Social Media Standards

Transcription

1 Social Media Standards Draft for Public Comment 2/23/ Edgewater Place Suite 600 Wakefield MA USA Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 US License

2 Table of Contents TERM: Widget... 7 TERM: Install... 8 TERM: Source... 9 TERM: Destination TERM: Grab TERM: Views TERM: Active Installs TERM: New Installs TERM: Seed Installs TERM: Grab Installs TERM: Grab Attempts TERM: Grab Failures TERM: Grab Completion Rate TERM: Grab Install Rate TERM: Social Bookmark TERM: Social Bookmarks TERM: Unique Social Bookmarks TERM: Social Bookmark Clickbacks TERM: Clickbacks per Social Bookmark TERM: Posts TERM: Comments TERM: Inbound links TERM: Trackbacks TERM: Comments per post Page 2

3 Feedback The WAA Standards Committee welcomes comments on the content of this publication. This document is a living document, and is intended to change as the needs of the analytics community evolve. This document will remain in draft state, and open for public comment, until April 23, How to contribute feedback: 1. Contact Katie Cipollone and Jodi McDermott at sm_standards@webanalyticsassociation.org if you would like to provide feedback via . All comments received will be reviewed and changes will be made as deemed appropriate by the Committee. The Committee is the final arbiter of all standards it publishes. Page 3

4 INTRODUCTION The Social Media Standards document is intended to provide members of the a guide to the key metrics used in evaluating the performance of social media efforts for their Web site or organization. The committee was comprised of WAA members who have had experience in deploying, measuring and analyzing data through widget, blog and social bookmarking/sharing platforms. These three technologies were identified as a first point of focus because of the depth of experience and knowledge of the members involved with the committee in these areas. A key factor in determining the committee focus was ensuring that more than one member had experience with a given technology so as to ensure a productive discussion in defining the set of standards in this document. As social media is an evolving space with many technologies, this document is not intended to represent all aspects of social media measurement. The document is a starting point for providing standards around how to measure social media interactions that are trackable within a Web Analytics or other analytics tool. The WAA intends to continue working on the development of social media standards in future Standards document releases. We are requesting comments and feedback from the analytics community and the WAA membership base. This feedback will be discussed in committee and follow-up with individuals or organizations providing the feedback will be conducted as needed. Page 4

5 Document Contributors The list of individuals below represents those who contributed to the discussion, debate and documentation of the standards listed in this document throughout the lifecycle of this committee effort. Rob Cataford, Web Analytics Consultant Chad Cattachio, GIS Planning Katie Cipollone, Omniture Josh Dreller, Fuor Digital Enrique Gonzales, AARP Steve Harris, Hilton Worldwide Ned Kumar, FedEx Jodi McDermott, Clearspring Technologies Nick Mihailovski, Google Aseem Patel, The Motley Fool Dan Piche, Sitebrand Bob Russotti, ANSI Dean Westervelt, Collective Intellect Page 5

6 Definition Framework Overview: There are three types of Web analytics metrics counts, ratios, and KPIs: Count the most basic unit of measure; a single number, not a ratio. Often a whole number (Visits = 12,398), but not necessarily (Total Sales = $52,126.37). Ratio typically, a count divided by a count, although a ratio can use either a count or a ratio in the numerator or denominator. (An example of a ratio fabricated from ratios is Stickiness. ) Usually, it is not a whole number. Because it s a ratio, per is typically in the name, such as Page Views per Visit. A ratio s definition defines the ratio itself, as well as any underlying metrics. KPI (Key Performance Indicator) while a KPI can be either a count or a ratio, it is frequently a ratio. While basic counts and ratios can be used by all Web site types, a KPI is infused with business strategy hence the term, Key and therefore the set of appropriate KPIs typically differs between site and process types. A metric can apply to three different universes: Aggregate Total activity for a defined period of time. Segmented A subset of the activity for a defined period of time, filtered in some way to gain greater analytical insight: e.g., by campaign ( , banner, PPC, affiliate), by visitor type (new vs. returning, repeat buyers, high value), by referrer. Individual Activity of a single Web visitor for a defined period of time. Page 6

