In the following case study, I will examine how the consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand RXBAR utilizes web analytics for its e-commerce site. This will be done without insider information, thus reliance on information from the Internet will be necessary.
While such quantitative measurements are insightful, they should not always be taken at face value. Human interpretation of data is often necessary to properly understand how a website is being used and what to do with that information (Reed College of Media, 2019). Ultimately, web analytics assist brands in helping them better reach and communicate with consumers.
The products are available directly on their website as well as third-party retailers like Target, Walgreens, and Whole Foods. Looking at their flagship protein bar, RXBAR, one box of 12 Chocolate Sea Salt bars costs $25.99 when purchased directly on the website. For comparison, the same product and flavor are available in smaller quantities through Target which offers a box of 10 for $16.69 or a box of four for $6.89. For the purposes of this case study, the focus will be placed on the brand’s owned e-commerce website.
For e-commerce brands, two types of data are of particular importance, transactions and item (Reed College of Media, 2019). There are a total of 50 items listed on their All Products page for sale. RXBAR’s analytics team likely has set up a Destination goal in order to create a funnel visualization of the customer journey to checking out. By understanding where their customer drop-off points are, they can better assess if there are technical issues, content issues, or product issues that need to be addressed.
According to the website’s Privacy Policy, RXBAR collects “information you submit through the Site, we may collect certain information using automated tools, such as cookies...we collect automatically when you visit the Site may include IP addresses, device identifiers, browser characteristics, operating system details, language preferences, referring URLs, length of visits, anonymous traffic data, and pages viewed”.
From this information, it is clear that the brand likely tracks metrics such as referrals, duration, and page traffic, among others. Again, the goal is to convert more users to become paying customers so understanding their path throughout the website can help illuminate weak and strong points.
Another bit of information revealed by the SEO Quake Chrome plugin is the type of digital ads RXBAR tends to run. According to the tool, RXBAR focuses 97% of their digital ads efforts on Text Ads and only 3% on Media Ads, some examples of which are included in the below screenshot. These ads likely link back to the site where the marketing team tracks how much traffic and engagement is generated by paid advertising efforts.
Since the Privacy Policy notes the tracking of IP information, it might be beneficial to run remarketing campaigns. Remarketing campaigns are helpful because they show up for people who have already visited your site, and thus have proven interested. This helps keep the brand top of mind.
The website is approximately 15 years old having been launched in 2004. The older the website the more domain authority it tends to have so long as it has been regularly updated with relevant content. In terms of linking, the site only has 54 internal links and 7 external links. A possible improvement would be increasing internal links as they provide context to search engine spiders about how your pages relate to one another (Reed College of Media, 2019). This can also help visitors find relevant content.
In terms of keywords, I would think that including a long-tail keyword like “healthy protein bar” would be part of RXBAR’s strategy, but that does not seem to be the case. Again, using SEO Quake, the following meta-information is available. Protein bar and the brand name seem to be there two big focuses. I personally would be more inclined to search “healthy ingredients” as opposed to “clean ingredients” as listed in the description.
The home page is very image dominated. The images have text, but engines cannot crawl that information. My advice to RXBAR would be to include more body copy on the home page and include keywords.
From an external company perspective, RXBAR seems to be on the right track in terms of web and other digital analytics; however, there is room for improvement in their SEO efforts. The highest priority goal of any e-commerce site is to make sales and I think they have the content in place to encourage users to do so.
Reed College of Media (2019). Week 5 Lesson: Exploring Google Analytics View and Advanced Features. Retrieved on November 23, 2019 from www.ecampus.wvu.edu.
Reed College of Media (2019). Week 6 Lesson: SEO - On-Page Optimization. Retrieved on November 23, 2019 from www.ecampus.wvu.edu
What is Web Analytics?
Web analytics is the quantitative measurement of metrics, or statistics, that reflect user activities on websites. When a web analytics tool like Google Analytics is leveraged, brands and blogs become privy to the tendencies of their consumers’ behavior. These tendencies are measured through metrics such as click-through rate, bounce rate, average time on page, visit duration, goal completions, and more.While such quantitative measurements are insightful, they should not always be taken at face value. Human interpretation of data is often necessary to properly understand how a website is being used and what to do with that information (Reed College of Media, 2019). Ultimately, web analytics assist brands in helping them better reach and communicate with consumers.
