Tuesday 1 August 2006

KPIs? Keeps us Ponderings & Investigating, eh..?

In this industry the most common and frequently used buzzword is the KPI or the "Key Performance Indicator". Rightly so because it gives us the ability to measure accurately, predict and forecast customer behavior and hence has earned the new media the edge over the others in the recent times.

KPIs are quantifiable metrics which reflect the performance of an organization (in our industry website) in achieving its goals and objectives. The concept emanates from the principle “What gets measured, gets managed”.

Umh... Now that we know what a KPI in Web Analytics is, it brings us to which ones to choose. There are so many standard KPIs and Metrics, how do you decide which one is for you?
To answer this in short - "It Depends"

Depends on;

- Who is our audience?
- What are they trying to accomplish?
- How well are we helping them get the job done?

While a KPI can be either a count or a ratio, it is frequently a ratio. While basic counts and ratios can be used by all Web site types, a KPI is infused with business strategy - hence the term, “Key” — and therefore the set of appropriate KPIs typically differs between

- Site type KPI:
E-commerce, content, lead generation & customer service
- Process type KPI:
Reach, Acquisition, conversion and retention

However most sites would have overlapping business models, and would also require customized KPIs. This is where an experience consultant would be able to help. In the coming blogs, I shall elaborate on the various most commonly used "Site Type KPIs".

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