Coremetrics / IBM Digital Analytics (discontinued) vs. WebCEO

IBM analytics has continued to improve upon the days of being the original core metrics. After using the updated version for quite some time, it has been great at providing the needed analytics to measure ROI and goal performance for our quarterly KPI's. It has resulted in a great increase in web engagements although we are a midsize company, smaller outfits may not need such an expensive option.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

If you are just wanting to have a web page without any idea of wanting to gain exposure for it via Google or social media channels then WebCEO is probably not for you. However, if you are like me and my Graceful Touch blog project where building a stronger and stronger backbone of digital success is important to you then WebCEO is without question your number one place to go.

• IBM CXA comprises an acquisition called Tealeaf. This tool has deep heritage and this is evident in its present-day capabilities.
• The Universal Behaviour Exchange or UBX puts the concept of personalisation at the forefront. The ability to combine physical (analog) and digital transactions to create the complete picture of a customer journey, is a stand out benefit.
• The solution does not have to involve the purchase of software. IBM CXA can be sold as a service bundled with analytics as a service. This not only lowers the cost of ownership, it gets around one of the principal issues. Strong staff with design and analytical capability to drive the solution and deliver tangible benefits.
• The seamless integration of Watson AI services to help with the heavy lifiting. Watson reinforces the analytical focus this solution has and can learn to recognise situations specific to a company.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• The on-page optimization tools help a lot in researching competitor keywords, competitor traffic, and backlinks and Google search queries. We are able to compile this data to enhance online content and optimize our promotional channels.
• Keeping track of a wide array of functions with tools that show us what has been done and with percentages of completion. This helps us to share tasks like projects with team members so they can easily see which parts o their work still need attention
• Providing our clients, and our sales crew, with detailed as well as Summary data for explaining to clients what areas of their sites need attention and how their campaigns are succeeding (or lacking) in different geographical areas.

• The user interface is in Flash, which can be very frustrating and slow at times. Apparently, this is to be transitioned in a future release.
• Can only segment the last 93 days of data. Any historical segmentation beyond the 93 days must be run in Explore (which is credit based, and has its own limitations with the number of credits per month, based on the initial contract with IBM).
• Reports can only display 93 days of data at a given time for custom date ranges. There are pre-programmed date ranges setup with IBM during implementation (last week, last month, last quarter etc.), but are not flexible enough to answer more specific questions.
• Certain reports cannot have segments applied, making answering some simple questions a bit more tricky. For example, I can create a segment around mobile devices and apply it to the marketing channels report, but I can't create a marketing channel segment and apply it to the mobile reports.
• Built in API calls allows for nice report design and automation.

• Its hard to say any negatives on WEB CEO, probably that there are so many tools to use haha! However as previously mentioned the support team are only a click away to help explain anything.
• The dashboard can be overwhelming with a lot of metrics displayed. This can be customised though to display what you want. The same goes for the menu items, a lot of useful tools! But just have to learn the layout and where everything is located.

IBM Digital Analytics is a great solution for our clients and I believe they offer the best solution for the retail space. We have access to IBM support via email or live chat and they can answer many of the reporting questions that come up. IBM is receptive to our feedback of the product so I am confident they will continue making improvements

I didn't even hesitate to renew my subscription to Web CEO. It has become the #1 tool in my arsenal and I use it at work, on my personal projects, everywhere! I literally don't know what I would do if I didn't have access to this software anymore. This software has been crucial in the success of my clients and my websites.

Very easy to implement and use.

In general it is easy to use. Some of the functions take a little getting used to and first time through it is not obvious what needs to be set up first. It would be a great improvement to have a central setup screen where all of the data required by each module could be entered in one go.

Never had any issues

As reports are templated, the system is pretty quick. Sometimes you have to wait a bit for a report to render. Or you might have to re-load the page. But there is no real issue here and the system is on par with other similar systems.

Overall, the level of support is very good and I would say it is a strong asset of the solution. However, you can sometimes feel that there is a difference of level among the support team.

Most support networks focus on answering questions as WebCEO does. With my experience with WebCEO, I now call those the average support providers. Then there are the exceptional support providers who really go to the next level in making sure you are taken care of. While WebCEO certainly does this I've decided to remove them from qualifying at this level. Instead, I made a whole new category for their support called extraordinarily amazing. They respond in a timely fashion. Offer great value along the way. But then even have fun what with their unnecessary but great graphics that they include in their support. This is the upper edge of everything and leaves me with a huge smile on my face.

Online training is really great. One of the best assets that they have. Lots of great videos, pop quizzes at the end of each module. Fantastic. Other tools have similar features, but not as good.

See previous comment: reading and understanding the encyclopedic implementation guide is a must.

You can start using Web CEO in under 5 minutes so the implementation is very minimal. Simply setup your projects for your sites, hook them up to Google Analytics and your good to go. You can start analyzing data and viewing keyword tracking results in no time at all.

Much of the work we did in IBM Digital Analytics could have been answered through Google Analytics, a much simpler, agile and FREE solution set. Not mention, given the vast number of Google Analytics USERS, free and actionable support is simply a click away ... this compared to IBM Digital Analytics fractured and often absent support service.

Of course, each of these tools has its pros and cons, but Web CEO provides by far the most insights about your website and your competitors and helps you to take informed action to improve your ranking and site traffic.

This solution can support large amount of data and transaction. The way that user management features are built, it shows it is meant for large organizations.

• We spend too much time trying to work around bugs on the new UI.
• We spend too much time trying to figure out how to make certain segments work because support and the knowledge center are lackluster.
• Our sales rep is very unresponsive and leaves us searching for a lot of answers on our own, including what other products we may benefit from that IBM offers.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• I would say that as a tool. Web CEO has a decent amount of kick to it. I just think that it is lacking that knockout punch that its competitors have
• The social metrics and competitor metrics are great, they just don#t have that zing to them. I think some GUI tweaks would move Web CEO onto the next level. It is a pity, as Web CEO is one step from greatness.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info