How URL Re-writing Adds Value to Analytics

[tedster]

This is a true story. The business involved looked at their log analysis quite diligently in a weekly meeting between upper management. "See, the solid search engine traffic we're getting -- nice relevant keywords are ranking high on the first page and getting lots of clicks. So how can we convert better?"

One of the first things we did was to introduce a url rewrite. No, their urls were not terrible - just one parameter in the query string. Still we've seen so much improvement with nice human-readable urls with other clients that we sold them on the idea.

Now comes the first set of log reports using the new urls. All of a sudden these reports seem filled with newly revealed information -- because no one ever could remember what?q=189 meant in the old days.

For example, 4 of the top ten landing pages from organic search proved to be informational pop-ups. We're talking some really good, nearly-trophy keywords here. But the pop-up pages didn't even offer navigation to other website pages, most especially not to a page where a purchase might happen.

The product is a consumable, with the average customer replenishing over 9 times in their lifetime with the company. So we add some navigation into these informational pop-ups and bingo!, total sales went up nearly 5% immediately and they stayed there.

This was the first and most dramatic of the new insights that nearly jumped off the page after we rewrote the urls. More learning continues to come, including lots of ideas for improving the site's information architecture and link structure. All this is the unanticipated, but happily accepted benefit from analytics that came along with a well thought out url rewriting plan.

[coopster]

Sweet story. It is certainly something to take note of and carry forward in future site evaluations, whether that be existing clients or be it a potential customer that is ready to hear these very words. Might be the deal clincher ;)

Thanks for the insight tedster.

[chewy]

I'm thinking about introducing popups carefully into a site - Tedster, or others, can you comment on the enlightend use of popups?

Everything I see says they can do 2 things - upset the user and increase conversions and that while things like AdBlockPlus etc are liked by this user, it is an arms race problem to stay ahead of popup blockers and other reasonable and unreasonable tools that increasing numbers of users are employing.