Author: Content Curator

Posted by Tom.Capper

If you’ve ever compared two analytics implementations on the same site, or compared your analytics with what your business is reporting in sales, you’ve probably noticed that things don’t always match up. In this post, I’ll explain why data is missing from your web analytics platforms and how large the impact could be. Some of the issues I cover are actually quite easily addressed, and have a decent impact on traffic — there’s never been an easier way to hit your quarterly targets. 😉

I’m going to focus on GA (Google Analytics), as it’s the most commonly used provider, but most on-page analytics platforms have the same issues. Platforms that rely on server logs do avoid some issues but are fairly rare, so I won’t cover them in any depth.

Side note: Our test setup (multiple trackers & customized GA)

On Distilled.net, we have a standard Google Analytics property running from an HTML tag in GTM (Google Tag Manager). In addition, for the last two years, I’ve been running three extra concurrent Google Analytics implementations, designed to measure discrepancies between different configurations.

(If you’re just interested in my findings, you can skip this section, but if you want to hear more about the methodology, continue reading. Similarly, don’t worry if you don’t understand some of the detail here — the results are easier to follow.)

Two of these extra implementations — one in Google Tag … Read More

“There’s only one thing that’s worse than having an unhappy childhood, and that’s having a too-happy childhood.” – Dylan Thomas

Research shows that the majority of successful people had a tough start to their lives.

But we can’t choose that.

That just happens.

Maybe being happy is overrated.

So the reality is that some of us have more resilience than others dialled in.

Then it became embedded in their DNA.

And being innately fragile is sometimes unseen.

The human condition

As humans we play on the edge of success, chaos and tragedy.

This often happens while we are planning our lives.

That is the human condition.

The unexpected intersects with stability and security.

Events beyond our control.

We need resilience to ride over these speed humps.

But many of us aren’t prepared for those events.

Building muscle

Being born with resilience is one thing. But most of us need to work at it.

You can develop that muscle.

There are routines and habits that allow us to manage our emotions, handle situations with some clarity and ride out the storm.

Being resilient is a range of skill sets.

Born out of experience, necessity and an attitude … Read More

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media. On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show, we explore Facebook testing a search engine for influencer marketing, Instagram’s new Mute option, and other breaking social media […]

The post Facebook Testing Influencer Marketing Search Engine appeared first on .

… Read More

A Facebook study found that people gaze 5x longer at video than at static content on Facebook and Instagram. And digital influencer, Jay Baer, says that video is the new blogging.

As such, are you prepared to create high-performing videos for Facebook?

Well, similar to blogging, it should come as no surprise that there is no magic ticket to video success.

But wait! Don’t stop reading just yet. Rest assured that luck also has nothing to do with it.

After all, the brand or influencer you admire most for producing amazing videos didn’t just wake up one day with millions of views. Their success is the result of time-consuming hard work to develop video content consistently, and investing in video on social media.

So, roll up your sleeves! You’re going to have to work at creating videos the same way you worked at blogging – by trying, trying, and trying again.

How do you create videos for Facebook that stand out?

Luckily, there are over 3 million small and medium businesses who have already posted videos to Facebook, and I have seen from my research at Animoto that there is a similar structure to what makes certain videos stand… Read More

If you have been following the latest marketing developments, you know everything is trending in a mobile direction.

Consumers are seemingly glued to their phones and tablets. In fact, 77% of adults in the United States own a smartphone. That number is up from 35% in 2011.

That’s why it’s so important for you to optimize your web design for mobile users. While this is a necessary approach, it’s not enough if you really want to enhance your mobile marketing strategy.

The way people use their phones has changed. People don’t consume information the way they did five or ten years ago.

With the rise in smartphone usage, it makes sense that there is also a growing popularity in mobile app usage.

In fact, 90% of mobile usage time is spent on applications.

If you are one of the small business owners who recognized this trend and built a mobile app, congratulations.

Developing an app is no easy task, and it’s definitely not the least expensive investment you’ll make in your lifetime. But now that your app has launched, you might be having some concerns about your return on investment.

You expected to see massive profits right off the bat, and that’s not always the case.

Some of you may have had your small business mobile app out for a while now. At first, it was performing well… Read More