A Day in the Life of a Website

by Cherie' Davidson

Ah, there he is. What did he do, sleep all night?! We'll never
get any sales if he doesn't do something with me. My navigation
is awkward, the page flow...well, it doesn't, and humans keep
leaving the site after a few seconds. It's no fun for me, I can
tell you! I'm a Website, damn it, and I deserve some respect!

My human - he calls himself a business man...ha! - is trying to
make a living from me. But what can he expect when he has no clue
what my visitors are thinking? This just chaps my scripts, I can
tell you.

Okay, in all fairness, he did make me look good. Actually, real
good. I'm hot...my graphics are sharp and engaging, my design is
striking and if I were a photograph, I'd be framed in a fancy
gallery! But doesn't he know, looks are only monitor deep?
Pleeeez, get a clue! My very survival depends on business, which
starts with happy humans. And unfortunately, as pretty as I am,
I'm not making anyone happy. Yep, my days are numbered unless he
starts paying attention to my needs!

Impatiently waiting for his human to fill his coffee mug, Website
sits, wondering what today will hold...

Come on, come on! We're burning pixels here! Yes! Pull out your
chair, there you go. Sit... alright! Gotcha! Now we're cooking.
Yep, there's the familiar tap...and...woo hoo! He's pulling some
of my files. We're finally going to get something done!

Human has been reading about Web analytics...

What is this? He's adding a strange little snippet of code. Hmmm,
interesting, it's nonintrusive, but...whoa, baby! I can see who
is looking at me! Wow! There's one from Alaska, and Arizona, oh,
ya, and that place humans call Florida. This is a rush! Look at
those traffic numbers climb! I've got to look at this deal. Ok,
ya, reports, good. Easy to read. My human needs to look at these
closely. Oh ya!

Wait a second! Only 20% of all these people went to my sales
page?! That can't continue. Hey, human! Human! Are you seeing
this?!

It seems Human is seeing the numbers, and he is realizing there
is a lot he has been missing by not having used traffic reporting
before now...

Ok, we need to look at this more closely. I see that 10% are
buying once they get there. Hmmm, that could be improved! Oh,
geez, look at that product description page - everyone is leaving
when they get to it. What's up with that?! Human, you need to get
a copywriter on that page, like now!

This is interesting, that press release he sent brought 379
people to the site. And 214 are from Florida. What else,
oh...keywords! Aha! I don't see my #1 product anywhere.

The unpleasant screeching sound issuing from the computer echoes
Human's feelings about his site. This Web analytics data is
shedding light on some serious issues...

Come on, Human! Take your mouse by the horns and make some
changes! This is good stuff we're seeing here. Your banner ad on
that sweet little site in Canada is getting great response. Do
more of that, would ya? I sure wouldn't mind connecting to some
other hotties like that one, and we now know that pays off!

Human, you're...making changes! You go!!! Ahhh, I'm already
seeing a difference...look at that! Not so many jumpers from the
description page; they're starting to move over to sales. Now
you've got it. Oh ya, this is doing the trick. You're seeing what
needs to be changed, what works and what flops!

No more long, lonely nights, no more feelings of cart
abandonment, no more dollars surfing out of my reach! I'm all
choked up...Human, you couldn't have made a better move, and
you're going to see the difference I can make now! Oh ya! My
virtual world is turning around, thanks to one little snippet and
a human who is paying attention to the reports.

What about your Website? Don't keep it in the dark, bored, doing
nothing for you. An unfulfilled Website is a tremendous
opportunity lost. By using Web analytics, it can do what it was
created to do...bring you business!

copyright 2006 all rights reserved

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This is a free-reprint article written by freelance writer and
Website content developer, Cherie' Davidson
(http://www.cheriedavidson.com). Cherie' is also copywriter and
managing content editor for VisiStat, a Web reporting service
(http://www.visistat.com), and their informative Analytics Blog
(http://www.visistat.com/wordpress/). For more information, write
her at editor at visistat.com.
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