We've just been in the Introduction to Analytics session here at Search Engine Strategies London 2010.

This jumped out of the agenda for me and is a subject area which is very dear to my team's heart at Microsoft! Very soon after we launched adCenter in the UK in 2006, we saw that data was everywhere and unless we created clean and reliable data sources, it would be very difficult indeed to create accurate and actionable insights for our customers.

Online marketers themselves need to be at ease with spotting patterns in data and creating actionable insights so this proved to be a very valuable hour for those who wanted to learn more about their web data. The session was facilitated by Bryan Eisenberg, who sits on the SES Advisory Board and just so happens to be a NY Times bestselling author. The presenter for the session was Tami Dalley, Director of User Experience Optimization at Acronym Media.

For the unconvinced, Tami really made clear the necessity of web analytics when she said "If I can't measure it, I can't manage it".

Many people make the mistake that data itself is analytics (d'oh!) so she stressed it's very much a case of being proactive about understanding the data.

An opinion I share wholeheartedly with Tami is that trends should be identified as they happen and not after the event. If you are the first to notice, you could be the first to take action and advantage of any opportunity that presents itself. This opportunity in the online world invariably means cheaper, more and better quality traffic.

Getting in early will put you ahead of the pack.

The session delved deep into the finer techniques of website optimisation from both an SEO and PPC perspective and in particular looked at entry/exit page traffic, creative testing, conversion funnel analysis, CTRs, CPAs, bounce rates, CPCs, quality scores . Phew!

A growing area of interest was touched on by Tami when she gave tips around measuring the social media effect. This can easily be done by looking at your referral reports and thereby allows you to listen in on the conversations that are taking place about your brand or products.

Next up, we'll be covering the "Beyond Blue Links" session where our very own Peter Maxmin, Director for Online and Bing Search, EMEA will be discussing search trends among consumers and changes in the search landscape.

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More soon...

Colm