Let's face it. The Web analytics process can quickly turn complex and frustrating. But a recent post at Marketing Jive suggests it doesn't have to be that way—at least for organic search. "There are a number of simple ways to filter through the numbers each month when you are measuring the success of your natural search campaigns," MJ says. Try taking these straightforward steps:

• Compare current-month data to previous-month data. This can provide a quick snapshot of how your site is doing from an organic-search perspective.
• Examine past-quarter data. These types of comparisons (1Q09 to 4Q08; 1Q09 to 1Q08) may provide greater insight than the normal month-to-month comparisons.
• Compare Year-over-Year (YOY) data. Doing YOY comparisons by month will bring to light any emerging trends your site is experiencing, whereas a full YOY comparison can highlight the longer-term impact of a new product or service.
• Review Year-to-Date (YTD) data to identify interesting and meaningful trends that are more recent.
• Look for discrepancies within trends. Identifying a weird spike or unlikely dip can help you adjust your online efforts.
• Pick a favorite metric, and do spot checks. Bounce rates for key pages, for instance, are a search stat that all marketers may not be tracking regularly.

The Po!nt: Relax and simplify. By identifying and monitoring simple but key metrics like these, you may carve out a more rewarding analytics process for yourself.

Source: Marketing Jive. Click here for more.

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