Finally I have time to write about the Advanced Web Metrics book by Brian Clifton.
I’ve finished reading the “beta” chapters and I really like the book. Advanced Web Metrics is written with great detail and knowledge, that you usually only pick up at conferences or meetups:
Chapter one gives an inside on methodologies and great tips like how much time you should waste spend on ROI.
Chapter two is just great, b/c it shows you flaws that you might have with your Google Analytics integration. One of the most important parts, that have been neglected in a lot of books.
Chapter three of Advanced Web Metrics didn’t interest me too much, but I guess a lot of readers would like to know about privacy or Urchin. Chapter four and five are also interesting and hold specific information, that I did never heard about (e.g. how to setup an agency account with GA).
Chapter 7 is also one of the great chapters, b/c it includes tagging and advanced implementation. So is Chapter 8, which talks about Best practices. Chapter 9 and 10 cover hacks and KPI’s, which are essential to understand what’s needed in the business.
My favorite chapter is 11: Real World tasks, which is something I missed at most other web analytics books. Real World tasks are the essentials that are needed to be a web analyst. It’s easy to write a book about functionalities with screenshots and explanation, but it’s way more difficult to come up with real world tasks that a web analyst faces at his daily job.
Overall I highly recommend Advanced Web Metrics. It’s just a must-read for any Google Analytics user, that wants to learn more about (advanced) web analytics. I can only imagine how much time and effort Brian put in this book. It’s obvious that he did not just publish another web analytics book, but rather write a thoughtful book. His “real world” web analytics experience is something that makes the book unique.
If you want to know more about Brian Clifton check out his blog or buy his book. Also if you live in London visit his free drinking book publishing party within the next days / weeks.
