Comments on: Web Analytics Tools: The Good, the bad and the Useless. Part 1 (The Omniture Effect)

By: Louis-Dominic Parizeau

Louis-Dominic Parizeau — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:19:54 +0000

After 5 full months with Omniture I have to say I agree with you. It feels like a cross between an 800 hundred pound gorilla and an 800 pounds sloth. It’s uber powerful but moves so slowly, it’s maddening. I wanted to participate in my own way to the debate so I wrote a little story titled: Tales from the Click: Bounce Rate in Omniture SiteCatalyst

By: Tales from the Click: Bounce Rate in Omniture SiteCatalyst | Louis-Dominic Parizeau

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:12:17 +0000

[...] Useless? Maybe not. But with Google Analytics constantly releasing new features Omniture is doomed to stay isolated as a niche player only appropriate to companies with full dedicated web analytics teams composed of both analysts and programmers. [...]

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:14:15 +0000

I agree with a lot of these statements. But when it comes to GA I think Omniture uses the “Fox in the Hen House” analogy. Why let Google have data about your site? Sure they say they will not use it to modify SEM bids based on success on your site, but if revenues are suffering what’s to stop them from doing it? The “Don’t be Evil” motto?

Check out my own post about my experience at Omniture. I loved working there, but I was ready to move on.

Six months since I left Omniture

By: John H.

John H. — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:00:59 +0000

Oggy – I’ve been in Web Analytics for half of my 20′s and all of my 30′s and honestly the items you listed just don’t seem very hard to overcome for me. I’ve been able to overcome all of these “challenges” fairly easily including the dreaded “IT Involved” nightmare that you obviously loose sleep over.

Like this one… if you don’t like speedometer style reports… don’t use one!

I’m not an Omniture defender nor a GA hater and I have have been responsible for Web Analtyics programs that have utilized a number of the tools out there (SiteCatalyst, HBX (old school), GA & the analytics tool formally know as Visual Sciences). There are pros and cons with all of these tools but if I had to point to the greatest weakness with Omniture it wouldn’t be so much with the tools capabilities or limitations but rather with how all consulting from them is “exta”. But then again if the company that I’m working with today had been “set up” so well my Omniture when they first signed up; I probably wouldn’t be here managing their web analytics program.

By: david

david — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:03:30 +0000

Interesting, i agree with some points that’s why i use google analytics, but some clients do have the staff resources and training to make full use of it. Ive spoken in depth with Omniture on the issue, but they advise clients that they are not entry level web analytics solution for mum&pop shops.

They have some very advanced features and google analytics still has some limitations, but it is a the case that you cant do stuff on the cheap with Omniture, but what ever you need they should be able to track/test/report.

By: Michael Lee

Michael Lee — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:34:16 +0000

A lot of companies just go straight to the biggest and most expensive tool without evaluating their actual needs, and level human resources required to support it. They ended up getting less value from using a more expensive tool.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:52:49 +0000

For me, the real pro of GA is that it’s easy to setup. Want to try a new segmentation? Takes… about 1 minute? While Omniture is more powerful, GA is so easy to use and to customise without having to employ a consultant and wait weeks, that it encourages expirementation. I’ve come up with a few take to the bank actionable insights through GA simply by playing around with segmentation and seeing what happens. With infinite resources AND highly skilled competent people (and let’s face it, that’s a VERY rare combination) then Omniture is better.

By: Dan Linton

Dan Linton — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:47:15 +0000

Love it! Yes you can do more custom variables with SiteCatalyst. Big whoop, most clients I have worked with (and big ones I might add), are barely starting to think that maybe they should consider something beyond page views as a metric.

IMHO, Omniture is fantastic for sophistcated companies with dedicated resources and highly segmented markets (aka, 0.1% of all companies), for the rest of them, there’s GA.

By: Jacques Warren

Jacques Warren — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:02:32 +0000

To be fair though, GA easiness when it comes to cross-tab stuff on the fly seriously challenges the paid solutions. And GA provides very basic info, such as bounce rate, all over, and one wonders why we still have to manipulate those expensive products to get it (!).

By: Jacques Warren

Jacques Warren — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:36:21 +0000

GA can’t be a real pro tool. No access to data; no way to valudate results,
Switch to webtrends software version and read Stephen Few
I’m half joking; can’t believe we’re having a tool debate again..