In today’s data-driven world, analytics plays a critical role in shaping digital marketing strategies. To provide a deeper understanding of the field, we sat down with Ben Goh, Data Analytics Consultant at KARL Mission, to discuss his journey, insights on the changing analytics landscape, and what businesses can do to stay ahead. With over nine years of experience in the data and analytics space, Ben brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the world of web data.
How did you get started with your career in Data & Analytics, and what motivated you to pursue this field?
I’ve been a nerd my whole life, before it was normal to be glued to a screen. I started out at a small agency in an entry level analyst job.
A few years into my career, I also began pursuing one of my many hobbies - music production - a field which is both technical and creative. This helped me recognize my core traits and I finally saw myself for who I am: a perfectionist, detail-oriented organizational freak.
I felt I was wasting my potential uploading ad copy. If you typo a comma instead of full stop in ad text, it’s really not a big deal. But do that in a technical code context and everything breaks.
Ultimately I decided the data space was better suited for me. As an adjacent field, it was pretty easy to segue into.
What has been the most rewarding experience in your analytics career so far?
I was involved in a huge data project with New Zealand On Air who were looking to aggregate and automate reporting functions across multiple news websites. The complexity and scale was pretty intimidating. There were over 35 projects across 20 news publishers, many who had limited technical capabilities.
We architected a solution using a mix of Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics. One of the main reasons we won the pitch was due to the simplicity and robustness of our solution. We shifted the hard yards on ourselves rather than the news publishers. We wanted to make it as easy as possible for them and minimize points of failure. It was a lot of fun rolling out the implementation and super rewarding watching the data come in.
This was the first time I fully appreciated the zero marginal cost nature of digital tools and their ability to scale to solve complex problems.
What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the web analytics industry during your career?
We had it too good for too long and now everything is getting worse. Privacy legislation like the GDPR/CCPA, Meta scandals, the weekly data breaches today. It’s a volatile environment to operate in and everything is interlinked.
It is what it is. Change is a constant and the pendulum will continue to swing. Right now we’re grappling with the step change from deterministic to probabilistic measurement.
How do you stay updated with the latest updates and changes in web analytics & tools?
I read a lot and listen to heaps of podcasts. Staying on top of industry news is crucial for understanding new tools and updates as well as the wider landscape in which we operate.
What are your thoughts on the current state of web data & analytics?
It's in severe flux. With all the changes happening in data privacy and measurement models, things are continuously evolving and it's a real challenge to keep up.
The hot topic question right now is “how do we measure efficacy then?”. MMMs (media mix modelling) is one of the most popular answers, but they’re unreasonable and unaffordable for all but the largest organisations. For the small to medium size organisations out there I advocate for incrementality testing.
What do you believe are the key skills for an analytics professional today?
Critical thinking and problem-solving are essential. Data analytics isn’t just about numbers; interpreting those numbers in context to identify patterns and insights. It’s also about understanding limitations; how is a metric captured, what is its definition, and how well might it represent reality.
How important do you think it is for businesses to invest in analytics compared to other digital marketing initiatives?
Analytics is foundational. What can be measured can be improved. While measurement might not be perfect, as long as it’s consistently imperfect, it’s still worthwhile. Analytics is essential for driving informed decisions and should be integrated into every strategy.
Why Data Analytics is Essential for Business Success
Ben Goh’s insights shed light on the rapidly evolving landscape of web analytics. As businesses continue to embrace digital strategies, analytics will play an increasingly crucial role in making informed decisions and improving marketing performance. By investing in data analytics, businesses can ensure that their marketing initiatives are not only measurable but continually optimized for better results.
If you want to leverage data analytics for your business and stay ahead of the curve, book a free consultation with our experts today!
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