| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Web Analytics |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Key people | Alex Yoder, CEO |
| Products | Ads, Analytics, Optimize, Social, Visitor Data Mart |
| Website | www.webtrends.com |
Webtrends is a private company headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. It provides web, social, and mobile analytics and other software solutions related to marketing intelligence. The company was founded in 1993 and now serves more than 10,000 large and small firms.[1] Major competitors are Rapleaf, Eloqua, Personyze and Eloqua.
Contents |
Webtrends offers a variety of Web analytics products, services, and solutions which focus on the collection and presentation of user behavior data for websites and mobile device applications.
Based on data captured, the products can be classified into:
| Data Captured | Webtrends Solution Offerings |
|---|---|
| Client/Server Side Data | Webtrends Analytics, On Demand & On Premises |
| Data Warehouse | Visitor Data Mart, Segments |
| Usability Testing Data | Webtrends Optimize |
| User behavioral Data | Webtrends Social Measurement, Webtrends Social (previously Webtrends Apps) |
| Marketing Channel Data | Webtrends Ads |
The core product, Webtrends Analytics, is available in both software and software as a service (SaaS) models.
At the core of this tool is comprehensive "Interest Profile" that combines a unique visitor's online behavior with offline customer data, such as CRM or demographics, to build insight into that person over time. This insight, combined with analysis and multi-dimensional reporting, gives enterprise organizations the ability to answer questions that are critical to improving marketing ROI.
There are two main technological approaches to collecting the data:
The software analyzes and organizes the captured data into reports for each configured 'Profile'. Reports are viewable by various means, most commonly through a web-based graphic user interface or a scheduled emailed export of the report in PDF or csv format. Collected data can also be viewed via raw log file delivery, REST and ODBC queries, and other solutions which utilize the Webtrends Data Extraction API. The web-based report presentation interface is highly configurable, allowing a Webtrends administrator to specify what information should be analyzed, where it should be presented, and to whom it should be available for viewing.
W. Glen Boyd and Eli Shapira founded the company in 1995 as "e.g. Software".[2] In 1999 they took it public, raising $45.5 million.[2] In 2001 California company NetIQ bought Webtrends for $1.1 billion in stock, then sold it to Francisco Partners four years later for $94 million.[2]
On October 31, 2007, three corporate vice presidents and the CEO were asked to resign.[3] Although there was initial speculation the company was to be quickly sold to its largest competitor, later reports indicated the change signaled a long-term move.[2]
Webtrends acquired ClickShift, an automated optimization solution in online advertising, in December 2006.[4] ClickShift's technology was integrated into Webtrends' Marketing Lab suite, which includes its analytics and marketing warehouse products. The offering was re-branded as Webtrends Dynamic Search.[5] In August 2008, the product was relaunched as Webtrends Ad Director.[6]
Webtrends acquired Seattle based Widemile, a provider of multivariate testing and targeting on July 30, 2009. The product was rebranded and relaunched as Webtrends Optimize the day the acquisition was made public.[7]
Webtrends acquired San Francisco based Transpond, a maker of social microsites and applications that can be distributed over the web or Facebook. The product was rebranded as Webtrends Apps at the time of the announcement and was later rebranded as Webtrends Social.[8][9]
Webtrends acquired Reinvigorate from Culver City, CA based Media Temple Ventures. Reinvigorate developed a real time analytics web solution with visit heat mapping technologies. The product has yet to be rebranded into the Webtrends portfolio as of 8/27/2011.[10]
In 2009, Webtrends launched a transit ad campaign revolving around whether or not cyclists should pay a road tax. The ad asked, "Should Cyclists Pay A Road Tax?".[11] Both drivers and the cycling community reacted strongly to the ad, with strident opinion on both sides of the debate.[12] The aim of the campaign was to demonstrate the ability of the company's Web analytics to track the resulting online commentary around the issue.[12]