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Search in Book Reviews

The ACCU passes on review copies of computer books to its members for them to review. The result is a large, high quality collection of book reviews by programmers, for programmers. Currently there are 1949 reviews in the database and more every month.
Search is a simple string search in either book title or book author. The full text search is a search of the text of the review.
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Title:
Web Metrics
Author:
Jim Sterne
ISBN:
0 471 22072 8
Publisher:
Wiley
Pages:
430pp
Price:
£22-50
Reviewer:
Christopher Hill
Subject:
internet; management
Appeared in:
15-3
This book is written by a management consultant for middle to senior management in large firms. There is a great deal of useful background information and theory, but just when it starts to get interesting, it peters out (as it gets too technical for the audience), or you spend $10,000 (only to realise 'we probably needed the deluxe version that cost 15 times as much!').

So what do you want to measure? A very good point is also made that measurement is not enough - comparison against a target is the mantra here. Are you doing better or worse?

There are no standards in web metrics and so talking figures is very difficult, clicks vs. hits vs. page views vs. sales. There is a summary of what data is in the server log file and a brief discussion about what you might do with them. How do you measure the speed of your website? What do you do if you are very successful?

To gauge if your web site is successful - first define what success means to you. Maybe a reduction in calls through the support desk; or improved brand image; or more sales?

Which are the best ways to attract people to your site, keep them there long enough and get them to come back again. Part of this 'stickiness' might be personalization of the web site for the visitor. What points might you configure per visitor, how do you help navigate your site and many other nebulous topics.

This is a book for the big boys and girls in web land. If you have lots of money and lots of staff then I would recommend that you get your own copy of this book. For the rest, borrow a copy from the library for the few useful ideas that mere mortals can use.