Web Traffic Research & Evidence-Based Practice 2

Question 1

Which statistical method is best suited for identifying which traffic channels contribute most to conversions in a multi-touch attribution study?

Accepted Answer

Shapley value analysis

Answer

Shapley value analysis distributes conversion credit fairly across all touchpoints by evaluating each channel's marginal contribution.

Question 2

A researcher wants to determine whether a site redesign caused a drop in organic traffic or if the change was due to a Google algorithm update. Which approach best isolates the cause?

Accepted Answer

Run a regression discontinuity design using the redesign launch date as the cutoff

Answer

Regression discontinuity exploits the sharp launch date as a natural experiment boundary to separate the redesign effect from concurrent algorithm changes.

Question 3

When analyzing web traffic data, what does a high variance inflation factor (VIF) indicate about your regression model?

Accepted Answer

Multicollinearity among predictor variables

Answer

A high VIF (typically >10) signals that predictor variables are highly correlated, making it difficult to isolate individual effects on traffic.

Question 4

Which research design is most appropriate for studying whether email newsletters cause repeat site visits without random assignment?

Accepted Answer

Difference-in-differences using subscribers vs. non-subscribers

Answer

Difference-in-differences compares the change in visits for subscribers vs. non-subscribers before and after newsletter campaigns, controlling for pre-existing differences.

Question 5

A content team publishes new blog posts every Monday. How should a researcher account for this systematic pattern when modeling weekly traffic fluctuations?

Accepted Answer

Add a day-of-week dummy variable to the regression

Answer

Day-of-week dummy variables capture systematic weekday effects, preventing publication day spikes from biasing the model coefficients.

Web Traffic Practice Test

Web Traffic Practice Test

Web Traffic Research & Evidence-Based Practice 2