A 3-stage Data Insights and Analytics Project

For the first phase of the project, we conducted a rigorous data audit after a mass of anomalous, inconsistent data was found coming from their website. Together, we worked with the BigHand digital team to identify this data and provide ongoing solutions.

During the investigation, we found that Pardot forms formed the bulk of the pages, some of which were no longer published, which indicated referral spam. Further to this, we found highly anomalous data on the geographical locations of users – for example, the city of Leeds was bringing in a higher number of page views than London, despite the drastic difference in population size. Having a significant number of views coming from spam and bots was a massive frustration for BigHand as the pages with Pardot forms had inflated views which was impacting some of their reporting. Although Google Analytics doesn’t allow for changes to historical data, we offered to create and implement a custom dashboard in Google Data Studio which would filter out this abnormal data.

A Collaborative Approach

BigHand had plenty of input in the project from the get-go. For the second phase of the project, we held a Discovery session where BigHand outlined exactly what they wanted to track on the website, and together we compiled a list of new events to track. These events were then implemented on the live site, including using tracking on the Resources Search section, and a Download Event for PDF documents; it’s now much easier for BigHand to see what their customers are using and viewing, and learn from their users’ behaviours. Ultimately, they can use this information to then form their strategy going forward to better deliver to their prospects and clients.

The final phase of the project was to build an 11-page custom Analytics dashboard. This was a time-consuming, ongoing period, with regular communication and feedback from BigHand as we went along. The dashboard was completed to a tight timescale of the end of the financial year, and has solved their previous issue of manually creating reports as this is now all automated, saving both time and effort in the long run.

The dashboard can generate reports for BigHand’s sub-sites like the US and APAC, and allows BigHand to toggle between regions too, giving an instant view of any regional differences. It is also linked to their Google Ads account, and the team can locate information easily all in one place.

Not only has this project been extremely valuable from BigHand’s perspective, but it’s been an exciting one for Cantarus too. The BigHand team were fantastic to co-operate with from start to end, with solid communication throughout the project. We’re continuing to work with them going forward and seeing what more data and insight we can provide in future.