ClickTracks provides a fast efficient web analytics visualization and collection system that can be hosted by ClickTracks or run at the customers' premises. Most implementations are fully functional within minutes of installation and present data in a format readily understood by marketing teams. ClickTracks' 8,000 customers cite three basic reasons they chose ClickTracks over all other solutions:
1. Simplicity of analyzing/visualizing data
2. Infinitely flexible ad hoc analysis makes fewer reports more useful
3. Fast and low-cost implementation to full functionality
This paper provides a deeper look at what makes ClickTracks products stand apart from other solutions.
Differentiators
Visitor Segmentation
Segmentation is inflexible in other tools as marketers need to compare segments of users in complex and ever changing ways. ClickTracks permits segments to be defined on-the-fly and reports are quickly generated using the unique system know as 'Visitor labeling.' A key aspect is ClickTracks' ability to perform segmentation after the data has been collected. Other systems rely on custom-coded JavaScript that passes a variable representing the segment into the analytics database. This is weak because the marketer often does not know in advance what type of segmentation will be Marketers require tools that help make decisions, not just display pie charts. Existing analytics products suffer from the problem of data overload (analysis paralysis). ClickTracks solves this by utilizing principles of Edward Tufte to design a clean, business-focused user interface that is free of unnecessary adornment. The purpose of the tool is to let the data speak for itself, enabling marketers to make solid decisions. For example, ClickTracks does not use 3D effects on the charts as this has been shown to obfuscate already complex data. ClickTracks has consistently innovated in ways of presenting data that are clear and efficient, starting with the overlay view and continuing into search engine data and KPI timelines.
Ad-Hoc Analysis
In traditional web analytics solutions, the availability of data depends on advance knowledge that a particular metric will be required. These products mix the data collection with the reporting engine, making it impossible to go back to the original data and extract a new metric. This server-centric model has the advantage of serving fast, common reports to a mass audience, but does not support individual ad-hoc analysis--which is the basis for most marketing decisions. ClickTracks overcomes this limitation by placing all data into a separate repository (dataset) which can by dynamically queried using a simple point and click UI, with no SQL database required. The efficient format of the dataset makes analysis extremely easy for the marketing analyst to create scenarios based on any visitor behavior.
ClickTracks products also support server-centric reporting. Each marketer has the choice to perform ad-hoc queries or to use fast, common reports that are processed on a central server.
Data Collection and Processing Options
ClickTracks can collect and process data from both JavaScript page tags or log files as the data source. The functionality is almost identical in either case. In addition, ClickTracks offers multiple options for data collection and processing. The customer can eliminate monthly fees by buying out the software entirely. These options become significant when the following common scenarios occur:
- Increased website activity (page-view count) push costs of monthly hosted services out of budget
- Increased website activity generates log file sizes too unwieldy to handle
- Users require the benefits of tagged data (higher volume and accuracy) as well as log file (robot activity, downloads and click fraud).
By releasing a productized version of its own hosted data collection software (ClickTracks JDC), ClickTracks gives businesses the option to pay a one-time license fee, thus eliminating recurring costs while collecting page-tagged web analytics data on their own co-located servers.
JavaScript data collection within ClickTracks is distinctly different from other services such as Omniture, WebSideStory (Hitbox, HBX) and Coremetrics, some of which require your site to call in of hundreds of lines of obfuscated code from remote servers (for each visitor!). ClickTracks JavaScript tags are minimally intrusive and require no ongoing development effort for the marketing or IT teams.
