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Loading ...Okay, you have your website set up, you have begun optimizing it and you are checking out your analytics to see what your results are and whether or not your efforts are paying off. But the very first thing that you notice is some major problems and you are not quite sure what it all means. In order to understand what website analytics are all about, it is important to understand what exactly website analytics are, how they are done and how to do them properly.
Website Analytics can be a very broad and inclusive field but in short, it is the study and analysis of traffic to your website. Since this is the primary focus of proper website analytics, this is where the attention will be focused for the sake of this post. The two most popular tools for website analytics are AWStats and Google Analytics. However, if you are using just one of these programs, you will not get the complete picture and if you are using both, you will get what seem to be some very conflicting reports. Which is right and how do you figure out which one matters more?
The conflicts arise when you begin actually analyzing the traffic to your site. One report will show vastly different numbers than the other. A simple pop-up blocker will effectively prevent Google Analytics from working properly on your site on many occasions but that does not mean that the information you get there is not valuable. Google Analytics allows you a glimpse into what is working on Google and since they are the biggest search engine at present, it is very likely that the vast majority of your “organic” traffic will come from Google.
Organic traffic is any traffic that is generated for free generally as a result of your SEO efforts, your page ranking and the position that your website holds on the search engine results page for selected and relevant keywords to your site’s subject matter. While the amount of paid traffic you get from your PPC ad campaigns or other marketing efforts, statistically at least, and according to Google, some eighty percent of your traffic will be organic and from the search engines so this is important.
Using a combination of free website analytics tools like AWStats and Google Analytics will generally give you enough information to analyze the vast majority of traffic to your site. Short of buying very expensive programs or having them written, these tools are among your best options for SEO work. Now, you need to understand what the purpose of analyzing the traffic to your website is and how to make it work for your benefit.
No matter what your website is about, you do have a purpose for it. It may be to earn cash, it may be a website simply to impart your knowledge and wisdom to the masses and it may be just to let the world know that you exist but whatever the purpose is, there is a purpose. That means that not only do you have to get people to your website, but you have to get them to perform the action that fulfills the purpose of your site. Proper website analytics will allow you the opportunity to see what people are doing once they get to your site.
You can have one million visitors per day to your site but if they are all clicking off in the first seven seconds, it is not going to do you any good at all. Proper website analytics will allow you to see what people are looking for when they come to your website, which pages they are looking at and how much time they are spending there. Once you have all of the proper information, you can begin to analyze it and figure out how to adjust your website as needed. Proper website analytics will keep the people coming to your website and getting them to do what you want them to do so that your website not only has a purpose, but fulfills its purpose.
If you would like more information and would like to learn how to convert visitors into profit contact our Boston Web Analytics Firm today for your free consultation regarding setting up your website analytics program.
Tags: analytics, google, google analytics, web analytics, Website Analytics