Web analysis mentoring program assists PBS.org

A unique mentoring program provided PBS with analytics and advice for PBS.org, reports Internet Retailer. The digital analysis firm Web Analytics Demystified last month began the Analysis Exchange project to "provide training in web analytics to students and build up the industry’s base of analytics experts," said founder and CEO Eric Peterson. "There are not enough qualified, experienced people doing web analytics in business." The students, many of whom are already Internet professionals, receive training in web analytics and then research nonprofit websites for no cost to the organization. At PBS, the study found that, for example, the StumbleUpon recommendation site was generating the most traffic from social media for PBS.org, but wasn't sending visitors that were highly engaged once they arrived. Other information included data on bounce rates and average time on site. The students also gave PBS advice on how to build stronger engagement on the site. Kevin Dando, PBS director of digital communications told Current that the process was very instructive, "and gave us quite a lot of valuable, tangible information that we incorporated into our thinking right away."