Flickr Photo: ralphhogaboomIf you're an NTEN member, you got to sit in on a great Ask the Expert session with Avinash Kaushik last month. (If you missed, it you should definitely check out the recording.)

Anyone who's had the pleasure of listening to Avinash talk about metrics knows he's the real deal. He's not just measuring for the sake of measuring: this guy is out to measure REAL IMPACT. He knows that measuring bounce rates or click throughs is meaningless unless you can explain what those statistics mean to the mission of your organization.

The latest post on his blog blows the lid off traditional analytics and explores a side of your website you may not have known about before: its offline impact.

We all know that, to some degree, our websites drive offline action as well as online action. Our sites encourage people to pick up their phone and call us. They drive people to come into our offices and volunteer. They compel people to change the lightbulbs in their houses to CFLs.

But how can you use web analytics to track what people aren't doing on your site?

Though you should go read Avinash's excellent post, I'll summarize a few of what I think are the most relevant ideas and tips and try to add a nonprofit spin:

Tip 1: Track your directions pages

You're probably tracking how many people visit your online donations page. But if your organization relies in any way on foot traffic -- people coming to visit you to purchase goods or receive services -- tracking the "Find Us" or "Locations" page is a great indicator of how your web site may be driving people to you.

Tip 2: Use unique 800 numbers

Web sites and email are great, but many of our stakeholders and clients still use good old-fashioned phones to connect to us. Make sure your site has a unique 800 number to call so that you know exactly how many calls your site is driving. If you're really fancy, track what those folks are calling ABOUT, and see if you can tweak your site to better serve those needs. Don't get too nervous about the cost: 800 numbers are more affordable than ever.

Avinash adds a bonus tip for Adwords users:

Are you using unique phone numbers for your Paid Search landing pages? A quick Google search will yield a ton of companies that will put a unique phone number on all your landing pages and will only charge you when people call that number and will give you (in some cases) the data you need to track offline conversion information (by every single keyword / campaign!).

If you are spending “a lot” on AdWords and AdCenter, this can be a excellent add on to track conversions offline due to your Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns. Obviously it would also work for all other kinds of online marketing you are doing and allow a very deep level of accountability.

Tip 3: Provide unique offers, promotions, or coupons online

If you provide any kind of offline goods or services, create a unique offer available only on your site. When people come to your location with the offer details, you'll know where they got it from! Better still, you can compare the number of offer takers to the number of visits to the offer page to get a sense of how relevant or enticing your offer actually is.