Click Analytics:Why Every Click Counts

Tabatha FarneyAssistant ProfessorUniversity of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Click Analytics [klik an-l-it-iks] : a specific metric that interprets web

site use by studying clicks on a web page

Resons for Click Analytics

1. Visualize your web site’s usage

2. Create easy to interpret reports

3. Test what works/what doesn’t work

Examples

And so on…

Analytics

Click Analytics Functionality• Site Overlay - loads a web page and then

overlays it with click data for links* on that page

Pros & ConsPros Cons• FREE

• Fairly easy to use

• Must archive old designs

• NO export functionality

• Doesn’t (easily) track outbound links

• Not easy to segment data

Conclusion• Must use hacks to really make it useful.

Crazy Egg

Click Analytics Functionality• Site Overlay – tracks all clicks on a web

page

• Confetti View – clicks are represented as dots on a web page

• Heat Map – clicks are represented by intensity of color

Pros & ConsPros Cons• three different tools/views

• Easy to archive

• Easy to segment data

• Fee based

• Limited export functionality

Conclusion• A worthy investment, but is not a complete web

analytics package.

Piwik with ClickHeat

Click Analytics Functionality• Heat Map - clicks are represented by

intensity of color

Pros & ConsPros Cons• FREE

• Open Source (customizable)

• Real time data

• ClickHeat must be added to PiWik installation

• NO export functionality

• No segmentation of data

• Slows down web pageConclusion• Not as robust as Crazy Egg, but it offers a more

rounded web analytics package.

Conclusions

Supplement to web analytics

Does NOT replace usability testing

Resources UsedGoogle Analyticshttp://www.google.com/analytics/

Crazy Egghttp://www.crazyegg.com/

Piwikhttp://piwik.org/

LabsMedia’s ClickHeathttp://www.labsmedia.com/clickheat/index.html

Great ReadsArendt, J. & Wagner, C. Beyond description: Converting Web site usage statistics into concrete site improvement ideas. Journal of Web Librarianship, 4(1), 37-54. doi: 10.1080/19322900903547414

Black, E. Web analytics: A picture of the academic library Web site user. Journal of Web Librarianship, 3(1), 3-14. doi: 10.1080/19322900802660292

Clifton, B. (2008). Advanced Web metrics with Google Analytics. Serious skills. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley Pub.

Fang, W. (2007). Using Google Analytics for improving library Web site content and design: A case study. Library Philosophy and Practice, (Special Issue on Libraries and Google) http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/fang.htm

Kaushik, A. (2010). Web analytics 2.0: The art of online accountability and science of customer centricity. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley.

?Questions/comments?

“Um, yes…I have a question.” LOL Cat, http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/going_x_crazy/macros/kat%20macros/cat_question2.jpg