Overview of the RXBAR Brand
According to the brand’s website, RXBAR offers RXBARs, Kids RXBARS, RX Nut Butters, and RX A.M. Oats; these food products are created using real, whole ingredients without artificial flavoring or fillers. They are focused on “a few simple ingredients and No B.S.”, as reflected on their product packaging.The products are available directly on their website as well as third-party retailers like Target, Walgreens, and Whole Foods. Looking at their flagship protein bar, RXBAR, one box of 12 Chocolate Sea Salt bars costs $25.99 when purchased directly on the website. For comparison, the same product and flavor are available in smaller quantities through Target which offers a box of 10 for $16.69 or a box of four for $6.89. For the purposes of this case study, the focus will be placed on the brand’s owned e-commerce website.
RXBAR.com Analytics and Ads
Utilizing the SEO Quake Chrome plugin, it is clear that RXBAR does leverage Google Analytics for its website data. Going a step further, a LinkedIn search of the brand’s employees shows a small team of marketing professionals, some of which list web analytics specifically as a skill.
Figure 1: SEO Quake Analytics
For e-commerce brands, two types of data are of particular importance, transactions and item (Reed College of Media, 2019). There are a total of 50 items listed on their All Products page for sale. RXBAR’s analytics team likely has set up a Destination goal in order to create a funnel visualization of the customer journey to checking out. By understanding where their customer drop-off points are, they can better assess if there are technical issues, content issues, or product issues that need to be addressed.
According to the website’s Privacy Policy, RXBAR collects “information you submit through the Site, we may collect certain information using automated tools, such as cookies...we collect automatically when you visit the Site may include IP addresses, device identifiers, browser characteristics, operating system details, language preferences, referring URLs, length of visits, anonymous traffic data, and pages viewed”.
From this information, it is clear that the brand likely tracks metrics such as referrals, duration, and page traffic, among others. Again, the goal is to convert more users to become paying customers so understanding their path throughout the website can help illuminate weak and strong points.
Another bit of information revealed by the SEO Quake Chrome plugin is the type of digital ads RXBAR tends to run. According to the tool, RXBAR focuses 97% of their digital ads efforts on Text Ads and only 3% on Media Ads, some examples of which are included in the below screenshot. These ads likely link back to the site where the marketing team tracks how much traffic and engagement is generated by paid advertising efforts.
Figure 2: SEO Quake Display Advertising
Since the Privacy Policy notes the tracking of IP information, it might be beneficial to run remarketing campaigns. Remarketing campaigns are helpful because they show up for people who have already visited your site, and thus have proven interested. This helps keep the brand top of mind.
Brief SEO Analysis
From a user perspective, the site is small and to the point. Heavy visuals and a navigation bar that leads to each category of products, recipes, and shopping cart keep the aesthetics bright and clear to digest.The website is approximately 15 years old having been launched in 2004. The older the website the more domain authority it tends to have so long as it has been regularly updated with relevant content. In terms of linking, the site only has 54 internal links and 7 external links. A possible improvement would be increasing internal links as they provide context to search engine spiders about how your pages relate to one another (Reed College of Media, 2019). This can also help visitors find relevant content.
Figure 3: SEO Quake RXBAR.com Results
In terms of keywords, I would think that including a long-tail keyword like “healthy protein bar” would be part of RXBAR’s strategy, but that does not seem to be the case. Again, using SEO Quake, the following meta-information is available. Protein bar and the brand name seem to be there two big focuses. I personally would be more inclined to search “healthy ingredients” as opposed to “clean ingredients” as listed in the description.
Figure 4: SEO Quake Meta Information
The home page is very image dominated. The images have text, but engines cannot crawl that information. My advice to RXBAR would be to include more body copy on the home page and include keywords.
Supplemental Analytics: Email Marketing
RXBAR utilizes Salesforce’s Pardot for marketing automation and as a CRM; analytics and other features of Pardot allow RXBAR to connect with customers “in a timely, personalized way, helping scale marketing efforts, increase sales, and maintain close relationships with their customer base”. Effective email marketing campaigns and contact list maintenance are crucial as they are staying in front of people who have provided contact information to them willingly. Email metrics like open and click rates tend to be better for lists comprised of contacts who opted in, as opposed to being purchased or otherwise added without permission.From an external company perspective, RXBAR seems to be on the right track in terms of web and other digital analytics; however, there is room for improvement in their SEO efforts. The highest priority goal of any e-commerce site is to make sales and I think they have the content in place to encourage users to do so.
Additional Sources:
Reed College of Media (2019). Week 2 Lesson: Tool Introduction & Selection. Retrieved on November 23, 2019 from www.ecampus.wvu.edu.Reed College of Media (2019). Week 5 Lesson: Exploring Google Analytics View and Advanced Features. Retrieved on November 23, 2019 from www.ecampus.wvu.edu.
Reed College of Media (2019). Week 6 Lesson: SEO - On-Page Optimization. Retrieved on November 23, 2019 from www.ecampus.wvu.edu
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