WORKBOOK

The Cost of Free

Presented jointly by:
John Lovett; Senior Analyst, Forrester Research
John is a leading expert in Web analytics, multivariate testing and Web site optimization technologies.
His research focuses on applying marketing intelligence, garnered from user behavior and click-stream
activity, to deliver highly relevant and engaging online experiences. John joined Forrester through its
acquisition of Jupiter Research, and he has more than a decade of experience in Internet marketing
and Web technology research, as well as being an active member of the Web Analytics Association,
where he serves on the Research Sub-Committee.

Tony Bradshaw; Vice President of Internet Business and Technology, DaveRamsey.com

Tony obtained his BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1993, followed by six years at a small business
manufacturing company conducting engineering and network administration. In 2001, he joined Dave
Ramsey, who is a noted author, radio talk show host and entrepreneur. In his present role, Tony leads a
team of 50 Internet professionals, comprised of marketers, creatives and developers.

Tim Munsell; Lead Web Analyst, DaveRamsey.com

In 2002, Tim joined Dave Ramsey’s Web team as an Internet Marketer. When DaveRamsey.com made
Web analytics a priority in 2007, Tim’s mathematics degree positioned him as the obvious choice for his
current role. He continues to be instrumental in the company’s Web initiatives.
The Cost of Free

INTRO
From free lunch to free pets, free is very enticing. Most people prefer not to pay for
something they can get for free. But what if free has opportunity costs? Would you
sacrifice quality and flexibility? Is free always best?

In order to answer these questions as they relate to online marketing, we must first
do the following:

»» Re-examine the analytics landscape

»» Evaluate the opportunity costs of “free”
»» See how DaveRamsey.com achieved 567 percent return on investment (ROI)
with Omniture

Omniture’s Online Omniture’s Online Marketing Suite was introduced to provide a robust set of
applications, platforms, data and application programming interfaces (APIs)—
Marketing Suite all the tools you need to really understand your customers and optimize your
online business. The Suite encompasses everything from visitor acquisition to
was introduced to multi-channel analytics applications. In this workbook, we will focus on the online
analytics, reporting and solutions you can leverage within Omniture SiteCatalyst®.
provide a robust
set of applications,
platforms, data
and application
programming
interfaces.
The Cost of Free

FREE TO A GOOD HOME

Free can quickly

turn into a lot of
responsibility and,
sometimes, quite
a mess.

Free analytics tools are much like free puppies. When you first encounter them,
they are cute, inviting and the idea of having them sounds wonderful. When
that irresistible urge strikes you, first consider how much work anything free may
require. In the case of the puppy, that means food, walks, shelter, vet bills, etc.

Free can quickly turn into a lot of responsibility and, sometimes, quite a mess. With
free Web analytics tools, there are many things you need to align to ensure you
can properly manage the application and receive worthwhile value from it.
The Cost of Free

WEB ANALYTICS IS THE DECISIVE TOOL FOR

ONLINE CUSTOMER INTELLIGENCE
According to Forrester Research, Web analytics is a foundational element for many
organizations:

»» 73 percent of businesses surveyed are currently using Web analytics

measurement technologies
»» Spending growth is expected to scale at 17 percent annually over the next 5 years
»» Web analytics is the de facto standard by which digital marketing performance
is evaluated
For 2009, Forrester Businesses are using Web analytics to evaluate their digital marketing initiatives,
estimates spending drive forward and make decisions based on data.

at $431 million. Over Looking specifically at spending, we see hosted analytics (software as service
products that are generated on-demand for clients) at 90 percent of sales—
the next 5 years, Web far more popular than licensed analytics.
analytics is projected
to grow to just under
$1 billion.

For 2009, Forrester estimates spending at $431 million. Over the next 5 years,
Web analytics is projected to grow to just under $1 billion. So there is significant
growth opportunity for Web analytics, and it will continue to be a source of
information for companies that are moving their businesses from traditional to
online channels.
The Cost of Free

Disruptive events have forever altered the Web analytics landscape. One of the
most dominant of those events is the introduction of free Web analytics tools.

They help the industry as a whole by elevating awareness and bringing increased
recognition to what Web analytics can do for the marketplace. However, they also
complicate the decisioning process. Now marketers must take time to determine if
a free tool is suitable or they should go with a commercial tool.

FREE TOOLS ARE PREVALENT; YET, MOST ARE

UNDERUTILIZED OR MISDIRECTED

This data was obtained from a Firefox extension that actually identifies Web pages
and their tags, to determine which Web analytics tools are installed on different
sites. It recognized that 73 percent of sites were using free tools in some capacity.
The Cost of Free

What was more intriguing was the duality of usage, with 37 percent of sites using
both free and paid tools. This tells us that the analytics relationship is not always
an exclusive one.

