Dark Social – the unknown attribution

The term ‘dark social’ is doing the rounds in Silicon Valley. It’s not as sinister as the literal meaning suggests. We’ve all heard of ‘first click’ & ‘last click’ attribution and now there’s “self reported attribution” which is basically asking folks to count inbound leads / demo requests, etc about on which social channel they saw (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc) or heard (Podcast, talking to a friend / colleague) about your business. So, we’re back to unbranded / branded awareness questions …. It’s a good graph below atleast to make you think. Note the graph is based on n=128 self reported high intention leads.

E-Commerce Conversion Metrics Can Confuse Novices

Increasingly, as businesses sell more online, financial folks have to understand Google Analytics E-Commerce Conversion data. It can be confusing to those who are not familiar with it.

The most common e-commerce conversion rate is 1% – 2% that we see across the board for online retailers.

The 1.61% e-commerce conversion rate for this online retailer in the Full Year End 2022 shows the % of of visitors who come to the website and buy online. It is best to compare time series and we often show the previous financial year as a comparison. In the below Google Analytics chart, you can see this online retailer e-commerce conversion rate is up 23% overall with it being up 65% for Google paid search which shows the focus on buying / targeting relevant keywords.

It is important to break out the e-commerce conversion rate by source / medium. Direct Traffic e-commerce conversion rates should be higher than paid and organic if the brand is strong. There is usually a higher buying intent of folks coming directly to a website than through Google Ads paid media or Google organic search queries.

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The other big factor that should be considered when analyzing e-commerce conversion rates is the price of the good. Higher order value products often have lower e-commerce conversion rates.

As shown in  below, this large online retailer with an average order value of $130 has a 1.27% e-commerce conversion rate That is a lower than the above online retailer who has an average order value is $780.

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When comparing e-commerce conversion rates to others, it depends and varies widely by industry, type of product / price, etc. I’ve included a table below which shows conversion rates by product type.
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If you are looking to improve e-commerce conversion rates, a redesign of the shopping cart pages to  reduced bounce rate and increase transactions is a good place to start.

Online Dating: A Proxy for Mass Shift in Online Behaviour

If there’s one data point to take to your next dinner party, coffee meet up or side talk at a business meeting, it’s this one. One observation that caught my eye was that is this graph also telling us that more people are less likely to socialize in groups and visit bars and spend more time online? Either way, the most primeval instincts is now online. That is, finding a partner. This was first released in 2019 at https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1908630116.

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The Inconvenient OnDemand & Micromobility Economy

In 2007, I posted this pic of Al Gore and me at Paragon restaurant on 2nd Street & Townsend in San Francisco. A few weeks back I was enjoying a coffee with friends before the San Francisco Giants ballgame when I noticed this tow truck removing the Revel scooter from 2nd Street.. It’s a local rule to clear traffic around the ballpark on game days for obvious reasons.

Having had my car towed from the Sansome Street in the city years ago, I know the $350++ fine awaits as per SFMTA. What is interesting is that the on demand economy sometimes doesn’t interact with the offline economy. I’ve seen Lime Bikes in trees and one in a creek in Menlo Park!

Some more work to do for the engineers at these companies …

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Google Data Studio Provides Insight into 100+ Retail Stores

Google Data Studio is a powerful tool and connecting multiple Google Analytics accounts to aggregate data is one way to create insights. Our team is constantly completing data projects using Google Data Studio to improve insights for our clients.

In addition to being listed on FirstNational.com.au, each First National Member office operates their own individual local .com.au website. SearchForecast aggregated data from 100+ Google Analytics accounts of FNRE member local URLs into a customized Google Data Studio dashboard. Now, it is possible to show aggregate analytics, benchmark various locations (Australia Vs New Zealand) and compate real estate offices by state or individual suburbs and regions.

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Wikipedia

Each year we donate to a charity and our team collectively decides on which charity. We like to support organizations who have helped advance the world and deliver on the change for good promise the Internet has and will continue to bring to the world.

Every person on the planet deserves the chance to educate themselves. Wikipedia offers free access to knowledge and wisdom. We cannot think of a better organization to donate to that embodies the power the Internet and makes for a brigther future for mankind.

