Q&A: Dennis Mortensen on Yahoo Analytics

Dennis Mortensen has worked in the analytics, optimization and online marketing industry since 1996. He is an Associate Web Analytics Instructor at the University of British Columbia, the Author of data driven insights with Yahoo! Web Analytics, and a frequent speaker on the subject of analytics and online marketing.
Mortensen joined up IndexTools in 2004 and worked as COO until the company was acquired by Yahoo! Inc., in May 2008. Today he is the Director of Data Insights at Yahoo! and sits on the Board of Directors at the Web Analytics Association. He also writes the popular analytics blog, VisualRevenue.com/blog.
I caught up with Mortensen to discuss the current state of analytics, how Yahoo fits in and why people should stop comparing Yahoo's analytics product with Google's.
Q&A: Gerrard Dennis of Simply Group on e-commerce
The Simply Group operates seven e-commerce sites in the UK, from SimplyScuba, to the recently relaunched SimplyBeach.
I've been talking to founder Gerrard Dennis about the challenges if running seven separate sites...
Q&A: Andy Hobsbawm and James Alexander from Green Thing
Green Thing is a non-profit public service that aims to inspire people to lead a greener life.
Founder Andy Hobsbawm and CEO James Alexander will both be speaking at Econsultancy's Online Marketing Masterclasses event tomorrow. (There are currently a few places left...)
I've been asking Andy and James about Green Thing's approach to marketing and social media...
Q&A: Pluck's Stephanie Himoff on social media for publishers
Pluck provides social media platforms for brands and publishers, including News International, The Guardian, and Trinity Mirror.
I've been talking to Stephanie Himoff, who directs Pluck's European sales, about the company's social media tools, and how publishers can use UGC to drive traffic and increase engagement...
Q&A: Silence Media's Lee Henshaw on CPE v CPM
Silence Media is an agency which launched earlier this year, offering video banner advertising for the music industry, on a cost per engagement (CPE) basis.
I've been talking to Silence Media founder Lee Henshaw about why he thinks that all banner advertising will use this CPE model within the next two years...
Q&A: Sienne Veit on Marks & Spencer's social media strategy
Marks & Spencer's online strategy has gone through a variety of changes in recent months. As well as revamping their main website, the British retail giant has embraced social media by incorporating ratings and reviews into their website, and using Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation and better engage with customers.
It is encouraging to see a major brand like M&S experimenting with new online channels. By incorporating social media into their strategy, Marks & Spencer has enhanced its ability to respond to customers. Additionally, the brand is better placed to manage their online reputation more effectively.
At a recent iCrossing social media briefing, I asked Business Development Manager, Sienne Veit about the changes that Marks & Spencer has implemented and the impact of social media on the brand.
Q&A: Zappos' Jane Judd on customer loyalty
Zappos has built up a reputation for excellent customer service, and owes much of its success to this. The fact that 75% of its business comes from repeat customers provides convincing evidence of its importance.
I've been asking Jane Judd, who is the senio manager of Zappos' Customer Loyalty Team, and was one of the keynote speakers at the recent Internet Retailing conference, about the company's approach...
The NLA explains why it is going after the news aggregators
The Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) licenses companies to copy from national and regional newspapers and collects fees on their behalf.
I've been talking to the NLA's commercial director Andrew Hughes about the fees newspapers are asking web monitoring services such as NewsNow to pay in order to index and link to their content...
Q&A: Rob Colling on why online video needs subtitles
Launched earlier this year, internetsubtitling.com is a startup that, as the name suggests, provides captions and subtitles for online video.
The captions and subtitles, as shown in this example,
provide a potentially useful way to make online video more accessible.
I've been talking to founder Rob Colling about the company and
concept...
Q&A: Robin Terrell, MD of John Lewis Direct
John Lewis is one retailer which has been a success online over the last few years, experiencing consistent sales growth, and has often been used as an example of a usable website on this blog.
I've been asking John Lewis Direct MD Robin Terrell, one of the keynote speakers at the recent Internet Retailing conference, about the company's approach to e-commerce...