TOP FACTORS IN CHOOSING AN ANALYTICS VENDOR

OR APPLICATION

37 percent of sites
using both free and
paid tools.

Forrester asked marketers to identify the most important reasons for choosing one
tool or provider over another. The following three factors topped the list:

1. Accuracy of information
2. Ability to service my business needs
3. Flexibility of reporting options

Not that the other areas weren’t important; they were simply secondary considerations.

Rate these factors for the solution you use today from 1-10. Then make a note of
what you would like to see improved.

Factors Rate 1-10 What could be better?

Accuracy of information
Ability to serve you needs
Flexibility of reporting
The Cost of Free

ACCURACY OF INFORMATION REQUIRES

DATA QUALITY ASSURANCE
The quality of data generated by an analytics tool is a strong consideration for most
organizations. Here are a couple of ways you can ensure accuracy and quality:

»» Implementation testing: some vendors offer implementation testing to

validate analytics tracking code and provide quality assurance
»» Tag maintenance: vendor-provided and third-party tag maintenance tools can
identify malformed tags or debug tagging code

If you are trying If you are trying to discover how customers interact with your Web site or make
qualified decisions about how to strategically proceed with marketing programs,
to discover how then you must be confident that your data is reliable.

customers interact SERVICING NEEDS REQUIRES ORGANIZATIONS TO

with your Web site UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN CAPABILITIES
Returning to the puppy metaphor, sometimes you don’t know what kind of dog
or make qualified you have, whether it bites, barks or has difficulty becoming part of your home.
Likewise, marketers must be realistic about their capabilities and consider the
decisions about how to following before selecting a vendor partner:
strategically proceed »» Leading analytics programs begin with strategic vision that provides direction
with marketing and corporate alignment toward a set of common goals
»» This vision is supported by an organizational structure that instills rigor and
programs, then you process to data collection, interpretation and analysis
»» Organizations arrive at this juncture through an introspective evaluation of
must be confident that capabilities and needs

your data is reliable. You need to have the right resources, both people and tools, in place within your
organization and a clear infrastructure to make the most of analytics data.

ASSESSING YOUR WEB ANALYTICS PROGRAM

This exercise is like gathering elements in preparation for a new puppy. You must
begin with introspection:
The Cost of Free

»» Organizational structure—you determine how are you staffing for analytics,

what is the reporting structure and the responsibilities of each of the
stakeholders, such that everyone knows their piece
»» Goals and objectives—having these defined up front is crucial because you
need to be able to point your analytics back to these milestones to see if your
tactics have been effective
»» Metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs)—you must establish markers
and thresholds of success for each initiative

What are the goals and objectives for your Web site? Name your top three:

1)
2)
3)

Next, think of dog training and ways to gauge if your pet is learning the discipline
and behaviors you intended. Similarly, there are tough questions you need to ask
of yourself and your vendor partners:

A Web analytics »» Implementation and maintenance—consider what it will take to integrate this
tool into your Web site, who will perform upkeep and how challenging the
program is only as whole endeavor is
meaningful as the »» Analysis—ask yourself if you will be able to drill down to the root cause of a
problem or win
preparation and logic »» Reporting—you will want to customize it to fit your specific needs, while seeing
clearly in the interface what is happening to your data
you invest in it. »» Other optimization efforts—beyond Web analytics, you may want to use this
solution to later improve your entire online presence and achieve your digital
marketing initiatives

A Web analytics program is only as meaningful as the preparation and logic you
invest in it.
The Cost of Free

FLEXIBLE REPORTING OPTIONS ENABLE WEB

ANALYSTS TO TELL A STORY WITH DATA
Flexibility is critical for the following functions:

»» Calendar customization—establishing data structure that can match your

time definitions
»» Dashboards—dividing and disseminating information to stakeholders so that it
resonates with them
»» Custom reports—having the ability to set unique parameters
»» Funnel analysis—examining how visitors traverse your Web sites
Tip: Don’t let your »» Multi-campaign attribution—understanding how upstream efforts impact
downstream conversions
Web analytics »» Rich media measurement—seeing how audio, visual and interactive elements
influence your data
program suffer by »» Segmentation—digging into data to find patterns and groups

merely reporting on Tip: Don’t let your Web analytics program suffer by merely reporting on data; take
data; take the time the time to uncover the story hiding within the data.

to uncover the story COST OF OWNERSHIP

As we’ve seen, accuracy, service and flexibility are paramount to building an
hiding within the data. effective analytics approach. Yet, we cannot ignore the cost of ownership.