7 Widgets: TERM: Widget Type: Dimension Definitions/Calculation: A piece of Web code that can be replicated, spread and tracked back to the source from which it was replicated. The term "widget" may also refer to a portable mini-application. The widget may be placed on a web page, desktop, mobile device or any device that has an Internet connection. Page 7

8 TERM: Install Type: Dimension Definitions/Calculation: An instance of a widget. An individual widget can have one or more installs. Installs include the original creation of a widget and any replications of the original install. The purpose of this definition is to define the underlying term from which the metric is calculated. Page 8

9 TERM: Source Type: Dimension Definitions/Calculation: The Web site, desktop platform, mobile device or other entity from which the widget was replicated to create an install. Widgets may be grabbed from Web pages, platforms or devices. When analyzing where the widget was grabbed from, the sources may be a list of domains, desktop platforms (such as Mac OS or Vista) or a mobile device type. Page 9

10 TERM: Destination Type: Dimension Definitions/Calculation: The Web site, desktop platform, mobile device or other entity to which the widget was installed. Widgets may be installed to Web pages, platforms or devices. When analyzing where the widget was installed, the destinations may be a list of domains, desktop platforms (such as Mac OS or Vista) or a mobile device type. Page 10

11 TERM: Grab Type: Dimension Definitions/Calculation: An instance of a widget that was created by a user successfully replicating a widget from a source to a destination. When used to describe the action in the current or past tense, one may refer to this term as "Grabs" or having "Grabbed" the widget. In many social networks and analytics platforms, a grab may be defined by requiring the grabbed widget to be viewed at least once or may also be defined as being associated with the user's social networking profile. Metrics associated with the term Grab should be evaluated in relation to the Source dimension of data. Ask your vendor: How is the grab data point collected and calculated within the analytics system? Page 11

12 Widget Metrics: TERM: Views Type: Count Definitions/Calculation: The number of times that a widget is loaded. Ask your vendor: Widget-serving platforms may calculate Views differently. For example, some vendors may require that a user click to activate the widget first prior to recording a View. It is important to ask your vendor when a View is technically tallied so as to understand the methodology of counting and filtering that may be applied. Some browsers may or may not send View event data if the widget is loaded below the fold of a Web page. Note that Views with respect to Widgets are not to be counted as part of the Page Views metric as defined by the WAA. Page 12

13 TERM: Active Installs Type: Count Definitions/Calculation: The count of Installs that have been viewed at least once over the specified period of time, de-duplicated for the designated reporting timeframe. Active Installs are also considered a segment of New Installs in that they represent the number of New Installs (created before or during the designated reporting timeframe) that were viewed at least once during a designated reporting timeframe. Page 13

14 TERM: New Installs Type: Count Definitions/Calculation: The total number of new widget instances over a specified period of time. The New Installs metric is most commonly evaluated over the dimension of Destination to indicate where the widget was installed. It can include Seed Installs and Grab Installs. Ask your vendor question: Widget-serving platforms may calculate Installs using a variety of technologies. It is important to ask your vendor when an Install is technically tallied so as to understand the methodology of counting and filtering that may be applied. Page 14

15 TERM: Seed Installs Type: Count Definitions/Calculation: The total number of New Installs of a widget that are not replicated from a Source. A Seed Install is an original install of a widget that was not replicated from another install of a widget. For example, a widget creator may copy the embed code from either a widget platform or their development team for placement on a Web page, desktop or mobile device. A widget may have one or more Seed Installs that may be placed on multiple Web pages and sites. The value of this metric may also be derived by the difference between the total of New Installs minus Grab Installs. Page 15

16 TERM: Grab Installs Type: Count Definitions/Calculation: The number of installs that were the result of successful Grab Attempts. A Grab Install is an install created by a user who has either copied embed code, or utilized sharing tools provided by the widget creator. Page 16

