Behavioural analytics comes of age

Web analytics software provider 7 Billion People has launched a new product designed to give marketers the information they need to optimise their web sites and thus increase revenues and improve customer loyalty.

MarketMaestro is a behavioural analytics solution which analyses users' search and click patterns, separating them into portrait types each of which will have its own buying preferences, according to the firm's European manager Jon Cummins.

"In our analysis, marketing managers are swamped with data but they don't know what to do with it," he argued. "We track the web clicks and interpret the behaviour – people buy when they're emotionally ready and most sites completely ignore this."

Mark Jordan, managing director of StudentStore.co.uk said the analytics tool has helped his firm discover that features such as how products are flagged up on the homepage can have a significant effect on consumer buying behaviour.

Consumers who fit a certain profile may prefer a notebook on the site to be described as "most popular" rather than "best priced", he explained.

"We installed Google Analytics which told us the technical information but more important is understanding how many people convert [and why]," Jordan added. "From my standpoint as a business manager I don't want stats, I want solutions."

itweek.co.uk @ 2010 Incisive Media