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Complete Web Monitoring: Watching your visitors, performance, communities, and competitors 1st edition by Croll, Alistair, Power, Sean (2009) Paperback
Do you know the true value of your website to your organization? Complete Web Monitoring shows you how to integrate several different views of your online business -- including analytics, back-end performance, usability, communities, customer feedback, and competitive analysis -- into one clear picture that reveals the health and effectiveness of your web presence at any given moment. Complete Web Monitoring combines real-world examples, clear explanations, and practical recommendations in an engaging, easy-to-read format. For anyone involved in running a website, from web operators to e-business professionals, this book is a must-have. With Complete Web Monitoring, you Discover how visitors use your site, employing web analytics and tools for customer feedback Determine if visitors are able to use the site as both you and they intend, using technologies that evaluate the health of your site's back-end performance Learn how visitors interact with your site, with tools to measure the effectiveness of usability and navigation Track all the communities related to your online social networks, groups and mailing lists, forums, blogs, microblogs, real-time chat, wikis, and social news aggregators You can't fix your mistakes if you don't know what they are. With the tools and advice in Complete Web Monitoring, you can learn how to avoid missed opportunities, frustrated users, and spiraling costs.
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First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 27, 2011
This book is ultimately about the End-User. The content of this book is designed to answer the following four questions (in order) about the End-Users:
- What did they do?
- How did they do it?
- Why did they do it?
- Could they do it?
To answer the first question, a closer look at data warehouse and web analytics is in order. The authors talk about that in detail, listing tools and services that address various issues often faced in collecting user data. The second question, "how did they do it?" is answered through constant monitoring of your site's usability and engagement, both of which are explained well in this book. The third question is about user interaction and feedback. The authors attempt to answer this question by explaining the process of VOC, or Voice of Customer, and all the details it entails.
The most important content in this book, I believe, is laid out in the three chapters dedicated to answering the fourth question, "could they do it?"
The first chapter talks about Frontend Performance and End-User Experience. The topic of Frontend Performance is relatively new and the list of books dedicated to it is growing rapidly with Steve Souders' books on top of the list.
The second chapter tackles Synthetic Monitoring and its advantages and drawbacks. Following that, the authors move into Real User Monitoring in the third and last chapter attempting to answer this question.
The authors then dedicate what I think is too much content to communities and competitors and how monitoring them can help you better your site. Although the information is useful, I feel it took away from the focus of the book but not too much to be a distraction.
The authors then close the book with a recap and a look at the future of web monitoring. Both chapters are very useful and give a much needed perspective.
All in all, this is an excellent book for any serious web entrepreneur and for all online businesses that hold "User Experience" paramount in their business objectives.
- What did they do?
- How did they do it?
- Why did they do it?
- Could they do it?
To answer the first question, a closer look at data warehouse and web analytics is in order. The authors talk about that in detail, listing tools and services that address various issues often faced in collecting user data. The second question, "how did they do it?" is answered through constant monitoring of your site's usability and engagement, both of which are explained well in this book. The third question is about user interaction and feedback. The authors attempt to answer this question by explaining the process of VOC, or Voice of Customer, and all the details it entails.
The most important content in this book, I believe, is laid out in the three chapters dedicated to answering the fourth question, "could they do it?"
The first chapter talks about Frontend Performance and End-User Experience. The topic of Frontend Performance is relatively new and the list of books dedicated to it is growing rapidly with Steve Souders' books on top of the list.
The second chapter tackles Synthetic Monitoring and its advantages and drawbacks. Following that, the authors move into Real User Monitoring in the third and last chapter attempting to answer this question.
The authors then dedicate what I think is too much content to communities and competitors and how monitoring them can help you better your site. Although the information is useful, I feel it took away from the focus of the book but not too much to be a distraction.
The authors then close the book with a recap and a look at the future of web monitoring. Both chapters are very useful and give a much needed perspective.
All in all, this is an excellent book for any serious web entrepreneur and for all online businesses that hold "User Experience" paramount in their business objectives.
