This is the first in a series of posts on implementing Omniture SiteCatalyst web analytics. I’m writing this because I’ve been through this process several times now, and each time I could have used some helpful hints and tips. I will not give away any Omniture trade secrets here or post any secret code, I just want to make it easier for other people who may be asking the same questions I did. Omniture typically offers a certain number of consulting hours as part of the implementation process, but I recommend saving those for the more technical issues. There is an online knowledge base to refer to, but it actually answers my questions less than 25% of the time. Note that my examples are based on basic implementation without any advanced coding required.
Initial Omniture implementation (they call it “Fusion Engagement”) generally consists of three stages: Define, Design, and Deploy. The Define stage begins with a kickoff call with your assigned Omniture consultant. This person will work with you throughout the implementation process, and his/her first mission is to run through a slide deck that sets expectations in terms of roles and responsibilities, initial reporting capabilities, project scope and timeline, and activities and deliverables through each stage of the process. Basic project management stuff.
The next step is to identify two key project stakeholders at your company: the business lead and the technical lead. If your company is large, you may have more people involved, and if it’s very small, the same person may fill both roles. If you work through an agency for web development, Omniture will define what you can and cannot share with the agency. The key thing to remember here is that the consultant is OK with working with several people (hey, more billable hours), but only the identified business and technical leads are assigned as contacts for support. Omniture will then cover any cookie issues and give you Admin access to SiteCatalyst.
The Omniture consultant then enters the Design phase – you don’t really need to do anything at this point. The consultant creates several deliverables, each one integral to your implementation. Once this phase is complete, you’ll have another conference call to review these items:
- The Solution Design document is a spreadsheet showing all the variables you’ll need for implementation. It may vary greatly from business to business, but essentially it should contain a variable map, a site content hierarchy page, a list of business requirements, and a map of your Report Suite architecture. If you’re the one tagging your site, you’ll be spending a lot of time with this baby.
- The Omniture Fusion Playbook is a fancy marketing name for implementation manual. It is customized for your vertical market and your company, and sort of leads you step-by-step through the implementation process. I say “sort of” because there are some very basic things they leave out, meaning n00bs like me have to spend a lot of time hunting and digging in order to make any progress. More on that in the next posts.
- The Data Collection Code arrives in two parts. The first is a JavaScript snippet that you paste on every page of your site (hence the name, Code to Paste), and the second is a standalone JavaScript file that goes on your server.
The Omniture consultant reviews all of these items with you, using another slide deck, which illustrates how each item should be used and the next steps in the implementation process. It discusses the difference between s.props (traffic variables) and eVars (e-commerce or conversion variables), and an overview of the handy browser debugger you can use while coding. There is a review of really basic stuff like how to log in and create new users, and where to find training videos, the knowledge base, and other support resources. This last part is important, because if you use your Omniture consultant as a resource, it will count against your allotted consulting hours – I learned this the hard way.
After this point, you’ve progressed through Define and Design and you’re on to the Deploy stage. You’re pretty much on your own for this part, but you have some good resources to work with. In the next post I’ll cover site structure, page naming, and basic page tagging.
