Aiming to give customers more tools to measure the effectiveness of Web site content, Vignette Corp. this week enhanced the reporting and analysis tools in its V6 content management (CM) system.
The updated features allow customers to access detailed reports on content activity – listed by provider, channel, site, and content type – which can help organizations understand what content is being consumed and how it can be presented more effectively. In addition, Vignette added more reports to its list and tools that can report on content over multiple sites.
Reporting and analysis combined with CM can not only give customers insight into simple metrics, such as how efficiently the site is performing and page delivery status, but also more in-depth information such as which content is effective with specific groups or users, according to Darrin Wood, senior product marketing manager at Vignette in Austin, Tex.
“Our system automatically tells you which types of content work well together,” he said. “We are taking information from the Web server logs as well as our own delivery logs, and assembling this information to help companies strategically plan and refine content.”
In addition, Vignette improved the underling technology for reporting and analysis by bolstering XML and SOAP support. The actual reports on content activity are defined by XML schemas, Wood said. Using an open standard such as XML allows customers to more easily customize and configure reports and provides better integration with third-party analysis tools, he said.
The tough economic climate highlights the need for robust analysis capabilities, which are an important yard stick for measuring return on investment (ROI), Wood said.
“These days I don’t think people would purchase [large corporate] systems if there wasn’t some kind of built-in capability to know how efficiently the system was operating and how well it is being used,” he said.