Web analytics, web metrics, and how to use them to track and improve conversions

Maybe it's not people anymore that you need to impress and engage - maybe it's the Search Engines, maybe it's the Zagat Restaurant Guidebook, or CNET or the NYT Real Estate, etc.

How do search engine rank web pages - an algorithm - and whatever happens to end up being on the top is going to be visited more than any other site that appears for that keyword.   Now someone actually voiced the obvious - if it' algorithms that determine how we see information (and there for - if we're going to act on it at all) maybe we have to MARKET TO THE ALGORITHMS.

I read Max Kalehoff's post on the Engagement By Engagement blog today on my handheld Sidekick 3 Google Reader and decided when I had a chance - I would look at the this again - and here I am.

"...Engagement models must incorporate algorithms, because algorithms could be the most influential force destroying linear decision-making processes among consumers. But it's rare to find an engagement enthusiast (who are mostly mass brand and media types) get far past linear decision models. "

So .... instead of marketing to my target audience only .... part of my target audience is the search engine itself?

"....The most elegant insight at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s annual confab in Washington, D.C. earlier this week came from Ted Leonsis, vice chairman of AOL. He noted that “Marketing isn’t just to people anymore. You have to market to algorithms.” He backed this up with a few examples of algorithms that have significantly influenced his own purchase and life decisions: Google, blog search, car diagnostic systems and Amazon recommendation engines. "

".......As more human behaviors emit trails of digital residue, the more opportunities reside for algorithms to harness those human-induced data and become information intermediaries, often delivering order, additional value or influence. Many so-called Web 2.0 services fall into this realm, but the essence of algorithms and their interactions with humans extends far beyond conventional notions of Web browser-based services. They are becoming embedded and central to a variety of smart products and services that impact our lives in both subtle and blatant ways, from phones to GPS mapping services to medical devices to RFID tagging systems. "

So...... if I'm permitted to make an interpretation of all of this ... people make decisions based on a finite number of choices presented to them at any moment - but algorithims are controlling what they see as choices to interact with .....and unless you consider algorithims in your marketing (treat it as an audience) you may find your products and services to be INVISIBLE to the Web 2.0 world -as many decisions by AI intelligence - search engines being the most common - but it goes beyond that - as the examples that Max Kalehoff gives (below):

"....The Zagat restaurant guidebook, through its member surveys, database and search algorithms, helped me choose more than four dozen restaurants to visit this year.

1. Download.com, a software-download and review service from CNET, helped me choose almost a dozen PC software titles through its search function, user reviews, ratings and, especially, the total-download stats.
2. The New York Times real-estate database listened to my criteria and recommended houses to suit my needs. I’m now in contract to purchase one of the houses it introduced me to.
3. My stay at the Helix hotel in Washington, D.C. this week was completely the result of Expedia’s algorithms, including criteria for search, price, coolness, user ratings and proximity to the WOMMA conference.
4. My wife and I are researching nannies and related services based on search results and testimonials displayed on parenting boards.
5. Music playlists help me discover new music, to sample and purchase.
6. GPS mapping services in cars help me decide which roads to take, which towns to pass through and which stores to stop in.
7. Social-media filters and recommendation engines–like Digg and Tailrank–help me decide which news and information is most resonant or important, or which photos and videos are most interesting.
8. EZPass highway tags record and notify me every month how much I pass over toll roads and bridges, and how much money I dish out to our public transportation authorities. Becoming conscious of those aggregate fees has influenced me to sometimes take alternative side routes.
9. My credit-card company’s algorithms identified fraud and notified me about it, so we could work together to chase down criminals. Another credit-card company didn’t, and now I don’t do business with them. "

I'm not sure how you'd "engage" an algorithm - algorithms are sorta like crude images of how we, humans, make decisions - created to work on vast stores of data. 

Sure..... if I'm looking for something and all I see in the search results is what Google thinks is the best choices for my query.... I guess you can say that entity you most need to impress.....is the SEARCH ENGINE.   I would have not put that way.... but people like Kalehoff and Ted Leonsis are going there.