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To those that know me, I evolved into the field. In another life, I was a Creative Director and after immersing myself in the initial strategies that drove the creative execution, I found the evolution quite painless and eventually enjoyable.
To my knowledge there is no formal training or degree in order to become a web strategist. I have however found (6) commonalities of strategists who are my colleagues.
Web Strategists are:
1. Inquisitive. They are the type of person that always asks "why?" until they fully understand a problem. They ask the poignant questions that no one else is prepared to ask.
2. Passionate. This almost goes without saying. There is little reward in carrying out a task that you are not passionate about doing.
3. Able to Prioritize. Strategists understand that in order to reach a goal, you must prioritize your objectives. Priorities may need to be set because of budget, timing or complex needs (ie. in order to reach "z" we must first perform "x" and "y".)
4. Analytical. This is a big one. Strategy is not only developed by listening to one person or reading data from one source. Strategists pull data from a variety of sources. Analytic data is as important prior to starting a campaign as it is after the campaign has been implemented. (You can't know where to go if you don't know where you have been.) In my own experience, I have often times listened completely to a client's pain points only to find out that the source of the problem was not entirely what was communicated - it was a combination of various factors at play.
5. Versed in technology. I know some individuals will likely argue with me on this one, saying that web strategy should focus solely on business needs. I will agree with this view to a point. However more often than not, the best web strategists I have encountered know how and when to apply web tools that will affect a given outcome. This understanding involves a general understanding of "what's under the hood" of these technologies. From my own experience, the best web strategists have experience in one or more of the following: web technology, various forms of interactive marketing, web branding and business Best Practices pertaining to the web.
6. Experienced in FAILING. You read it correctly. Out of failure comes knowledge. The best web strategists will be open in their failures. The web is a new and ever-changing field. What you read and apply today may not work tomorrow. Moreover, there certainly will not be a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to web strategy. Those that recognize this and are cautious in their recommendations for campaigns are the ones that succeed in their trade. I will be the first to admit I have had some catastrophic failures in applications of strategy. However I will quickly add that I have also have had some monumental successes, that I feel have been a direct result of these failures.Labels: web strategy
I have always found it interesting that Usability Experts and Search Marketers both discount each other's work as not being relevant. Usability focuses on making a site more intuitive for an individual whereas Search Engine Optimization focuses (primarily) on making a site more intuitive for a search engine.
When compared side by side, both focus primarily on organization and retrieval of data. Let's think about this for a second. The algorithms that a typical search engine uses are built based on retrieving results relevant to how an individual would search for them.
Knowing this, it's easier to understand why when a client comes to me expecting a search engine optimization proposal that I have been known to respond with a proposal that contains tactics such as: "A/B testing," or "site analysis." Frankly (and this is where my colleagues in a competing business may get nervous), each business industry should be offering these skill sets as a service to their clients. I have found this knowledge imperative for developing my web strategies, implementations and subsequent testing. A process, that because of this methodology is no longer linear in it's approach.
Still, I know of many Search Engine Marketers (SEM's) that do not know how to read/write HTML. Conversely I can also think of many Designers, Developers and Information Architect's that have never considered a keyword strategy" or the ramifications that AJAX and/or Flash can have on a website.
A Designer may even tell you "We care more about the experience than the ranking that the site has on a search engine." A SEM may try to convince you that "exposure alone drives conversions." Both of these statements are missing the bigger picture.
In closing, a search engine will entice a user to come to a site as a result of proper page indexing. A properly designed and functional website will entice them to stay. When traffic and in turn content is targeted, usage and subsequently conversions will increase.Labels: A/B Testing, internet marketing, Search Engine Optimization, web marketing, web strategy, Web Usability, Website Analysis
Routinely I field questions from clients regarding the metrics of their site. The questions are typically related to how many visitors came to the site over the past month, how many pages were viewed on average. Inevitably the next question I am faced with is "is this a good number?" Much to the chagrin of the person asking the question, I inevitably respond with a simple "it depends."
At the end of the day, does it matter how many people are visiting a website or how many page views they see during a given session if these people are not performing your desired tasks.
The more that I analyze web data for clients and companies, the more I am realizing that these individuals that base their ROI models on the above metrics are really missing the boat. They are the same individuals that become frustrated that the reports are not telling them anything in particular. And they are correct, but it's also correct that they are not asking the correct questions.
Look, at the end of the day it truly depends on how your individual web presence is delivering for your customer. Just like you would be foolish to run a business without a business plan, so is running a website without a web strategy. By outlining clear goals and objectives you can begin to ask solid business questions and hone in in your desired response.
Questions such as:
- Have we been able to increase site utilization while decreasing reliance on our phone representatives?
- Are we increasing our revenue by posting full-featured demonstrations of our products online?
- What kind of impact are our online sales channels having on our offline sales efforts?
- How are we building brand value on the website?
- What specific pages appear to be posing a problem to our visitors?
As a stakeholder, certainly you can see by being able to answer questions you can begin to properly determine a furthered strategy. This is as opposed to merely saying on X date, Y amount of people came to my site, which does not tell you what they are doing once they are on your site.
Once you develop your questions and subsequently have them answered; develop additional questions. You will find that gauging success or failure on the web becomes more obvious.Labels: business questions, web analytics, web strategy
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