Data Snapshots through Visual Reports
Clickstream data is great for targeting individual contacts and gaining profile information that you might not know otherwise. However, there are other tools available that give you a broader view of your audience so you can segment your list in exciting, new ways. Visual tools, such as Geo Tracking, visual overlays, heatmaps, and graphs, provide snapshots of how your contacts are responding to your messages beyond the open and click-through percentages. Like the clickstream data, these reports are not dependent upon the number of emails that were sent or delivered so the metrics are not skewed. And because the reports are generated automatically and presented visually, there is no need to spend time mining the data to gather the information manually.
Geo Tracking: One of these tools allows you to track response rate by geographical location. Pioneered by Listrak, Geo Tracking gives you a quick snapshot of the number of clicks by location so you can easily notice if an email generates a high interest level in one particular area. The Geo Tracking tool provides maps of the world, Europe, Canada, and the United States, and you can search by the number of opens, reads, or clicks.
For example, this geo tracking report shows that the email generated the most clicks from recipients in Pennsylvania and that there was also interest from recipients in New York and California. However, there was very little or no interest from recipients in Alaska, New Mexico, Wyoming, or North Dakota. The sender may then follow up with targeted emails presenting additional information on the topic only to the areas that find the information relevant.
Being able to identify campaign data visually on a map provides additional information on your subscriber base that can’t learn simply by gathering preferences and reviewing other metrics. For example, a publisher might know all of its subscribers that like a certain author, but by viewing the information on a map with Geo Tracking, it may easily plan a successful book signing tour as it can see the exact areas where the interest is highest.
Visual Overlays: Another useful tool shows the number and percentage of clicks generated by each link in your email. These visual overlay reports are important because, unlike reports that only track the number of clicks on a specific URL, they actually give you a quick snapshot of your email’s layout and overall performance of each link.
As you can see from the sample of Listrak’s December 2007 newsletter, the percentage and number of clicks is posted directly on the copy of the actual email. Email designers can use these reports to boost conversion rates in future campaigns as they can change the location of any links that might be under-performing. Email managers can use these reports to gauge interest from their subscriber base on specific topics and build additional profiling information. Like clickstream data, the visual overlay reports provide detailed information on the way recipients are using the emails beyond just the open and read rate. Seeing the precise data that each link produced helps marketers track the paths their subscribers are taking to their websites so they can ensure those landing pages contain the right information to streamline the conversion process.
Heatmaps: For an even quicker view of the best performing links in an email, email marketers can use a heatmap report. Heatmaps are similar to visual overlay reports as the report is shown on top of a copy of the email message. However, instead of showing the number and percentage of clicks each link received, it gives a visual representation of what areas of the email being used the most.
There are different kinds of heatmaps available. Eyetracking heatmaps, such as those provided by EyeTools, show what information recipients are looking at onscreen. This is really helpful when writing email and web page copy as it allows marketers to put the most important information in the areas that are most viewed.
Another kind of heatmap, such as the one that Listrak has integrated with its email marketing solution, shows what links recipients clicked on the most. As you can see from the sample of Listrak’s December 2007 newsletter, the link that received the most clicks wasn’t a call-to-action button at the top of the email. Rather, it was a link to its 2008 Deliverability Guide that was embedded in the text of the letter from Ross Kramer, Listrak’s CEO. In fact, the text link received more clicks than the call-to-action button to the same deliverability guide. Knowing information like this proves that recipients are actually reading the text and that they find the information valuable.
Email marketers can use heatmaps like these to understand how their subscriber base interacts with their messages while learning which areas of the email attract the most attention. It is yet another way that you can obtain profiling information on your subscribers so you can produce an email layout that is best suited to their needs.
Graphs: Another visual tool you can use to gain insight into your email campaign performance is a chart or graph. Instead of viewing the raw data of each email send independently, a graph can give you a snapshot of email performance across an entire campaign, or even multiple campaigns. It can help you spot problems early. Even though the graph represents the number of messages that were delivered, opened, read, and clicked-through, the data is represented in a visually-appealing way that shows marketers the actually performance of their emails compared over time, not just the numbers that each campaign generated.
Using clickstream data and visual reporting features instead of just relying on your open, read, and click-through rate gives you a better understanding of your campaign performance, more accurate reporting metrics, and additional insight into your subscriber base. For information on any of the Listrak features discussed in this white paper, please contact a Listrak email marketing expert today to learn more.
