Total Website Quality Management (TWQM) is materializing as a significant trend in website performance augmentation. TWQM is the art and science of continuous, coordinated website improvement through software, hardware and middleware (software that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact across a network). TWQM optimizes website performance services ranging from automated site monitoring to browser download speed maximization to search engine optimization/search engine marketing.

Website analytics is a subset of TWQM. A useful tool we are currently using to generate website metrics is Google Analytics, which uses page tagging through JavaScript on each page to generate page access statistics. The results can be analyzed in an online report format to reveal areas for improvement.

We have experienced web analytics personnel to review the charts generated by Google Analytics to determine adjustments needed to advertising methodologies, page ranking techniques, search analytics, behavioral targeting, customer experience, etc. Other free, newly released website analytics software includes Microsoft Analytics and Yahoo IndexTools. Released as beta software in 2008, Microsoft Analytics and Yahoo IndexTools are designed to compete with Google Analytics.

Google’s other website performance enhancement tools—Website Optimizer and AdWords—are tools that can be used in conjunction with Google Analytics. Website Optimizer allows website operators to experiment with various headlines, product features and images to identify the most effective configuration. AdWords offers pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and site-targeted advertising for both text and banner ads. We are currently evaluating how to best use Website Optimizer and AdWords.

Important Analytics Terminology:

1) Visits – Where a uniquely identified website visitor has generated a request(s) through a browser for pages, content, etc. with a quantifiable length of time to the visit.

2) Pageview – A browser request that results in a page being stored in a server log file or a page script being activated.

3) Pages/visit – The average number of pageviews a website visitor generates while accessing the website.

4) Time on page – Average amount of time that website visitors spend on each page. A high Time on page may indicate content that is particularly relevant to visitors.

5) Bounce rate – Where the website visitor enters and exits at the same page without visiting any other pages on the site during the same session. Expressed as a percent, this is a key analytics metric, as a high Bounce rate indicates a landing page or homepage that should be redesigned for greater accessibility or that visitors are not finding what they are looking for. There is an inverse relationship between Time on page and Bounce rate.

6) Exit – Expressed as a percent, Exit represents the number of website visitors who leave a page. A high number of exits from specific types of pages may indicate that the page is confusing or that it generates user errors.

7) Entrance paths – The number of dependent or independent paths visitors used to find content on the website.

8) Entrance sources – The highest-rated sources per page.

9) Entrance keywords – The highest-rated keywords per page.

10) Hit – one of the best known, and most misleading, web metrics. Hit measurement is not available to page tagging approaches (only available through server log file review approaches). Hit measurement often results in over-estimation of a website’s popularity.

Keywords Are Another Tool We Use to Make Our Site More Accessible

Search engines such as Google use keywords to help a visitor quickly refine the number of results returned from a search. Search engine keywords are words that web visitors use to conduct a search in a search engine. A keyword can consist of a single word, such as "media" or an entire phrase, such as "full service media management.”

Website operators can improve a visitor’s search experience by implementing the keywords which website visitors are most likely to be searching for into the website’s HTML code, and identifying which keywords are likeliest to yield higher page rankings and page placement in search results. Good search engine keyword selection is a balance between the popularity of a keyword or keyword phrase and the competition that already exists in trying to rank for that keyword or keyword phrase.

For example, we have used various keyword ranking tools (such as Google Trends and Wordtracker) and our own in-house experts to verify keywords and keyword phrases visitors think of when looking for media management services. For example, some of these include:  Advertising, Advertising business, African American media, Asian Pacific communications, Audience composition, Strategic media, Cable advertising, Cable marketing, Cable networks, Client Services, Contextual, Dennis Holt, Digital advertising, Digital marketing, Digital media, Direct mail advertising, Direct mail marketing, Direct Response, Direct response advertising, Direct response marketing, Display, DMA, Email blast, Endorsements, Endorsement radio, Equivalized rating, Frequency distribution, Full service marketing agency, Full service media management, Geo demo mapping, GLBT and  HUT.

Other keyword search combinations we try to capture include terms such as Interactive advertising, Interactive marketing, Interactive media, Local Cable Advertising, Local cable marketing, LPMs, Marketing, Marketing agency, Market analysis, Media advertising, Media, Media is our business, Media management, Media marketing, Mobile, MSO, Multicultural, Multicultural Marketing, National advertising, National cable advertising, National cable marketing, National media negotiation, National marketing, NTR, Online advertising, Online marketing, Online media, Out-of-Home, Outdoor, Political advertising, Political marketing, Political planning, Postings, PPMs, Print negotiation, Profit planning and buying, Profit sharing media, Publishing, PUT, Radio advertising, Radio and television advertising, Radio marketing, Research, Research and frequency, SEM, SEO, Spanish communications, Spot negotiation, Spot radio negotiation, Spot TV negotiation, Sports advertising, SportsCall, Sports marketing, Strategic advertising, Strategic marketing, Television advertising, Television marketing, Traffic, Upfronts, Viral and Western international media company.

Total Website Quality Management Provides Competitive Advantages

According to a recent, major study conducted by Anderson Analytics, 60 percent of members of the Marketing Executives Network Group indicate that marketing basics such as segmentation and ROI are very important to their online and offline marketing/advertising activities for 2008 and 42 percent said other website metrics such as search engine optimization are as important. The study documents the rising trend toward the metrics and analytics side of online marketing, as more marketing managers, web analysts and business intelligence experts recognize the value of Total Website Quality Management (TWQM) to improve the performance of their websites and marketing as measured by website optimization, search analytics, campaign optimization, Web 2.0 optimization, behavioral targeting, competitive analysis, customer experience, statistical analysis, business implementation and multichannel marketing metrics. We will continue to learn about and deploy the best TWQM strategies including: Automated site monitoring; Continuous security testing; Browser download speed optimization; Ongoing content and feature updates; Website analytics; SEO/SEM; Server statistics evaluation; Daily broken link testing; Image/video file maintenance and Comprehensive navigation system improvement.

Our goal is to ensure that the USIM website provides visitors with a content-rich, well-organized, technologically advanced platform to maximize their time and energy as they learn about the fastest growing, full-service media management company in the United States.

By Darrell Woody

Gazette Staff Writer