17 TERM: Grab Attempts Type: Count Definitions/Calculation: The number of times that a visitor started the widget replication process. This could include a user copying the embed code where it was never placed and rendered on a Web page. It may also include utilizing the functionality embedded within the widget to replicate the widget to another Web page. Ask your vendor: How is the "Grab Attempt" data point(s) collected or identified within the analytics system? Page 17

18 TERM: Grab Failures Type: Count Definitions/Calculation: Grab Attempts minus Grab Installs This section intentionally left blank. Page 18

19 TERM: Grab Completion Rate Type: Ratio Definitions/Calculation: Grab Installs divided by Grab Attempts. This section intentionally left blank. Page 19

20 TERM: Grab Install Rate Type: Ratio Definitions/Calculation: Grab Installs divided by Views. This section intentionally left blank. Page 20

21 Social Bookmarking: TERM: Social Bookmark Type: Dimension Definitions/Calculation: A Social Bookmark is a reference to an URL that is stored, shared and/or retrieved online. A traditional bookmark is stored on a local browser, while a social bookmark is available online. Social bookmarks are typically seen as a subcategory of Referrers when analyzing inbound traffic to a Web site. Data Source: One may use their web analytics tool or the analytics of the social bookmarking property or platform to provide this data. Page 21

22 Social Bookmarking Metrics: TERM: Social Bookmarks Type: Count Definition/Calculation: The count of all URLs that have been stored or shared online over a period of time. URLs may be counted more than once. Page 22

23 TERM: Unique Social Bookmarks Type: Count Definition/Calculation: A de-duplicated count of social bookmarks. The count of Unique Social Bookmarks is always associated with a time period (most often day, week, month), and is 'non-additive'. This means that Unique Social Bookmarks cannot be added together over time, over referrers, or over groups of content. They will be over represented unless they are de-duplicated. Page 23

24 TERM: Social Bookmark Clickbacks Type: Count Definition/Calculation: The number of clicks originating from a URL stored as a social bookmark. The Social Bookmark Clickbacks may be measured via the page referrer or via a query name parameter or other identifiable string within the URL. Page 24

25 TERM: Clickbacks per Social Bookmark Type: Ratio Definition/Calculation: The number of Social Bookmark Clickbacks divided by the number of Social Bookmarks in a reporting period. Note: This metric gives an indication of the popularity of a URL or group of URLs with respect to social bookmarking. For example, you may have one URL with two Social Bookmarks and 1,000 Social Bookmark Clickbacks versus another URL with 1,000 Social Bookmarks and only five Social Bookmark Clickbacks. Page 25

26 Blogs: A blog (short for web log ) is a web page or collection of pages accessible via the internet organized in the form of a journal, typically displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs allow readers the ability to post responses and comments. Blog Metrics: TERM: Posts Type: Count Definition/Calculation: The count of individual entries in a blog made by its author or authors (the "blogger"). This section intentionally left blank. Page 26

27 TERM: Comments Type: Count Definition/Calculation: The count of written responses to a post on a blog by readers or the blogger. This section intentionally left blank. Page 27

28 TERM: Inbound links Type: Count Definition/Calculation: The count of unique referral URLs that represent hyperlinks embedded in external sites that link directly to a blog within a reporting time period. External links or sites may be defined at the discretion of the Web Analyst. Some blogs may be hosted on platforms that share the same domain, but where links from other blogs within the domain may be categorized as external by the Web Analyst. The term Referral is specifically used within this definition as inbound links are in fact Referrers (the WAA Standards definition). Page 28

29 TERM: Trackbacks Type: Count Definition/Calculation: The count of mutually approved Inbound Links embedded with code. The code (if the blogging software supports this functionality) allows the link to be trackable. In order for a trackback to occur, a visitor must click the link. Trackbacks are a subset of inbound links. Page 29

30 TERM: Comments per post Type: Ratio Universe: Aggregate / Segmented Definition/Calculation: Comments divided by Posts. This section intentionally left blank. Page 30