Five tools you should have to optimize your site

1. Analytic tool

Why: If you do not know what is happening on your site, then how can you optimize it? This will not only give you general KPI trends on your site BUT also will tell you what the visitors on your site are doing.

Which one: Of course all the web analytic tool companies will tell you that their tool is the best, but in my experience they all are pretty much the same. The key here will be how effectively you are able to use the information from the tools to optimize your site performance. If you have limited budget then I would recommend going free with Google Analytics.

2. A/B testing tool

Why: Once you THINK you KNOW what is wrong with you site, you want to be TESTING out different designs, content and/or navigation. Again the idea is let your visitors tell you which of the changes to the site they like the best.

Which one: There are many options out there, such as – Sitespect, Optimost, Offermatica (now bought by Omniture), etc. I really do not have a favorite. If you have limited budget then I would recommend going free with Google’s website optimizer.

3. Online survey tool

Why: It has happened many times. You have analyzed the site performance and then you have A/B tested what you think should be the new site design, content and/or navigation. BUT the results remain the same. What happened? Well it seems that site visitors did not agree with the educated opinion of what is the problem with the site and diagnosis of that problem. To solve this puzzle you need to go directly to the site visitors and ask them what they think is the issue with site.

Which one: There are many options, such as – Usability Sciences, Foresee Results, iPerceptions, etc. I personally like usability sciences. If you have limited budget then I would recommend going free with 4Q online survey.

4. Secondary research:

Why: Many times, we all need a starting point of what should be changed to optimize the performance of site based upon what has worked in the past for other companies. This is not to say that it will work for your site also – it is just a nice point of reference. There is a lot of heuristics research that is available that you can and should use to optimize your site performance.

Which one: Here are some that you might find useful – Jared Spool at www.uie.com, Jakob Nielsen at www.useit.com, www.usability.gov/, Daily trending data from www.eMarketer.com

5. Screen capture tool

Why: A picture is worth a thousand words! When you see some design, content, idea or navigation that you like or think is effective, pay them a compliment – capture it and see if you can use it to optimize your site. Or use it just as an example of what to do or not to do.

Which on: The one that I have been using is Snag-it. But there are many free ones available as an add-on to Firefox.

When hiring usability analyst, what should you be looking for?

Your Usability Analyst should be a strategic partner of the owners of the online organization. This strategic partner should not only be the keeper of the lore – of what has happened in the past with the web site AND why – but also someone who would help to improve the current site AND helps in the planning of future site improvements.

One must recognize that an Usability Analyst is NOT an entry level job. A true Usability Analyst needs to have in-depth knowledge of the following four areas to become a true strategic partner of an organization

1. Online Usability: Of course an analyst needs to understand the fundamental understanding of the website usability. Please do note, web usability is very different than product usability
2. Online marketing: A good web usability analyst has to understand how the different a visitor can come to the site and how these different reference channels work
3. Statistics (though Analyst is NOT a Data puller but an Analyst DOES start with Data)
4. Online technologies

At the same time, an Analyst must develop the following soft skills-

1. Ability to work with people with different backgrounds in the company. Such as: Website owners/managers, designers, Copy writers, Agency partners, upper management, etc.
2. Build and give meaningful presentation to ALL levels of individuals in a company
3. Be an advocate for the Customer / User / Visitor of the company in online space
4. Ability to gather and see trends in customer/industry research (Primary and Secondary)
5. Ability to incorporate other people’s ideas into their recommendations
6. Ability to accept the fact that their recommendations are just that, recommendations. Testing is required to validate them.
7. Ability to accept the fact that recommendations which have worked for one program may not work for another
8. Ability to constantly educate themselves to stay on top of the new and upcoming things
9. Ability to ask a question Why – even when it is to yourself and your own preconceived notions of what are the best practices and what will or will not work.