marketing campaigns were tied to sales and other goal conversions, and so they could optimize accordingly.

All this new data is helping produce valuable insights on how the website is used and what marketing efforts and website designs are delivering results. SFMOMA is now prepared to continue its online leadership thanks to careful planning and strategy coupled with an expert use of the advanced features in Google Analytics.

Read the full SFMOMA case study here.

Posted by the Google Analytics team

How Nissan Uses Ecommerce Tracking Without Directly Selling Online

This post originally appeared on the Google Analytics Japan blog.

Google Analytics’ e-commerce tracking allows online merchants to measure items sold and tie those results back to their digital marketing activities. But did you know that it can also be used to track non e-commerce activity?

Nissan Motor Company does just this. Nissan operates in the automobile industry, and owns a network of websites designed to help consumers around the world decide which Nissan vehicle they would like to purchase.

Nissan uses e-commerce tracking whenever a visitor submits a request for a test drive or a brochure. They treat each request as if a car were sold, and record details such as the model, colour, transmission type, and location of the vehicles people inquire after. A traditional Google Analytics implementation for a non e-commerce site would simply use goals to measure conversions. So why did Nissan opt to use e-commerce tracking instead?

They wanted to be able to measure more information about each inquiry within their Google Analytics reports. By implementing e-commerce tracking they are now able to pass additional information to their Google Analytics account, such as the category, colour, and model of car the visitor was interested in. Nissan's Global Marketing Strategy Division then analyses this information to understand which vehicles are in hot demand in each market; it then feeds those insights to their manufacturing plants across the globe to ensure that there is enough supply to satisfy demand. 

One of the benefits of Google Analytics is that you can decide who should have access to your suite of reports. Nissan’s Global Division uses this feature to decentralise access to their different market operations, allowing each country manager to log into Google Analytics and quickly assess the popularity of different models for their market. Nissan employed a Google Analytics Certified Partner in Japan, Ayudante, to help set up their account profiles and custom reports that could then be accessed by each of the country managers.

Nissan’s Global Marketing Strategy division says there are 3 key benefits they gain from Google Analytics as a whole:

1. It is easy to assess product popularity globally and by market. The user experience is seamless and there was no complex setup necessary.
2. Custom reports allow you to easily view complex information in one view. It dramatically reduces the time to summarize multiple reports, document it, and share it within the organisation.
3. Google Analytics gives them access to timely information, which allows for better decision making.

Even if you are a non e-commerce site, you should explore e-commerce tracking as a means of measuring more information about the products or services your visitors are inquiring about. Then share that information with your wider marketing and product teams so that they can make effective decisions to maximise sales.

Posted by Noriyuki Ouchi, Google Analytics Solutions Consultant, Google Japan and Vinoaj Vijeyakumaar, Senior Conversion Specialist, Google Southeast Asia

Measuring app engagement across device & platforms

There are more ways now to consume your favorite television shows, movies, and on demand content than ever before. People are turning to their smartphones, tablets, and Internet connected TV’s to watch what they want, when they want it. For broadcasters, agencies, and advertisers the question is how are users engaging with this media and how can it be monetized?

This measurement opportunity is what drove TV App Agency to be founded in 2011. The London-based software company designed a software application that works across a variety of viewing devices to help deliver on-demand media. They turned to Google Analytics as the platform to help them measure and analyze their data.

Why turn to Google Analytics?
TV App Agency opted to use Google Analytics’ server side APIs, which were more easily compatible with the on-demand media environment than JavaScript APIs. They were able to use their own in-house knowledge from previous mobile development to come up with a tagging strategy that highlighted exactly the data that mattered most to their business model. Learn more by reading the full case study.



“We are now able to track which adverts are being played and get an idea of which functions in apps are being used. Plus, the real-time reports show when people are actually using these apps.”
                          Bruno Pereira, co-founder of TV App Agency

Future Analytics goals

TV App Agency is working on expanding their Analytics to track more events, and understand more about viewer engagement from Analytics robust reports. By integrating Google Analytics they are able to offer richer data and analysis than other connected TV app developers, which gives them an incredible advantage in this exciting new space.

- The Google Analytics team

PUMA Kicks Up Order Rate 7% with Insights from Google Analytics and Viget

Google Analytics has a network of Certified Partners around the globe who provide valuable technical and analytical services, but I often get asked about the impact of their work. To that end, we help our partners publish case studies to showcase their best projects, and we’re featuring these studies in a series of posts in the coming months.

PUMA is a highly recognizable and well-respected sport/lifestyle company. They have a global audience and a world-class website, but still they strive to beat their own records. They know the best athletes use data and strict regimens to improve their performance, so applied the same concepts to their website with great results.

PUMA had a few strategic goals. They wanted to measure all engaging elements of their dynamic website, beyond just simple pageviews. They also wanted their site to be optimized for each key region around the world. Finally, they wanted to improve ecommerce conversion rates across the board.

   



Using Google Analytics, and with the help of Viget Labs - a Google Analytics Certified Partner based in Washington, DC - PUMA implemented a robust measurement strategy, including the use of Event Tracking to capture how visitors engaged with the dynamic parts of their website. They then set up website optimization tests to inform improved website design leading to a higher conversion rate. Viget also suggested they use Google Analytics Custom Variables to segment their customers from each test variation. 

Working with Viget and Google Analytics, PUMA has gained a detailed understanding of visitor behavior, enabling them to optimize their entire web site experience. Being customer focused and improving their digital experience translated into considerable gains in revenue. Check out the full case study of their experience here: PUMA Kicks Up Order Rate 7% with Insights from Google Analytics and Viget






PUMA’s team were extremely pleased with the business impact and we’re delighted Google Analytics could help them. You can read what their Head of Digital Strategy thought of the project:

“Google Analytics lets us help our customers. We’ve seen some spectacular results working with Viget, and we’re thrilled with GA as a tool. For every decision we’ve faced, GA’s been there to answer the call.” — Jay Basnight, Head of Digital Strategy, PUMA

Improvements like this aren’t just limited to big global brands, businesses of all sizes can take advantage of these features with Google Analytics if they’re willing to plan their web analytics strategy around business goals. If you feel like Google Analytics isn’t helping to drive more revenue for your business, you may want to re-assess your analytics strategy. If you don’t know where to begin, you might benefit from a consultation with a Google Analytics Certified Partner.

Let us know in the comments what your biggest challenges are and we’ll run a series of guest posts from our partner network to share advice on the most popular topics.

Posted by Jesse Nichols, Google Analytics Partner Manager