"WEBMARKETING
TIPS"
"Analyzing Website Traffic"
We have all heard how important it is to monitor
and analyze your website's traffic.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of
confusion on which stats are most important and
most reliable. I will attempt to clarify some of
those details while explaining the inaccuracies
as well.
Probably the most popular statistical term
related to website traffic is the "hit". I feel
it is also the least understood. By definition,
hits are all the individual requests a server
must fill in order to deliver a web page in its
entirety. By this I mean the basic HTML plus
each individual graphic or sound file as well.
You can see how this number by itself is
relatively meaningless, especially if you have
several graphic or multimedia files on you
pages.
Pageviews are a little more significant,
but they still possess too many inherent
variables to be accurate. A pageview is
basically the sum total that your visitor would
actually see in their browser window.
Here are two major problems of both hits and
pageviews.
-- Cache
Let's say that someone views a page from your
site. A short time later in that same session,
they (or someone else in that house) go to view
that page again. Most likely the page will be
loaded from their browser's cache (temporary
holding area) rather than from your site because
it is faster. That person's ISP may also have a
cache, particularly if it has a proxy server.
These factors definitely skew the statistics.
-- Spiders or Bots
As the name suggests, these software programs
are designed to crawl the web, cataloging pages,
collecting email addresses or other types of
information. This registers as a hit. You could
build a database of these IP addresses to
ignore, but that list would change daily.
Counting unique visitors is a little more
reliable especially if you use a combination of
IP addresses and/or cookies. This data is useful
when attempting to calculate how many visitors
it takes to make a sale. The drawbacks of these
are that most people get a different IP address
each time they log on, and some people may have
the cookie feature turned off in their browser.
As you can see, no single stat by itself will
tell the whole story and most are only an
estimate. To better evaluate your site's
performance, it is necessary to review many
factors. I will point out the more important
ones along with the proper tools to accomplish
the task.
-- Referring URL
This information will tell you where your
visitors came from, such as a link on another
site or a search engine. If the visitor came
from a search engine, most stats will also tell
you which search term was used. An analysis of
these search terms can be very valuable when
creating or registering your pages.
-- Home Page Views
Although many people will enter your site
through a sub page, most will usually
visit your home page while they are there. This
can be used to gauge overall visitors.
-- Top Entry Pages
If you know which page or pages most people
enter through, you can optimize those
pages for even better ranking. You can also
review the meta tags and build additional
similar pages which can enhance your visitor's
experience and your profits.
-- Top Exit Pages
By knowing which pages most traffic leaves
through, you can decide how to enhance those
pages or eliminate them entirely.
-- Average Time Per Visit
After reviewing the data, you may see many
people leaving after 20 or 30 seconds, which
might suggest your pages take too long to load.
It could also indicate lack of content or other
design flaws. On the other hand, if you see a
lot of time spent in one part of your site, you
can use that input to improve other parts of
your site.
-- Most Or Least Visited Pages
It is important to know what brings people to
your site initially or keeps them there once
they have arrived. These statistics can help you
determine that.
-- Activity Level By The Hour of
Day
All sites require maintenance or updating of
pages to remain viable. These activities are
best accomplished when your site traffic is the
lowest.
-- Which Browser Your Visitors
Use
Although most web page features are compatible
with later versions of Netscape or Internet
Explorer, you may find your traffic is stronger
in one or the other. This fact will help you
optimize design features for that browser. My
own site runs about 45% for each (Netscape 4 and
IE 4 or 5). The remaining 10% mostly uses AOL or
earlier versions of the above. Your numbers may
vary, depending on your site.
Now that we've seen which statistics are most
important, let's examine some ways to monitor
those. I'll begin with my favorite:
-- eXTReMe Tracking
I have used this service for over two years
with no complaints. They can provide all of the
above tracking stats and much more. It has an
easy to use graphical interface, quick set-up
and unlimited URL's tracked in real time. A
fully functional free version is available that
requires you to post a small logo on each page
you want tracked. Anyone can click on that logo
and see all your stats. I don't like that idea,
so I use the paid version which is $5 per month
without the logo, so your privacy is ensured.
Go to
http://www.extreme-dm.com
-- Web Site Traffic Report
After registering (by filling in a short
application form) they mail you a block HTML
code (just 2 lines) to insert into your pages.
At the end of each day, they will email you a
FREE traffic report for your site. The report
will contain summary statistics and graphs of
the traffic to your site for the day, plus an
optional detailed line-by-line listing of each
visitor to your site. I have not used this
personally, but have heard good reviews from
those who have.
http://www.websitetrafficreport.com
-- The Counter
This is another free service with no visible
logo. The stats are not quite as extensive
as those above, but still a good deal.
http://www.thecounter.com
-- Web Stat
This very reliable service comes with a 30-day
free trial or you can upgrade for $5 per
month with many additional features.
http://www.web-stat.com
-- Web Site Tracker
Web Site Tracker offers their service free with
no banners on your page. It tracks unique
visitors (by country), IP addresses, browser,
referring URL, average hits by the hour and much
more.
http://www.websitetracker.com
-- Web Trends
This software is far from free (about $350 US),
but offers some very sophisticated tracking and
report options. My hosting company provided me
with a complimentary copy which I use for more
serious analyses. This is one you may consider
down the road when your business warrants it.
http://www.webtrends.com
I hope by now, you have a better understanding
of website tracking and the tools required to
better accomplish the task. It can be a tedious
process but one that is extremely vital to the
success of your online business.
SK Kor
Internet Marketing Consultant
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