SkyGlue is an add-on to the use of Google Analytics that allows expanded data collection from user interactions. With the addition of a small snippet of Javascript on a website, SkyGlue provides for the tracking and reporting of user interactions within a webpage. Google Analytics is limited to tracking the navigation of the user between pages. SkyGlue allows data to be collected from interactive features on a single web page to see how a user interacts with the content. After inserting the SkyGlue code, there is the ability to customize the data collected from events and interactions on a page according to the needs of the website. Pinpointing and tracking users occurs through multiple website sessions using SkyGlue. Data collected can be incorporated into the CRM effort of the company and correlated with targeted users. The data collected can identify the exact action a user takes when they drop from the site. The added data from SkyGlue allows for identification of elements that may need to be fixed on a website. One beneficial feature of SkyGlue is its ability to show overlays of trackable user interactions and events on a site.
Gone are the days of guessing what the bounce rate on a webpage means. Tracking user interactions on a webpage will allow determination of what a user does on the page. If the bounce rate is high on pages, SkyGlue provides a way to see what happens on the page beyond time spent on the page. Data collected can improve user experience by identifying what site elements a user might find confusing. Examining calls-to-action determines their effectiveness using SkyGlue to determine if the user interacts the way intended.
Beyond Bounce Rate
Depending on the goals set for a website the bounce rate can be a sign of how the site has improved. A website may have pages that are meant to inform rather than clicked through and time on the page may give an idea of how the user interacted. SkyGlue gives marketers a resource of data that helps to determine how a user interacts with a web page. The user can be tracked using SkyGlue on a page to see how and what they may have associated with on the website. This interaction data coupled with the ability to track users through all of their sessions on a site can determine how useful elements on a page are. Goals beyond sales conversion can be set, and data can be collected to show their completion with SkyGlue.
Improved Experience
Just as ROI and conversion are essential for a website, the ability for a user to navigate a site with ease is equally important and can aid in goal completion. SkyGlue can inform marketers how visual elements may be working on a webpage. Items on a page can be set to collect data from a user's interaction. If a visual element such as a button or picture is the intended target for a user to click on, SkyGlue can track whether the user clicks the intended target. Google Analytics may help determine where a user goes from a webpage, but SkyGlue can add to this data by collecting which element is working on the page to drive click-through.
Completed Conversions
The marketer can see a complete picture when it comes to user interaction on a website. SkyGlue allows for setting sales conversions and other goals for web pages. Information from pages from SkyGlue gives as more indication of engagement other than the time spent on the page, but how a user interacts before they click the back button or another link. SkyGlue gives marketers the perspective of other completed goals that don’t require a click-through or form submission. Interactive elements on a page can be view along with other user interactions to determine the effectiveness of individual components within a webpage.
Easy Customization
SkyGlue makes custom analytics easy for marketers by giving an interface that can collect data from visual elements on a page using the overlay view of a webpage. Simple pasting of the tracking code on web pages gives marketers the ability to track every actionable item on the page. The SkyGlue system identifies elements that can be monitored and offers marketers the ability to turn off data that isn’t relevant to their marketing goals. Marketers remain control of the data collected and export the data for use in other applications. Data export allows for the integration of SkyGlue and Google Analytics data with CRM databases or the creation of reports from other applications.
Google Analytics provides a large amount of useful website data that can be used by marketers to determine the effectiveness of the website. SkyGlue takes site analytics further by giving the marketer data about the user, how they interact with a webpage and their journey through multiple sessions on the website. The data enhances CRM by the providing additional insight collected and the connection of user sessions. Cohort analysis in SkyGlue can identify potential lifetime behavior. Information about users can be used to retarget and directly market to a website user. SkyGlue is not a replacement of Google Analytics, but instead a complementary tool that provides extra information from users. The journey of a customer can be tracked to show where problems exist and where features are successful. For e-commerce, issues that exist that cause cart abandonment can be easier to identify using SkyGlue.
The use of Google Analytics gives marketers a collection of metrics that improve their ability to measure marketing effectiveness. If a website adds SkyGlue to the metrics already collected, they can see if pages are effective for the marketing messages that get users on the site. Understanding the elements that users click the most can help identify features that work the best on a website and drive click-through traffic and sales conversions. SkyGlue can provide data for informed decisions about user-experience, marketing, and technical issues.
References
Customer Testimonials. (n.d.). Retrieved from SkyGlue: http://www.skyglue.com/case-studies/
How it Works. (n.d.). Retrieved from SkyGlue: http://www.skyglue.com/how-it-works/
Usage Scenarios. (n.d.). Retrieved from SkyGlue: http://www.skyglue.com/scenarios/
This is a really interesting tool! What I appreciate is it removes the requirement of developing hand-coded custom tags for events on a page that deviate from the standard tags. Right now, part of my role is to develop the custom tags for unusual components on my websites, which is tedious and requires additional layers of analytics, JavaScript, and user testing once complete. This sounds like a speedier version of that process, complete in that it also integrates with GA. Great post!
ReplyDelete