October 22, 2018
So. Bloody. Long. But it is complete, inasmuch as your brain will be completely full of what you should have been doing yesterday about your we presence.
It may have been better that this book be broken up into several smaller, topic-driven, volumes. That said, I think it is also cool to think that you could pick this up and leaf over to the issue bothering you, a la "Yellow Pages."
The targeted audience seems a bit ambiguous, though I recall a section in the front with text dedicated to whoever may be reading it (CIO, Marketing, IT). I fall in the IT camp, since I feel like my organization is sitting on a GoldMine of web data. That said, this goes much further than log files and analytics platforms. It jacks into business processes, community monitoring, performance, online reputation, competitive analysis. I feel like to even get started with this, I will end up having to prepare how to sell ideas internally. At the end of each chapter is a "Maturity Model" table that talks about what sorts of things you should be looking at, from a physical infrastructure standpoint, all the way up to the nosebleeding seats of the C-Level folk (CIO, CTO, COO).
The accompanying website (http://www.watchingwebsites.com/) does not seem to have been updated in a while, but there are likely dozens of potent articles discussing the stuff spoken of in the book. I'm glad to be finished with this, but there is much more work to do. *sigh*
It may have been better that this book be broken up into several smaller, topic-driven, volumes. That said, I think it is also cool to think that you could pick this up and leaf over to the issue bothering you, a la "Yellow Pages."
The targeted audience seems a bit ambiguous, though I recall a section in the front with text dedicated to whoever may be reading it (CIO, Marketing, IT). I fall in the IT camp, since I feel like my organization is sitting on a GoldMine of web data. That said, this goes much further than log files and analytics platforms. It jacks into business processes, community monitoring, performance, online reputation, competitive analysis. I feel like to even get started with this, I will end up having to prepare how to sell ideas internally. At the end of each chapter is a "Maturity Model" table that talks about what sorts of things you should be looking at, from a physical infrastructure standpoint, all the way up to the nosebleeding seats of the C-Level folk (CIO, CTO, COO).
The accompanying website (http://www.watchingwebsites.com/) does not seem to have been updated in a while, but there are likely dozens of potent articles discussing the stuff spoken of in the book. I'm glad to be finished with this, but there is much more work to do. *sigh*
October 9, 2009
How does your website serve your customers? Do your pages lead them on a merry chase looking for answers that they never really find? Or does your website provide exactly what buyers are looking to find?
Complete Web Monitoring looks at how site analytics can help business owners understand their customers better. By asking a variety of different questions, not only will business owners and planners know when their website doesn’t properly serve the needs of potential customers but also what changes need to be addressed and where. Then, by comparing this data with that of their competitors, they’ll know where they stand in their particular industry.
Complete Web Monitoring is the best web monitoring book that I’ve read. This book provides a wide variety of options ranging from things that the average person can do to finding a professional to do the work for you. Most importantly though, it reminds the reader that site statistics mean nothing unless they are compared to something else.
Complete Web Monitoring looks at how site analytics can help business owners understand their customers better. By asking a variety of different questions, not only will business owners and planners know when their website doesn’t properly serve the needs of potential customers but also what changes need to be addressed and where. Then, by comparing this data with that of their competitors, they’ll know where they stand in their particular industry.
Complete Web Monitoring is the best web monitoring book that I’ve read. This book provides a wide variety of options ranging from things that the average person can do to finding a professional to do the work for you. Most importantly though, it reminds the reader that site statistics mean nothing unless they are compared to something else.
December 27, 2010
at first I thought this book wasn't technical enough but as I got a little further into it found that it just gives a really good overview of web monitoring concepts - a little bit like the oreilly, information architecture book, which any (every?) fledgling IA should read.
December 26, 2015
Un ottimo manuale completo. Offre livelli di approfondimento utili per gli esperti e permette anche ai neofiti di avvicinarsi alla materia. Nonostante sia del 2009 è costruito in modo da essere utile anche con l'avanzare delle frontiere tecnologiche.
October 5, 2009
For true geeks, this book describes a holisic approach to monitoring the health of your online business.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews