LunaMetrics is holding a Google Analytics Training Day in New York City on June 4. Robbin Steif and her team, IMHO, are one of the best Google Authorized Consultants around (of course I’m biased since I’ve used their services in the past — but they really are the best). If you haven’t booked already, head on over and register.
Robbin kindly agreed to a little mini interview today about the event. Here’s what she had to say:
Scott: $285 — that’s a cheap 1 day event. Are spots filling up quickly? Will be nice at the Harvard Club — guess that would be because you’re a Harvard Alum?
Robbin: Spots are filling up, although I asked for a really large room, so I think we are ok, at least for now. As far as the Harvard Club goes — it’s not directly because I am an alum, it’s because — as an alumna — I have been there many times, and I know what it’s like. (In between college and business school, I worked for Harvard Magazine, and took prospective advertisers there for lunch.) I didn’t have to go check it out, which was a real bonus.
Scott: Would you describe this training as applicable for all GA users? Beginner,
Intermediate, Advanced (on your site you note that if you haven’t worked with
either GA or other web analytics packages that this might not be the right event
for you).
Robbin: Yes, it is for all levels. We are going to work very hard to make sure that all levels are happy because the person who is just starting has different questions from the person who has been working with it for a couple of years. As far as the person who doesn’t have GA – I think s/he needs a marketing seminar (“Why GA is good for your organization,”) and this is straight education.
Scott: Why did you make the decision to break off into tracks in the afternoon rather than running a second day around these more advanced themes/topics?
Robbin: That’s so interesting, that you think of these as more advanced. In fact, one track is marketing (“How do I use all these data?”) and the other is implementation (“So how do I enable my users to take their cookies with them from my domain to my third party shopping cart?”) Those are often two different people who care about those topics.
Scott: If you had to think of 5 major issues that most people implementing GA run into what would they be? How will your training day resolve these common problems?
Robbin: Well, there are issues around using GA, and then there are issues around implementation. The big marketing (user) issues are “What does all this stuff mean?” and “How can I leverage these data to make my website better?” The #1 implementation issue that new users run into (after they get past, “Why don’t my data show up immediately?” and “Why can’t I see last year’s data?”) is, “How can I make my email marketing and other campaigns talk to my Google Analytics?” As you can see, the marketing (using) issues are very global and continue from the beginner on to the expert, and the implementation issues are very specific and get solved quickly. They are two different beasts.
Scott: Who from LunaMetrics will be on-hand for the training day? (you have such a talented team there)
Robbin: This is the time for false modesty, right? But seriously, Traci Scharf and John Henson will be there, and I will too. We also invited Megan Kiel from the Google Website Optimizer team, and she is going to speak on that topic in the afternoon.
Scott: Any plans to make this training available again in the future? (I can’t make it, others may not be able to either)
Absolutely. But Scott — we’ll do it only if you can make it. Next time, I will clear it with your calendar first…
Scott: Finally, will Avinash be making an appearance or will you be able to bask in your own glow as GA gurus? (ha, ha, ha)
Robbin: Well, he knows how much I love him and wish that he would be joining us, but he is going to be somewhere in Europe at that time.