The Importance of Having a Great Analytics Software on Your Website
It amazes me how often when talking to a small ecommerce business owner they can never answer my simple questions about web analytics. I might ask a simple questions like “how much traffic are you getting?”, or “have you logged into your analytics lately to see where your traffic is coming from?”…and nearly always the response I get is a blank stare and a I don’t know. These are business owners that either don’t have a clue, or don’t know the importance of a great analytics software.
A business owner that was in the know could respond to those questions very easily with something like, “we average about ### visitors a day, and most of it seems to come from Google because our main keyword phrases are blank and blank.” First thing first though, you have to install a software and know where to log in to check your data. Once that is done it’s as easy as checking your email and you’ll be an in-the-know business owner.
A great web analytics software will tell you information such as: total visits, unique visitors, entry pages, exit pages, route traveled, referring URL, searched keyword, visitor computer platform, browser, and a wealth of other valuable information. This would be like if you owned a local store in your area that sold ski equipment and every time someone walked in they filled out a form saying where they came from, why they came, what they are looking for, what isles in your store they were going to walk down, etc. No one would fill that form our cause it would take too long, but they instantly give all that information to you online. Why not them make use of it and better optimize your site and your conversion by studying the data and making changes to improve. Exactly how to do that is a whole different post, but here are some programs I recommend that I have used.
Google Analytics: This is a free program that anyone can use and is simple to sign up for and install. While I still use Google Analytics I have noticed some inaccuracies in the data and so I don’t fully trust it. Although for a free program, you can’t beat it.
Mint: Mint offers a relatively inexpensive analytics program that shows you the much-needed data you want. It has to be installed server side so you need full access to your website. It always shows the data in a slightly sexy manner compared to other softwares out there.
Omniture: If you are looking for the best of the best web analytics software then you will find it with Ominture. Based off of my research and use, Omniture is the best and has the most trusted accurate data on the market, although you’ll pay a hefty price tag for it.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “do I have a web analytics software installed”, hopefully I’ve given you enough info to get filled in on the subject. Good luck and happy data mining!