Victoria's Secret & Web Analytics

Victoria’s Secret & Web Analytics

Shopify

Shopify is a very useful application for anyone who is looking to open up a new online store or

is interested in using an ecommerce platform for their business.  Shopify provides you an ecommerce website, an easy to use administration area, and secure hosting - everything you need to sell your products online. 100,000+ shops in 150 countries use Shopify to power their stores. We host small mom-and-pop shops, big brands like Google, and everyone in between. (Google. n.d.)

Marketing begins with product design and Shopify is a place where anyone can have the most unique product and profitable business because they are there for you every step of the way.   Shopify provides you with a variety of tools to help you set up and run your business. Depending on the plan that you choose, you can find everything you need to showcase your products online, to process payments, and to make your store work for you. Shopify offers:

•       Free and paid themes from the Shopify Theme Store to make your store stand out and look great

•       Free and paid apps from the Shopify App Store to expand on the existing functionality of your store

•       Shopify's own payment gateway to accept credit card payments

•       Growth opportunities with Shopify's various sales channels as well an enterprise plan for merchants who are selling in high volume and might be feeling the effects of accumulating transaction fees

•       A Shopify blog that has guides and articles about running your store and connecting with your customers

•       Experts all around the world that can help you set up, design, and market your store

•       A dedicated Support team available 24/7 to answer your questions no matter what Shopify plan you're on.

(Shopify. n.d.)

Shopify also provides ways to help you sell your products whether it is selling in person where they have the option for you to purchase a point of sales (POS) system which allows you to process retail sales as well as mobile locations- if you were to take your retail to places like fairs, events or markets. 

If you were to sell with them online they have attractive, beautiful storefronts to choose from where you can set up your products with a Shopify administration page and if you were to choose a different online platform to sell on such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or Shopify Buy Buttons they can help you get setup for this type of selling too, which is a very big market for ecommerce these days- there is a constant stream of ads and new shops coming up and about through social media platforms and those pop ups can take you directly to the site or directly to an order page for the item you clicked on to buy or search. 

I know that I have shopped with many online shops through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest channels through Shopify and they have always been a very easy process to use, in terms of completing a sale and I trust any shop that uses Shopify, which is whey Shopify is trusted by merchants from all over the world.  Large brands and fast growing startups rely on Shopify Plus to support their businesses- with business such as Google, Johnny Cupcakes, LA Lakers, theory11, Hootsuite, Mozilla, Citizen and many more.  This is a great testament to what the Shopify family can do for you.  (Shopify. n.d.)

Shopify has a variety of pricing plans set up for you to choose from so that you can customize your plan based on you and your business needs.  They have monthly fees, transaction fees and store features.  The prices start from $29-$299 the starting rate features staff accounts, number of products, file storage, shipping and label discount, retail package, 24/7 support, fraud analysis, manual order creation, discount codes, website and blog, free SSL certificate and if you were to purchase one of the more expensive packages it would include gift cards, professional reports, abandoned cart recovery, advanced report builder and real-time carrier shipping. 

Shopify offers many ways to help a business succeed by offering great guides and tutorials about growing your business in the Shopify Community page where they “have many learning resources available in addition to the main Shopify documentation. There's also a growing self-supporting external community of merchants who enjoy sharing their skills and experience. Many of them are happy to provide feedback on your store - often in return for feedback from you” (Shopify. n.d.) and there is even a partner program that you can join if you are interested in building apps or designing themes for Shopify stores. 

This is an excellent place to begin marketing a retail store whether it be physical or virtual because Shopify is set up to help anyone succeed and they provide you with all the tools you will need to get started and ways to help you when you begin expanding.  Shopify is a place where businesses can grow and can have so many opportunities to learn how to develop marketing plans, promotions, advertise and increase creativity by learning new ideas from the guides and tutorials that are set up when you sign on with Shopify and from the overwhelming group of people and business who use Shopify.  Shopify has a great community sense to them and they   

One of the most important features that Shopify has is their blog because they are constantly helping marketers provide their businesses with new ideas and ways to make their products more appealing or better than the next.  For example this week blog is “Dominate Your Competitors This Holiday Season With An Unforgettable Social Media Campaign” (Price, S. 2016)

Shopify is dedicated to the businesses success and what it takes to help them be successful, this blog is full of great ideas about how to market your product better and how to stand out and get noticed and by using Shopify it will be one of the most useful tools and most promising outcomes that an ecommerce site can have.   

Reference

Google. (n.d.) Google Analytics. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.google.com/analytics/partners/search/apps?q=&category=107

Price, S. (2016, November 14). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/dominate-your-competitors-this-holiday-season-with-an-unforgettable-social-media-campaign

Shopify. (n.d.). Introduction to Shopify. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://help.shopify.com/manual/intro-to-shopify

Discovering Analytics

Discovering Software Analytics

Google Analytics vs. Mint

Analytics is all about engaging, analyzing and understanding.  Marketers and businesses will uncover many important elements when looking inside their website through analytics.  It provides great depth into what users are finding interesting on a web page and what they are not finding interesting- which, if you’ve ever wondered why they may be leaving your website early or not clicking through to see what all it has to offer. 

