The objective of The Online Metrics Handbook for Travel Marketers was to get the pieces of the travel industry online metrics puzzle laid out clearly. There are many anomalies and variations in terminology and methodology that make a discussion of metrics challenging. Throughout the data collection process, there were several themes that emerged to help inform and impact the role metrics plays for travel marketers:

• Trends in online travel marketing
• Consumer trends in online usage
• Differences to other online-dominant industries
• The impact of company culture on the use of metrics
• The limitations of available data sources
• Best practices in the use of metrics
• The value of benchmarking

• Reporting does not equal analysis.
• Data does not equal business intelligence.
• Having reams of slick reports does not make you a better web marketer or mean you have a better web analytics package.
• Although essential, there is far more to online metrics than a web analytics package.
• The costs of perfection are far too high relative to the benefits of achieving “an acceptable level of inaccuracy”.
• Online metrics are marketing data and should not be confused with financial data.
• Some metrics are much better than no metrics.

The report illustrates many different types of metrics and helps explain some concepts in online metrics including:

• Web analytics for traffic, transaction and campaign tracking
• Consumer online attitudes and behavior
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• The value of benchmarking
• The role of industry wide data
• The role of profiling Web visitors
• Emerging new metrics based on social media

The report provides guidance and explanations about the following aspects of travel Web marketing:

1. Translating technical details into meaningful marketing information.Travel marketers need to learn about the nuances of their online data. They cannot delegate this to a technical team since these details affect the quality of the data. Many of the underlying files that describe online activity are coded in a way that can be difficult to understand when transferred to marketing reports. By establishing meaningful coding, the resulting marketing reports will yield useful.
2. Online data is messy.  So its users must learn how to gain benefit from it which will mainly come from the trend information, specific tactical reporting such as campaign-specific data and customer survey data. There are many aspects of online analytics that may prove inconsistent or less reliable than a marketer would want. In spite of this, the trend lines will always prove helpful when analyzed over time.
3. Limiting the scope of the metrics. A practical method of analysis is to limit the number of metrics reviewed regularly and organize them into meaningful reports around the organization’s key performance objectives. This will create a greater benefit because it will be possible to create a greater focus for the analyst that maintains a better connection between the data collected and the actions planned.
4. Building bridges to customer-centric data is key. Knowing that the scope of metrics goes well beyond the web analytics package into more customer-centric data sources is important. Most web analytics packages track a website’s direct usage but when this data is combined with attitudinal and behavioral data collected through direct customer feedback (usually surveys), a powerful foundation is built for consumer intelligence.
5. Segmented information can be more useful than the aggregate. There can be more benefit from filtering data than from looking at the aggregate so the findings reflect on specific actions for specific market segments.
6. Integration of data from different sources is essential. Understanding that the integration of travel data is crucial and that this integration might include online/offline (reservation/call center), behavioral and attitudinal data and external industry data. If the travel executive is not examining a full picture of the customer experience throughout all distribution channels, the organization is more liable to reach inaccurate judgments skewed by partial input. Some analytics vendors are equipped to assist in this regard, some travel organizations can handle this internally, many tap outside specialized resources.
7. Travel is unique. While every industry has anomalies and nuances that distinguish it from the others, those interacting with travel organizations should recognize that the travel industry is different from other major online marketers such as retail, financial services, automotive and wireless. There are many issues that will make adoption of all forms of web analytics different. Some relate to underlying reservation systems, others are driven by the nature of consumer behavior in this sector and others are driven by the financial and/or organizational structures within some sectors of travel.
8. Everyone loves a horse race. But appreciating the value of benchmarking between travel organizations, and when comparisons can be meaningful and when it is best not to pursue them is important. These comparisons may not always be apples vs. apples. Internal benchmarking is always a good practice. Comparing an organization’s performance against its objectives will always be effective. Comparing to organizations that are presumed to be similar can be riskier because the underlying differences may result in inconsistent metrics. When comparable though, this practice can be useful.
9. Continuous improvement is the best policy. The approach needed for online metrics is one of continuous improvement. A marketer needs to have goals, assess results, make changes and examine the effect of the changes until there is gradual and systematic improvement in the Web site performance.