I’m excited Eric T. Peterson and Web Analytics Demystified, along with ComScore and Josh Chasin, figured out a way to overlay Web Analytics Demystified Visitor Engagement Score; this is big news.
I’m on my way to Emetrics Marketing Optimization Summit DC and writing this from my 3G IPhone using WordPress; I don’t have the ability to link to Eric T.Peterson’s post today, just now, but you can check it out for yourself at webanalyticsdemystified.com, if your interested.
Here’s the thing, I work with Web Analytics and ComScore Media Metrix, quite a lot, and have read Eric’s paper recently, so I have a seasoned opinion.
I think Engagement Scoring is going to be a big improvement for ComScore, though I hope it will be provided as part of ComScore’s core reports rather than being a new product that you have to pay extra for. Based on what information I can pull out of Eric’s post, today, I am inclined think the result will be the latter rather than the former.
Why?
Look, 4 of the 7 measures in his formula are used because the other 3 can’t be pulled out of ComScore’s Audience data, and of those the formula used, the base data is already present in any core report ComScore produces.
In his post, Peterson shows the caculated percentages for each engagement index, not the raw data and an example of how he applied his calculation. That’s what leads me to think the Engagement Score will be. Paid addition to standard reports once it’s offered, if it ever is offered (hope I am wrong on this one).
However, I do understand giving away everything valuable is also, not desirable. And, honestly,Engagement Scoring does add value, so thereis some justification for adding additional cost. Clearly, this is a philosophical issue, and I don’t know what the final form of this service will be, anyway.
But, I still think it would be unfair to tack on additional charges for calculations on data to arrive at an Engagement Score based on published and paid for data the subscriber already has.
Think of it this way, some Web Analytics Platforms, as of today, don’t give you “Bounce Rate” but it’s easy to calculate Bounce Rate based on a standard report, so why charge extra for it?
The 4 Engagement Percentages being presented in Eric Petetson’s post, that make up a property’s score aren’t much more complicated to calculate than Bounce rate is.
I think the Web Analytics Demystified Engagement Scoring of ComScore Reports, is a major advance for ComScore, but it needs to be free and offered as soon as possible.
As Eric Peterson noted, there are some features of Audience Measurement that confer a distinct advantage over Web Analytics, such as the Catogorization of web properties.
Peterson quickly came up with a loyal score for any ComScore site by dividing visits to a web property by the total visits to all web properties in the same category; it’s simple, but effective, and draws on data the Subscriber already has in a standard ComScore report, which means a subscriber can do the Loyalty Calculation for themselves, if they want.
I’m looking forward to speaking with Eric Peterson, and hopefully, Josh Chasin about the resarch being presented today, in person, at Emerrics Marketing Optimization Summit.
I want to add one more point, and this is directed more at ComScore; Data that a subscriber already gets in one format (or report) should be made freely available to a ComScore data subscriber in other forms, for no additional charge.
However, if data a ComScore Subscriber already gets is manipulated with additional data the Subscriber doesn’t have (hasn’t paid for) then ComScore, I feel, is well within their rights to repackage the data as a new product.
Examples where ComScore does not appear to be following my advice is their Cross Visiting reports, these are simply a recalulation of data a customer already paid for in the Core Reports.
On the other hand ComScore Segment Metrix adds considerable extra data to Core Reports, improving them; ComScore is entited to market Segment Metrix as an additional product because of all the additional information contained (unlocked, would be a better term).
So, from that point of view, Web Analytics Demystified Engagement scoring ought to be a free enhancement, a gift to ComScore Subscribers, who pay hand over fist for the ComScore offerings, in the first place.
What does Eric Peterson and his brand get out of it? More people know who he is, his brand spreads, which is, by all measures, a good thing.
And now my fingers tire and I’m almost in Washington DC now.
Hope there’s not too many typos and misspellings here, tried my best to avoid that.
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