Google Analytics provides a host of opportunities for businesses to view their analytics which can help them better understand user behavior.  This information is very valuable and it is important for businesses to learn more about their users and retrieve analytic results so that they can perform better and offer a more pleasing, exciting website with interesting content.

Google Analytics is a free product that tracks your Web site and gives detailed statistics about visitors to your Website. For example, Analytics can show you how people found your site, how they explored it, and how you can enhance their visitor experience. With this information, you can improve your Web site return on investment, increase conversions, and make more money on the Web. (WVU. 2016)

Google Analytics is not the only analytics option out there but when compared with other analytic software providers Google is one of the best to start out with as it is easily navigable and it provides solid results in many different categories.  Google Analytics is always improving the analysis experience by adding new features, providing new updates and customization along with many more features.    

But Google is not the only analytics provider, there are many more to choose from and although each provider may have their own style they have the same purpose, which is to make sure they are providing their customers and businesses with the most accurate and informative information they can find, report and analyze. 

Google Analytics has over 80 reports to help you gauge your site's performance—whether by usage metrics, return visit numbers, or time on page. (WVU. 2016)

Mint, which is an extensible, self-hosted web site analytics program whose interface is an exercise in simplicity which can all be seen from a flexible dashboard. (Mint. n.d.) Mint has some really great features I have compared and contrasted below. This information comes from Software Insider and they have laid out the differences and likes between Google and Mint and although I did not list all of them I have provided some important comparisons and contrasts between the two services based on their features, pricing and company information.  In the analysis the Y means they provide the service and the X means they do not. 

GOOGLE ANALYTICS VS. MINT

Overview:

Business Size	Google Analytics	Mint
Large Enterprise	Y	X
Small-Medium Business	Y	Y

Industry	Google Analytics	Mint
Information Technology	Y	X
Internet & Telecommunications	Y	X

Features:

Trackable Domains	Google Analytics	Mint
Non-exclusive, non-transferable license to install and use the Software on a single Website.	X	Y
Free Up to 5 million pageviews per month per Account	Y	X

Track Geo Stats	Google Analytics	Mint
City	Y	X
County	Y	X
State	Y	X
ISP	Y	Y

Track Robot Visits	Google Analytics	Mint
	X	X

Track Traffic Sources	Google Analytics	Mint
Direct	Y	Y
Referring	Y	Y
Search Engine		Y    Y

Track Visitors	Google Analytics	Mint
Time on Site	Y	X
Pageviews	Y	Y
Returning Visitors	Y	Y
Unique Visitors	Y	Y

Mobile Tracking	Google Analytics	Mint
Mobile Devices	Y	X
Mobile Operating System	Y	X

Mobile Email Report Delivery	Google Analytics	Mint
	X	X

Customizable	Google Analytics	Mint
	Y	Y

Real Time Analysis	Google Analytics	Mint
	Y	Y

Keyword Analysis	Google Analytics	Mint
	Y	X

Additional Features

Reports	Google Analytics	Mint
Conversion Funnel	Y	X
Custom (any event)	Y	X
Geosegmentation	Y	X
Next Page Flow	X	Y
Page Summary	Y	Y

Track Content	Google Analytics	Mint
Favorite/Bookmark Stats	Y	X
Top Exit Pages	Y	Y
Top Landing Pages	Y	Y

Statistics Available	Google Analytics	Mint
Daily	Y	Y
Monthly	Y	Y
Weekly	Y	Y

Pricing

Price Ranges	Google Analytics	Mint
Starting From	Free	$30.00

Reports	Google Analytics	Mint
Conversion Funnel	Y	X
Custom (any event)	Y	X
Geosegmentation	Y	X

Specifications

Platform	Google Analytics	Mint
Mobile	Y	X
Online	Y	Y

Operating Systems	Google Analytics	Mint
Windows	X	Y
Mac	X	Y
Linux	X	Y

Mobile	Google Analytics	Mint
Mobile Website	Y	X
Android	Y	Y
IOS	Y	Y

(Software Insider. n.d.)

Google Analytics and Mint are both exploring new ways to understand customers, visitors and site visits better by providing insight through analytics.  Google who is a top name seems to be able to provide more than Mint as you can see in the charts and comparisons and Google is free, which is a huge bonus especially to anyone who is new to analytics.  Google is a great place to start not only because of the price but because their system is great for beginners to learn. 

Mint is always looking for ways of improvement and you can find their latest and greatest version of Mint as well as their plugins they like to call Pepper at the Peppermill.

Whether a business is using Google Analytics, Mint or any other analytic provider it is important to work with the one that will get you and your business the best results and reports that satisfies your needs.  Each provider has their own uniqueness and by exploring and understanding what they provide will help them better provide for you with understanding of your users and their behavior.    

Reference

Software Insider. (n.d.). Google Analytics vs Mint - Web Analytics Software Comparison Retrieved November 7, 2016, from http://web-analytics.softwareinsider.com/compare/1-2/Google-Analytics-vs-Mint

Mint. (n.d.). Mint A Fresh Look at your Site. Retrieved November 07, 2016, from http://haveamint.com/

WVU:Reed College of Media. (2016).  Lesson 1: Intro to Web Analytics and the Basics of Web Analytics Retrieved November 8, 2016 from https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_69901_1&content_id=_3398295_1&framesetWrapped=true