My presentation from IxDA Helsinki, hosted by Reaktor on 24 April 2015. The title and subject matter of the presentation revolve around how data-driven growth and insight is best achieved when the data collection mechanism is understood. Google Analytics, for example, is not a very useful tool if just installed and never configured. This "Plug-and-play Analytics" is one of the reasons many get frustrated with the platform. There are many ways to make the platform work for your KPIs and KBOs (Key Business Objectives), but it does require that you know how the platform works, and how you can tweak the data collection mechanism to maximize data quality for your hypotheses.

1. Meaningful Data
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

2. Simo Ahava
Google Developer Expert
Senior Data Advocate, Reaktor
www.simoahava.com
Twitter: @SimoAhava
Google+: +SimoAhava
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

3. Agenda
1. The Schema Conspiracy
2. The hunt for Meaningful Data
3. Survival tips
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

4. The Schema Conspiracy
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5. Google Analytics is a tool
designed to work for
9,163,750*
businesses
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel * Author’s estimate, not an official figure

6. It is thus conceivable
Google doesn’t know
what your business KPIs
are
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

7. And yet we still rarely go
beyond the default
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8. DEAR BOSS,
Last month, the number of Sessions on our site was…
2,578,000
...which is an uplift of +2.78% compared to last month.
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

9. DEAR BOSS,
Last month, the eCommerce Conversion Rate on our site was…
21.20%
...which is an uplift of +5% compared to last month.
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

10. All metrics and dimensions used by a data
collection / processing / reporting
platform subscribe to the schemas of said
platform.

11. All metrics and dimensions used by a data
collection / processing / reporting
platform subscribe to the schemas of said
platform.
Sessionization Schema

12. All metrics and dimensions used by a data
collection / processing / reporting
platform subscribe to the schemas of said
platform.
Event Tracking Schema

13. All metrics and dimensions used by a data
collection / processing / reporting
platform subscribe to the schemas of said
platform.
Transactional Schema

14. This has two major
implications on how we
should approach data
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15. 1 @SimoAhava #IxDAHel
All sessionized
data is
arbitrary

16. @SimoAhava #IxDAHel

17. @SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Fictional

18. @SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Fictional
Fictional

19. @SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Fictional
Fictional
Fictional

20. @SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Fictional
Fictional
Fictional
Fictional

21. How can an arbitrary,
fictional metric ever be a
good KPI?*
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel * Rhetorical question, it can’t

22. 2 @SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Data quality is
achieved, not
acquired

23. Stay away from aggregate
metrics.
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24. Stay away from aggregate
metrics.
Segment, customize,
combine, visualize.
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

25. Aggregate
Segmented
User-centric
Integrated
Predictive
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Our website’s eCommerce
Conversion Rate for January was...
21.20%

26. Aggregate
Segmented
User-centric
Integrated
Predictive
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Visitors who landed on our website
through our January Facebook
campaign had an eCommerce
Conversion Rate of....
12.57%

27. Aggregate
Segmented
User-centric
Integrated
Predictive
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Visitors with no previous
transactions, who landed on our site
through the January Facebook
campaign, converted at a rate of...
28.12%

28. Aggregate
Segmented
User-centric
Integrated
Predictive
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Our customers from Espoo between
the ages 17–24, who landed on our
site through the January Facebook
campaign, converted at a rate of...
13.50%

29. Aggregate
Segmented
User-centric
Integrated
Predictive
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Based on our customer segments, on
our campaign efficiency across
channels, on seasonality, and on
current competition, we predict that
the following constraints apply to our
Spring campaigns:

30. The hunt for Meaningful Data
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31. Idea #1: Enrich data
Q: How can I correlate weather with online
bookings on a golf course?
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32. Idea #1: Enrich data
Today
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33. Idea #1: Enrich data
Today
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

34. Idea #1: Enrich data
1. Visitor lands on website
2. Geolocate visitor using their IP address
3. Query for weather conditions using
OpenWeatherMap API
4. Annotate session with weather data
5. Segment sessions by weather condition and verify
correlation
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

35. Idea #1: Enrich data
Weather - type Path
Length
Revenue Average Order
Value
Per Session
Value
Clear 0 €7,887.60 €55.00 €3.15
Clouds 0 €3,454.20 €70.00 €2.03
Rain 0 €565.00 €75.00 €0.12
http://goo.gl/NwyBaj
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

36. Idea #1: Enrich data
NEXT STEPS
- Query for “next weekend” or “upcoming holiday”
forecast instead
- Automatic bid adjustment due to weather
conditions
- Push campaigns for golf simulator, club house
benefits, sauna, etc. if weather is horrible
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

37. Idea #2: Enrich and integrate data
Q: How do I get full customer journey from
first exposure to booking to shopping on
the boat?
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

38. Idea #2: Enrich and integrate data
Average order value
from online channels:
750€
250€
Revenue per
customer:
Customer Shopping Eating Fun
A3224 12€ 20€ 20€
A3225 175€ 100€ 120€
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

39. Idea #2: Enrich and integrate data
Average order value
from online channels:
750€
250€
Revenue per
customer:
Customer Shopping Eating Fun
A3224 12€ 20€ 20€
A3225 175€ 100€ 120€
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

40. Idea #2: Enrich and integrate data
1. Visitor lands on website
2. Their session is annotated with their unique
ClientID
3. This ClientID is also sent with the booking to the
CRM
4. On board, the key card registers all purchases to
this ClientID
5. Finally, data is pulled out of the web analytics
platform and the CRM, and combined in Tableau
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

41. Idea #2: Enrich and integrate data
True average order
value from online
channels:
850€
1250€
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

42. Survival tips
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel

43. Tip #1: Explore beyond defaults
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Be critical: Plug-and-play analytics is not
conducive to data-driven insight.

44. Tip #2: Be aware of the Schema
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Be critical: Focusing on heavily sessionized
metrics might not be relevant.

45. Tip #3: The 3 rules of data collection
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
1. Rule of data passivity :: data does nothing, data beats nothing. It’s a passive
medium and requires an active agent (analyst) to interpret.
2. Rule of data subjectivity :: any interpretation of data relies on a well-formulated
hypothesis. Whether data is ”bad” or ”good” depends on what you want to know.
3. Rule of data scarcity :: no matter what you do, you will never have all the data.
An arbitrary line must be drawn, and you must understand where and why this
artificial limit exists.

46. Tip #4: BE CRITICAL
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
Data quality is directly proportional to your
understanding of the data collection method.

47. Bonus tip
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel
read www.simoahava.com

48. Thank you!
simoahava.com
reaktor.com
Twitter: @SimoAhava
Google+: +SimoAhava
Email: simo.ahava@reaktor.fi
@SimoAhava #IxDAHel