Here are five methods for quantifying total cost:

1. Provides the vital stats of marketing

2. Enables you to answer tough questions
3. Offers insights for new directions
4. Reveals methods for continuous improvement
5. Drives decisioning throughout the organization
The Cost of Free

If you cannot gauge the pulse of your marketing activities with your Web analytics
tool, it is not paying off for you…even if it started out free. Be careful to consider
the resource hours (overhead investment) and missed online sales (lost revenue) a
free tool can actually cost you, if it isn’t right for your organization.

Like “Ol’ Rusty,” your Web analytics tool could become your best friend, if the
relationship fits.

DAVERAMSEY.COM CASE STUDY

When it comes to free tools, Google Analytics is the primary player on the market
and the standard by which other free tools are measured. The question is, how
Be careful to consider does it compare to Omniture SiteCatalyst®?
the resource hours
(overhead investment)
and missed online The team at DaveRamsey.com began by looking at the goals of each application:

sales (lost revenue) a »» Omniture’s goal is to provide cutting-edge technology to keep clients ahead
free tool can actually of the marketing curve
»» Free solutions, like Google Analytics, are not designed to be that provider’s
cost you, if it isn’t right core business; they are merely supporting their business goals, typically leaving
them behind the marketing curve
for your organization.
As a former client of Google Analytics, DaveRamsey.com wanted to grow with a
partner who made analytics their chief business.

So, let’s compare the strengths of the leading online free tool with a paid tool like
SiteCatalyst:

»» Advanced segmentation
»» Interface usability
»» Visualization

»» High customization
»» Extensive pathing
»» Robust dashboards
»» Data insertion and extraction
»» Client care access
The Cost of Free

CUSTOMIZATION
Delving into customization, here is a side-by-side comparison of the tools:

»» 4 conversion goal funnels—to see how people navigate leading up to a page

»» 1 custom variable—always most recent attribution
»» Hierarchies/site section—expertise is necessary
»» Measurable events—at expense of other pages

»» 40 custom event metrics—such as number of times a link was clicked

»» 80 custom event variables—like banner loads
»» 110 custom page variables—enables page categorization
»» Customize variable attribution—flow of elements
»» Customize variable persistence—one page or entire visit
»» Calculated metrics—enhance standard metrics to form new ones
»» Site sectioning—divide and conquer
»» Site hierarchy—how it’s structured for navigation

The level of customization required is unique to each business, but flexibility has a
universal value.

VALUE OF CUSTOMIZATION
With a diverse product offering, from lead generation to physical products at retail,
DaveRamsey.com had to have effective, robust customization. Here are some of
the essential wins they were looking for:

»» Visibility into variety of conversion points

»» Attribution to marketing initiatives
»» Visitor segmentation
»» Long-term value of marketing campaigns
»» Multi-level site visibility from aggregate to domain to individual page

Let’s expand on the idea of visibility by scrutinizing flow.

The Cost of Free

PATHING
DaveRamsey.com wanted to see how each tool handled pathing:

»» Basic page-to-page path

»» 4-goal conversion funnels

»» Basic page-to-page paths

»» 3-level direct paths
»» Unlimited 7-level funnels
»» Point-to-point path discovery
»» Pathing/funnels available for:
»» Pages
»» Page groups
»» Page variables
»» Conversion events
»» Conversion variables

SiteCatalyst provides a visual flow chart of pathing, with an increasingly deeper

dive into the data at every turn. Furthermore, the tool is easy to use and flexible
enough to change your pathing analytics on the fly.
The Cost of Free

As you can see from this comparison, SiteCatalyst functions in intuitive branches
that are quickly trackable and highly expandable.
SiteCatalyst functions
in intuitive branches VALUE OF PATHING
Proper pathing can be critical to company growth. Here are some key requirements:
that are quickly »» Visibility into conversion process holes
trackable and highly »» Visibility into traffic movement between sites, internal sections, even products
and campaigns
expandable. »» Visit segmentation beyond entry points

As a result, pathing influenced the team’s major decisions in creating a new design
for DaveRamsey.com, including navigation placement.
The Cost of Free

CUSTOM REPORTS AND DASHBOARD DISSEMINATION

DaveRamsey.com recognized that they needed to provide personal access to
multiple shareholders in their organization, both through reports and dashboards.
Looking at both tools, here is what they found:

»» 1 dashboard per account

»» Custom reports/dashboards shared through email only

»» Unlimited dashboards per account

»» Custom reports/dashboards can be shared with all or specific users through
report menu interface, bookmarking, direct linking and email

This individualized, on-demand access frees up the analytics team to focus on

other areas of progress.

VALUE OF REPORT DISSEMINATION

In addition to benefits for the analytics team, the organization as a whole benefits:

»» Multiple users can easily collaborate on custom reports

»» Multiple dashboards for multiple purposes
»» Other generated reports can be used as a foundation for new custom
reports/dashboards
The Cost of Free

This level of sharing has amazing potential for productivity gains and cross-team
collaboration.

