Monitoring Web Traffic through Site Analytics
by: live2support
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Article Body :
Do you know who is visiting your web site? Wouldn't it be
great if you also knew where they were coming from, how long they were on your
site, and, most importantly, from which page they were exiting your web site
and why? Web analytics software and real time web site tracking solutions have
now made it possible for web masters as well as for those companies for whom a
robust Internet presence is critical to success, to use this form of dynamic
data to review performance, correct pitfalls and plan highly successful online
marketing strategy. Let us begin by first exploring site tracking and analysis
terminology:
Page Views
You have probably noticed this phrase in online marketing
brochures where web sites proudly proclaim the large quantum of visitor traffic
they have experienced on their sites. A Page View refers to the total
views of every page on your web site. A Unique Page View is a page view by a
unique person within a twenty-four hour period. Where as page view counts
are site specific, unique page views are visitor specific. Both communicate
important information about visitor behavior patterns and provide valuable
insights into your search engine ranking.
Hits
The reason why there is some confusion about this term is
because it emanates from server technology and not from the art and science of visitor
tracking and web analytics. A Hit merely refers to the number of information
requests received by a hosting server. The number of hits is determined by the
number of objects on a page. For example, if your home page has twenty-one
objects, your site hosting server will record the page access as twenty-one
hits. A word to the wise... It is best to use this statistic cautiously for
what it is worth and not to be misled by inflated hit counts when implementing
your online marketing plan.
Referrer or Visitor
Source
A Referrer or Referring Link also known as the Visitor
Source is a page which links to your web site. By looking at your referrers, it
is possible to accurately identify the pages from where your site visitors are
arriving. Visitors usually arrive from one of these three sources:
- From another web site that has
linked to your site - A search engine results page
- Directly from a browser launch
Referral data is a gold mine of information because it
clearly pinpoints the keywords or key phrases being used by searchers to
arrive at your web site and the search engines that are sending you the
traffic. You can use this data to conduct more targeted and meaningful keyword
analysis, refine existing keywords and submit your site to search engines and
directories where you are not listed. This data can also be used to further
optimize the content of your web pages for improved search engine rankings
(SERs).
User Agent
A User Agent is the software that is used by site visitors
to access your web site. A User Agent could be a:
- Browser such as Internet
Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari - PHP script pasted on a web page
that points to your site - Search engine spider programmed
to index your site
This valuable data can be leveraged to precisely identify
the last time a spybot visited your web site to index it. You can also use this
data to map traffic trends, spot site abuse and trigger corrective action.
Geographical Location
Many web analytics packages and hosted services provide
this information using IP look-up technology. They compile data about the
geographical location of site visitors as well as the time of the day during
which they visit your web site. You can deploy this data to fine-tune your
marketing strategy specially in those regions of the world from where site
traffic is below average.
There are still other types of traffic intelligence web
analytics systems can provide. They include:
- The length of time a site
visitor stayed on your web site - The URL of the page on which
site visitors land and exit your site - The operating system (Windows
XP, Vista etc.) and browser resolution settings on the
monitors of site visitors
Web Analytics and
Improved Customer Service
The manner in which you can use web analytics data will
depend largely on your site's functionality and its purpose. For instance, if
your site has a customer service orientation and provides live chat support for
your customers, web analytics data is critical since it will enable you to
further tweak the type and nature of your customer service. This key aspect of
the overall customer service delivery process is of paramount importance
because customer surveys continue to reveal the general level of
dissatisfaction among customers regarding the quality of service on Internet e-transaction
sites. According to a Harris Interactive survey conducted in August 2007, nine
out of ten customers were unhappy with the type of customer service they
received when shopping online. The Harris survey polled 2,430 US consumers aged
18 and older and concluded that most online shopping customers were
experiencing significant problems when trying to interact with customer service
personnel-- a problem that a live chat solution can address and effortlessly
remedy.
In the next issue of Live Wire Plus, we will objectively
evaluate some of the leading web analytics solutions to help you select the
service or product that best meets your needs.
Information in a
Box
Web traffic statistics or web stats, as they are commonly
referred to, are extremely potent tools used to generate organic data
about web site usage. They provide critical information about which web pages
on your web site receive maximum traffic. They also generate statistics on the
web pages that attract the least amount of site traffic. Site analysis
solutions also tell you who is on your site, how long they were on your site,
on which page they landed and from where, and finally, from which page they
have exited from your web site. Some of the more sophisticated site analytics
packages can identify which web browsers are being used by site visitors and
which ones should be optimized for improved results. Since these analysis tools
compile crucial data on the search engines your visitors are using to arrive on
your site and the keywords and key phrases they are typing into search engine
search boxes, these tools can go a long way in implementing innovative
marketing strategy for your web site or portal. Some can even check for dead
links and send error messages.
About the Author
Live2Support Inc.
http://www.live2support.com
Email: newsletter@live2support.com
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