1. Utilize single access ratio (SAR). Measure the "bounce rate" or "percent exit," a metric that tells how many visitors arriving at the site leave again immediately without seeing more than a single page. Menzies cites one extreme case in which a major online retailer discovered that "97 percent of its home page traffic was single access ratio and that it was paying for a great deal of that 'junk traffic' through its pay-per-click campaigns."

   He recommends that: "You look at the SAR for areas of your site with high entry rates, and then cross-reference these entry points against known online advertising campaigns. You will almost certainly find a correlation between high levels of "junk traffic," a high SAR and an online advertising campaign that is not aimed at the right audience. Work on two areas: 1) reduce SAR by redesigning entry point pages to better address customer requirements, and 2) redesign or scrap marketing campaigns that produce excessive junk traffic."
   

2. Maximize internal search data. In terms of internal search, the report suggests that you act quickly to capitalize on merchandising opportunities. For instance, if you notice that lots of your customers are searching for a product that you don't sell or they can't easily find an item that you do sell, dedicate staff and time to promptly address the issues.

3. Incorporate segmented conversion rates (SCR). "Establish 'segments' in your Web analytics tool - in some cases, Web analysts set these up at implementation, or adjust the page tags, " says Menzies, "and create 'funnels' that track visitors as they progress through a Web site process that you define, for instance, from home page, to checkout process, to the completion of an order."

Spring is in the Air at Infopia
In other news, Infopia yesterday launched Marketplace Manager Spring '07. New and enhanced capabilities now available fall into three key areas. Highlights of these capabilities, according to the company, include the following:

1. Enhanced, time-saving features. New context-sensitive, online help throughout the application, a redesigned user interface for quicker access to vital stats and increased automation for managing inventory, listings, and orders. Additional enhancements to the integration with salesforce.com provide even more options for servicing customers and optimizing marketing opportunities.
   
2. Expanded online marketplace functionality. Through integration with the eBay Giving Works Program, merchants can easily engage in "cause marketing" directly from the Infopia platform. Enhanced capabilities for eBay and Amazon Seller Central provide merchants with added functionality to optimize automated pricing and inventory features on those sites. Newly designed marketplace templates provide options to customize HTML content and change color settings.
   
3. Web site optimization capabilities. Utilizing search engine optimization tools has been simplified with built-in site maps and easy-to-use features that control page titles, meta tags and image alt tags. New storefront templates expand branding options for the look and feel of storefronts that can be changed instantly.