DATA INSERTION AND EXTRACTION

DaveRamsey.com found that once you have your data you need to be able to
augment and export it:

»» Limited data export

»» 50,000 rows data export

»» Presentation-ready Excel exports
»» Insert offline data into Omniture
»» Categorize tracked data
»» Correlate online and offline transaction inside SiteCatalyst

Knowing if your lead becomes a sale, regardless of whether it is online or offline,

is a dramatic win.

Value of data insertion and extraction

With SiteCatalyst, DaveRamsey.com identified the following data benefits:

»» Large reports can be downloaded quickly

»» Downloaded reports are formatted and presentation-ready
»» Can have correlating online and offline data accessible to all users
»» Less need for users to be Excel wizards

The savings in time and training are substantial.

The Cost of Free

CLIENTCARE
Most importantly, DaveRamsey.com was looking for a knowledgeable,
accessible partner:

»» Independent Google consultants, not Google employees

»» Additional charge
»» Quality of service questionable

»» 24/5 phone and live chat support and email support for both technical and
product use questions (24/7 support available)
»» Monthly learning labs
»» Omniture consultants
»» Omniture Summit and networking with peers
»» Omniture University (online and in-person training)
»» Developer network
»» OmnitureCare on Twitter

In short, the team needed the ability to call with questions and have access to
educational resources.

VALUE OF CLIENTCARE
DaveRamsey.com found that Omniture’s customer service offering was beyond
compare:

»» Fast support for both technical questions and quick questions

»» Ongoing education to increase the power and expertise of Omniture users
»» Quick access to tool experts

Service expertise does make the difference. The right partner will help you to
better analyze your data, leverage your online spend and learn new ways to get
more from Web marketing.
The Cost of Free

WHY OMNITURE?
DaveRamsey.com recognized that Web accounts for 55% of their revenue, with
another 20% in online leads converting into offline business. Like many other
companies, they were becoming increasingly dependent on the Web.

So, optimizing the online experience and their metrics was crucial—a task beyond
the capabilities of a free tool. They needed a partner that fit their needs and
growth strategy, someone they wouldn’t outgrow.

The decision was by no means instantaneous. They evaluated top-tier products

and entry/mid-level solutions. After much examination, they determined Omniture
was their best choice for analytics partner.

DaveRamsey.com
recognized that Web
accounts for 55% of
their revenue, with
another 20% in online
leads converting into
offline business.
The Cost of Free

QUANTITATIVE LIFT
It was imperative for the team to demonstrate results:

»» Important to show value to their executives—why go out on a limb to move

from a free to paid tool?
»» 567 percent first-year ROI (includes all related costs: training at Omniture
University, travel, implementation, analyst)
»» A year after SiteCatalyst, they opted to implement Omniture Test&Target™
—resulting in a 400 percent monthly ROI in 90 days

A year after
SiteCatalyst,
they opted to
implement Omniture
Test&Target™—
resulting in a 400
percent monthly ROI
in 90 days

Seeing these outstanding results, DaveRamsey.com continues to expand within the

Omniture Online Marketing Suite, having recently acquired Omniture Discover®.
The Cost of Free

EXPANDABILITY
The growth potential built into Omniture’s platforms makes it very attractive to any
company looking to grow in the online marketplace. In the case of DaveRamsey.
com, they found that Omniture is unique in its product offerings and open format.
Omniture tools are expandable with their needs, helping to accelerate their growth.

In addition, with Omniture’s vast landscape of partner solutions, DaveRamsey.com

can continue to build beneficial online relationships and better integrate leading
technologies into their site…ensuring they remain ahead of the curve.

CONCLUSION
»» Free isn’t a benefit if it doesn’t drive business
»» Accuracy, service and flexibility are key
»» Don’t settle for less than what you need to thrive, at any cost
»» The opportunity costs of “free” add up
»» Missed opportunities often remain undiscovered with free analytics solutions
Omniture tools are »» Growth necessitates speed, expandability and staying ahead of the curve
»» The best tool will give you the best results, if you have a supportive partner
expandable with and use it properly
»» Any analytics tool should pay for itself if it can interrogate data and deliver
their needs, helping gems of information to push your online marketing in new directions
»» Free really isn’t free
to accelerate their
growth. ***

For questions related to information provided by Forrester Research, email John

Lovett at [email protected].

If you would like to learn more about Web analytics tools and measurement,
contact your Omniture Account Manager or call (866) 923-7309. For
internationally-located businesses, visit Omniture.com for the office information
nearest you.
The Cost of Free

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The Cost of Free

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