Step 8

Analytics & Reporting

Analytics & Reporting Once your store is set up and ready for business, it’s a good idea to analyze your performance and your industry. Winter ‘09 features built-in reporting tools and access to third-party analytics. The following section covers how to use some of these features.

Using Google Analytics

One of the primary ways to obtain information on store activities is through analytics services. A web analytics service tracks inbound traffic to a website and evaluates the overall traffic behavior. Analytics services can also capture the quantity and duration of page, track which links are clicked, which pages are most visited and the overall shopping patterns. This data provides you with information about how your customers interact with your store which you can use to shape your overall business strategy.

A robust and free analytics service called Google Analytics can help you generate the types of reports you need.

Creating a Google Analytics Account

• Visit to www.google.com/analytics. If you don't have a Google account (e.g. a Gmail account), you will have to register for one first.
• Sign in to the Analytics page to begin registration.
• Click Sign Up Now.
• Enter information your Volusion store information and click Continue.

• Enter your personal information and click Continue.

• Accept Google's service conditions and click Create New Account.

• Copy the JavaScript code on the next page and paste it into your Volusion store (see Part II of this article). Click Finish.
  

You should now be logged in to your Google Analytics main page. Periodically, this page will be updated by Google's analytics system with statistical information regarding your Volusion store.

 

Installing the Google Analytics Code

• In the admin area, click Design >> LiveEdit File Editor.

• In the Shortcuts table on the right, click on template_xxxx.html (“xxxx” is the number or name of your Volusion store template).

• In the Live Edit window, locate the tag marked  — * </body> in the template code at the bottom.

• Paste the Java Script code from the Google Analytics page into your Live Editor just above this tag.
  

• Click Save.

Once installation is complete, allow some time for Google’s system to begin tracking your store. Soon, you’ll be able to log in to your Google Analytics account and retrieve reports and information.

Generate Reports in Volusion

Volusion also contains its own set of reporting tools. To access Volusion’s reporting features, Click Reports >> Reporting in the admin area. To create a new report, click Create Report.


This page is divided into three sections — the Report Generator, the Report Graph and the Report Table. As the name implies, the Report Generator allows you to generate various report types and define their criteria. The Report Graph and Report Table display the data returned by the reports you generate.

Within the reporting page, you can generate a report on the following items:

• Orders

• Order details

• RMAs

• Products

• Categories

• CRM tickets

There is an additional option to create a fully custom report.

Configuring a Revenue Report

One of the more common reports is the revenue report, which details how much revenue has been received over a specific time period based on orders placed.
To create such a report for the last 30 days that includes daily performance:

• Click Create Report.

• Set the Choose Report menu to Orders.

• Select either Based on OrderDate or Based on ShipDate.

• From the Time Period menu, select Past 30 Days.

• Within the three By filters, set the first filter option to Day.

• Click Advanced Options.

• Set the first filter to PaymentAmount, set your color and display options, enter Revenue in the text box within this row and then select Currency from the last menu.

Finally, click Generate to run the report. Once finished, a bar-graph or pie-chart will appear, displaying each day over the past 30 days and an indicator of the total daily order amount.

Configuring a Product Report

One of the most popular reports is a product sales report. This simple report will give you information on the types of products sold. It can help reveal top-selling products and other key statistics.

If you’d like to view a list of quantities sold for each of your products within the fourth quarter of 2008:

• Click Create Report and choose OrderDetails from the Choose Report menu.

• Select either the Based on OrderDate or Based on ShipDate option.

• In the From text box, enter 10/01/2008.

• In the To text box, enter 12/31/2008.

• In the first By filter, choose OrderDetails.ProductCode.

• Click Generate.

• If you plan to use this report again, you can save it in Saved Reports for easy access.

Once this report is created, a graph and table will display a list of all products by product code sold in the fourth quarter of 2008 and their quantities. This report can be regenerated by setting an additional filter to either Month or Day. This organizes the products sold report based on the selected day or month within that quarter.

Additional Settings

There are many more reports and controls you have access to with Volusion. Feel free to experiment with this page to create your own custom reports. For additional information and more advanced tasks, please read the “Advanced Settings” portion of this manual.

Start Selling!

Congratulations! You’ve completed the Volusion Winter ‘09 Getting Started Guide. At this point, you should be ready to sell online.

There’s still much more Volusion can do for your online business, however. You might want to use our more advanced product configurations, or take advantage of the Volusion API. If you’re ready to delve deeper into Volusion’s advanced features, please proceed. You’ll be amazed at what one of the world’s most innovative ecommerce applications can do for your online business.

If you need any additional assistance along the way, Volusion is here to help. Feel free to visit the Volusion Knowledge Base to find specific answers to problems you encounter. Our Technical Support staff is also ready to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can write to us through your ticket area at http://my.volusion.com, talk to us through Live Chat or reach us by phone at 800-646-3517. If you’re calling from outside the United States and Canada, please dial 805-416-5990. 


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