Webmaster Resources: What You Don't Know About Web Analytics Can Hurt Your Site!

Summary : Web analytics is a technical term referring to methods of monitoring site traffic and usage, ranging from simple hit counters to advanced web site traffic reporting. Knowledgeable use of this webmaster resource is extremely important to the survival of any website.

Web analytics. Don't worry, it's not as boring as it sounds. You may know the concept by another name, such as web analysis, site traffic statistics, visitor statistics, site hit reporting, web tracking, website metrics or various other terms. Web analytics is a technical term referring to methods of monitoring site traffic and usage, ranging from simple hit counters to advanced web site traffic reporting. Knowledgeable use of this webmaster resource is extremely important to the survival of any website.

Before we go any further into our subject, I first need to ask a few critical questions that I wish I had been asked a few years ago ... Do you know how many visitors your site had yesterday, or last week? Not generic "hits" but actual page views? Do you know what keywords are used by your site visitors to find you? Are you aware of which search engines visitors use to find your site? I hope your answer is yes. If not, you are missing out on vital information needed to optimize your website's performance.

A website does little good if others do not see it. You need site traffic ("visits") to sell your product, convey your message, offer your support, etc. It is a fundamental truth that without visits to your site you might as well not have it online. The entire purpose of a website is to be viewed!

Why Use Web Analytics?

Webmasters spend countless hours with search engine optimization (SEO) and various web marketing strategies. Many of us invest dollars in advertising, others spend time boosting numbers, seeking to increase the ROI (return on investment). In the long run, though, do you know whether your efforts are getting results? This is where web analytics steps up to the plate and bats a homerun. By using a good, real-time site tracking service or tool, you will be able to see what strategies actually pull visitors to your site, what pages are viewed, whether your content calls your visitors to action and how effective your efforts are. Web analytics is the one webmaster resource you cannot afford to do without.

What Kind of Web Analytics?

To get all the vital statistics, you want an analytics report that tracks more than "hits." You need more comprehensive information to get an advantage and to truly track your web marketing efforts. If you want to avoid software hassle or set up headaches, look for a hosted analytics service. I have found many advantages of hosted analytics over log-based versions. Log analyzers are not typically real-time and require access to server logs and software downloads (time, expense and headaches I don't need). I want a click-and-read system, and this is where hosted solutions appeal to me. I log-in and all my reports are immediately available, allowing me to adjust my web marketing or content in real time.

When you are looking for a good hosted analytics service there are a few minimum features you want to to include, such as visitor traffic numbers, per hour, day and month; referral links, these show the link used to get to your site which is a great way to track link exchanges and show what search engines rank your site, and page popularity, that allows you to see what pages in your site are visited most. There are many other features available, but these are the important basics.

What to Do With Web Analytics Information

The beauty of web analytics is that there are many incredible webmaster resources offering invaluable information such as Clickstream (Click Path) reports, page visit duration, and if you can find a site offering search engine statistics, you have found a potential web marketing "gold mine," especially when using "pay per click" advertising.

With this type of real-time statistical data available on demand, you will no longer waste time -- you will clearly see your effective web marketing efforts, increase your ROI and have what you need to see solid results. Without accurate and timely visitor statistics, your web marketing and SEO efforts are working blind. A solid hosted web analytics report solution removes the blinders, clearing a path to optimizing your web marketing time and efforts. Can you really afford to miss out on such a valuable, vital webmaster resource?

About the author : Cherie' Davidson works as content and marketing manager for VisiStat.com (http://www.visistat.com). VisiStat is a detailed, real-time site traffic and Web analytics report service that is focused on ease of use and user-friendliness.