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LinkedIn’s Member Group Targeting Is a One-Two Punch to Facebook & Twitter

LinkedIn provides unprecedented targeting for businesses. The ability to create audiences by industry, job description, company size are all terrific yet the hidden gem is the ability to be able to target by Member Group.

What is a LinkedIn Member Group? LinkedIn Groups provide a place for professionals in the same industry or with similar interests to share their insights and experiences, ask for guidance, and build valuable connections. You can find a list of LinkedIN member groups here.

For an outdoor equipment e-commerce merchant, we can find ‘rockclimbing’ member group and target video or single image ads to these people. That’s very focused targeting. LinkedIn allows you to then target those who have seen say 75% or 100% of a video you showed them or engaged by clicking with an ad to recieve an ‘In Mail Message Ads’ (think email marketing campaign). We are seeing 30%+ click through rates on LinkedIn Message Ads to audiences that have previously engaged.

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That playbook is a one two punch to Facebook and Twitter who don’t offer businesses the return on investment when finding new customers.

Let There Be Light at Apprenticeship.com.au

Today is the official launch of Apprenticeship.com.au inspired by the words from the Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie ‘Let There Be Light’. I quote from words of Andrew Carnegie:

“I spoke again at Dunfermline, July 27, 1881, when my mother laid the foundation stone there of the first free library building I ever gave. My father was one of five weavers who founded the earliest library in the town by opening their own books to their neighbors. Dunfermline named the building I gave “Carnegie Library.” The architect asked for my coat of arms. I informed him I had none, but suggested that above the door there might be carved arising sun shedding its rays with the motto: “Let there be light.” This he adopted.

From working in a mining pit without light as a kid after emigrating from Scotland at age 12, he built the Pittsburgh Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J. P. Morgan in 1901 for $303 million. It became the U.S. Steel Corporation. After selling Carnegie Steel, he surpassed John D. Rockefeller as the richest American for the next several years.

He became a leading philanthropist in the USA and  British Empire, with special emphasis on local libraries, world peace, education, and scientific research giving away 90 percent of his fortune.

How Andrew Carnegie Went From $1.20 a Week to $309 Billion ... Then Gave It All Away

Google’s Rank Brain Algo Explained

We are oftened asked to explain in simple terms what Google’s Rank Brain Algorithm is. And that means without the words ‘machine learning’ or ‘artificial intelligence’. Let’s speak plainly. Google wants to predict what humans will search for. What their intent is while they are searching and the next search you are thinking of. Not while you’re typing the search query into Google but before you have thought about it. Like pre-empting you the way your Mom, partner or best friend can. You know what I mean?

One way to do this is to ensure you’re writing relevant content. Sounds simple right. Except it requires you to get behind or inside the thought process of your customers. Start by creating personas, asking what your customer segments desire, dislike, fear and are concerned about. This creates questions that your content can answer. Content that is indexed by Google’s machine learning and artificial intelligence technology called ‘Rank Brain’. Makes sense right? They want to rank your brain and put a cognitive predictive sequence in place on what your brain wants to know as you search.brain

One of our global clients who understand this Google algorithm is Wise-Sync. Wise-Sync synchronises accounting data between ConnectWise and cloud accounting software Xero and Quickbooks Online. By creating content that targets their audience explaining the operational efficiency of automating cloud accounting and improving cashflow by using their technology shows, Wise-Sync suggest to Google they understand the thought process of their clients.

Like most things in search engine content and technologies, the answer maps back to human behavior and the importance of relevant content for the user’s intent when searching.

Fintech Disruption served with Peets Coffee

Earlier this year I was back in Sydney and went into a Commonwealth Bank only to find the music blaring, 3 ATM machines and a lady standing there glancing up to smile before returning to tap away on her iPhone. No tellars. Do it yourself. Fast forward 6 months and I’m in Santa Monica and confronted with this sign. At least I was able to buy a coffee while getting out some cash. My kids and your kids dont use cash. They tap. Like the lady in the Commonwealth Bank. Ironic right?

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When Amazon purchased Wholefoods, all of us in the Bay Area thought it was a bold move and wondered if prices or quality of foods would diminish. I almost hit my head on the glass casing when I rounded the isle in Wholefoods Redwood City one afternoon. Progress my friends. Disruption works for most people. I now drink coffee more at home, do most of my shopping/ banking via an app.

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