Pulling Levers Blog
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Google Analytics Tips to Quickly Pull Data
Posted by Shay Howe on January 27, 2011 within Google Analytics. | No Comments
Shortcuts are part of our everyday lives, helping us work quicker and more efficiently. Desktop or file shortcuts help us launch programs and open files in a fraction of the time it would take to navigate to their source. Keyboard shortcuts help us trigger actions and open menus faster than manually navigating with our cursor. These shortcuts have become an everyday part of our lives and we hardly stop to pay attention to their value.
Recently, I noticed a couple of shortcuts I constantly use within Google Analytics to help rapidly pull reports and gather data. The two shortcuts involve quickly selecting date ranges and exporting more than 500 rows of data at a time.
Quickly Selecting a Week or Month Date Range
Google Analytics has built a few shortcuts that allow you to quickly select a week or month date range. You can promptly select one week at a time by clicking on the small tab sitting just to the left of the specific week in question.
10 Quick Tips for Running a Website Optimization Test
Posted by Shay Howe on January 21, 2010 within Web Site Optimization. | 1 Comment
Running website optimization tests can be a very rewarding process. You are able to see firsthand the fruits of your labor. You may be surprised how the smallest of changes can have such large impacts in the overall outcome of a website. Many times, once you get started testing different elements of a website it is hard to stop. You will keep looking for things to test and ways to improve your website. This is great but it is also important to make sure that every test you conduct is worth your time and effort; not simply testing for the sake of testing.
The Mechanics of Web Content
Posted by Shay Howe on June 26, 2008 within Web Design, Web Site Optimization. | No Comments
Research shows that reading on screen is tiring on the eyes. In addition, reading online is 25% slower than reading print. In other words, users don’t “read” web pages, they scan.
“Eyetracking visualizations show that users often read web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe. F for fast. That’s how users read your content. In a few seconds, their eyes move at amazing speeds across your website’s words in a pattern that’s very different from what you learned in school.” (Nielsen, par. 1-2)
Don’t Under Estimate Content on eCommerce Web Sites
Posted by Shay Howe on June 18, 2008 within Web Design, Web Site Optimization. | 1 Comment
Your web site was created to sell products. Your call to action, navigation and easy checkout system are important, but don’t under estimate the power of well-written, compelling content. When customers go online, 4 of 5 of their senses go offline. Customer can’t touch, smell, taste or hear your product. They can only rely on the image(s) and the product description.