Dashboard

Dashboard Spy readers know that I’m always trying to push the envelope when it comes to publishing dashboard examples and business intelligence commentary and news. By posting on the web his massive collection of business dashboards and KPIs, the Dashboard Spy has opened the door for BI interface designers and developers to see what each other are doing. The trend has caught on and we’re seeing a host of similar sites and resources appear. And that’s great news. The more we see from the troops in the trenches and the less we see of sales hype, the more mature this space will become. I encourage all of you to post the work that you do. Why rely on self-professed gurus, when your work can speak for itself?

The idea of the Dashboard Spy was like an idea virus (see the Seth Godin books further down this page) that has really caught on. Let’s see how far it goes.

Anyway, back to pushing boundaries and keeping ahead of the other dashboard commentators. I’ll be posting with more multimedia-based approaches. Stay tuned for both audio and video podcasts. In fact, I’ve just produced a theme song about the Dashboard Spy! Click on this graphic to play the song. Where else can you find songs about charts, icons and metrics?

Tags: Dashboard Spy Theme Song

Like many data-rich subjects, online marketing represents a challenge when it comes to clearly seeing real and actionable information. Cutting through the clutter requires one to stay focused on metrics with true meaning and purpose.

For example, web analytics dashboards that focus too much on click-thorugh rates and not enough on conversion rates will hurt the online marketer because he or she will “forget” that their real goal is to increase those activities that bring maximize ROI - i.e. bring the most conversions. How can that be, you ask. Are people that silly? Well, put a complicated dashboard in front of you with a thousand blinking metrics and you’ll lose sight of your goal too. Especially if you are just learning a new field.

Paring down your data world into those essential metrics that matter is the key to providing a valuable, easy to use dashboard.

Download the Essential Metrics Excel Dashboard for a look at how a simple, basic approach based solidly on a few key metrics can outperform much fancier dashboards.

This dashboard is provided by the hard-working Marketing Experiments team as part of their study on Improving Website Conversion: Essential Metrics for Online Marketers. Check that link for an explanation of the metrics used to track conversions. There is even an interesting, in-depth audio recording that explains the dashboard.

Here is a screenshot of the first tab of the excel dashboard.

» Read more about this business intelligence dashboard example: Excel Dashboard With Essential Metrics for Online Marketers ............