Web analytics specialist WebTrends has launched a major new upgrade to its flagship Analytics product, to help firms improve their web presence and the performance of online marketing campaigns.
WebTrends Marketing Lab, which includes Analytics version 8.0, will feature Performance Dashboards, thanks to an integration deal with Business Objects. The new technology will enable all business users to establish goals, set key performance indicator (KPI) thresholds and view past and present performance against targets, said the firm.
WebTrends' European technical services director, Conrad Bennett, said the toolset is designed to compile disparate data from search engines, banner advertising and other sources. "Marketing managers are seeing a lot of companies all providing information in different formats, but they can't be merged together," said Bennett. "We realised they need a way to integrate that data so that they can present it to the chief executive."
The upgrade will also allow users to make queries against changing data, added Bennett. "This will be desktop tool which is more suited to the analysts – those responsible for getting the answers – and [they] will be able to analyse based on questions that spring up as they go along," he said.
Marketing Lab will include additional modules which can score content, report on the success of multiple versions of adverts, and create and analyse specific segments of users, said Bennett. "The challenge [for firms] is to analyse the vast amount of transaction data in a limited amount of time and with limited resources," he said. "This product [provides] a simple set of tools and interfaces which can give those answers."
Richard Edwards of analyst Butler Group said that the new offering was likely to be popular with organisations "on top of the e-commerce tree", but some firms may want tools with a broader reach.
"Firms marketing via other channels, such as broadcast media or print, will be looking for solutions to draw together the big picture for marketing," Edwards said. "[WebTrends] needs to engage with adjacent sectors covering other areas of marketing in order to broaden its portfolio of products - it could even be an acquisition target for some BI [business intelligence] firms."
