Big data is playing a more essential role in website administration than ever before. TechRepublic points out that it is important for content management. However, it is also ideal for user experience optimization, marketing and much more.
The market for big data is growing 41% over the next few years. This is largely due to the need for big data in website management and marketing, as well as advances in AI.
However, big data is only useful if it is collected. You need to gather data from your website.
Big Data Collection Strategies for Web Administrators
Having a well-maintained website for your business is an advantage in any industry and can easily improve your business’s image and presentation. One main factor and benefit of having a website is collecting data to change and improve. There are many ways to collect data from websites, also known as “web scraping.” If you haven’t heard of the term yet, you should know that web scraping is basically the process of extracting data from websites. Collecting data from websites is what helps a company move forward, make changes, and grow. It enables a company to see outcomes and innovate faster.
Here are multiple methods for gathering data from your website:
- Online surveys are a very popular way to collect information from customers. They are cost efficient and easy to create. It is easy to find and install online surveys on your site. Typically, it just requires some code so that it will pop up for your site visitors. It may not work on sites that were made on do-it-yourself platforms, but certainly on a WordPress site it should be easy for your developer to add. Another advantage of using online surveys to gather data is that they are usually easily customizable and therefore specific with their questions and answer options, which makes the data collected clear and more accurate. They are used mostly to collect feedback from those using the services they offer.
- Another way to collect data is through an email campaign. This method is used universally and has been around for a long time. Of course, it means you’ll have to leverage your site to actually get your visitors’ email addresses in the first place, but it’ll be worth it if you do. It is a great way to gather feedback from customers, discover which products are thriving more than others, and find out how to improve sales and the website itself.
- Social media is a very useful platform for businesses. While it may not be from your site technically, you should count all of your social media accounts as sister sites of a sort. Each will include advertising, interaction between customers and your business, research, and a lot more. They can be used in many different ways to learn about customers and collect data. One example is through Instagram, which allows users to share photos, opinions, events, etc. Through this we can review posts, comments, and likes, and from those alone we can figure out a lot about customers or potential customers as well as other businesses. There is so much networking involved in social media which allows for knowledge sharing.
- Live chat has changed the world of online businesses and have created fast responses, which is what customers need and want. Many times, instead of people manning live chats, there are chat bots. It may feel like you’re talking to a real person, but you are actually conversing with trained bots that load prepared answers. According to Acquire.io, 79% of consumers say they prefer live chat functions because they don’t have to wait on hold and get their questions answered immediately. Live chat gives fast answers and make it more accessible to ask more personalized questions. This is a more personal, almost “face to face” interaction, which can collect a lot of information about the customer and their needs and wants, especially complaints. Those complaints only help the company advance and focus on those issues. These chats are not time limited and receive many different types of questions – so consider them great data scrapers.
- This may sound funny, and it certainly doesn’t happen on your site, but using a telephone to gather data is still a very effective method. As with email, you’ll need to be able to gather users phone numbers in the first place. Smartphones have already made data collection is easier and faster. On the iPhone, for example, you can easily record how many steps a person takes that day, their heart rate, how much time they spent on social media and more. That information collected can show a few different things depending on who is collecting it and for what purpose. While you won’t have the ability to do that, having a successful phone interview can still help you gather a lot of detailed information. It is time consuming, but a call also gives you the power to detect subtleties in an answer that can only be assessed from hearing the tone of a person’s voice. This may be a tedious way to gather data, but it is probably the best data in terms of value beyond the raw numbers.
The modern business marketplace is a data-driven environment. Collecting data from your website is a necessity when trying to progress and build a business. Businesses can constantly grow and change, and any data is helpful. The role of data is crucial when it comes to learning about your customers and potential customers. In the end, that is what is most important: to grow your website and your business according to the needs of your customers.
Make Big Data Collection a Core Priority
You need to make data collection your priority in 2019. There are a lot of great ways to gather big data to run your website more efficiently and optimize your marketing strategy.