Knowing the who, what, where of your website's visitors. Why is it important?
Website statistics and analysis has become a huge industry related to internet marketing and commerce. Stats programs provide useful information to the website owners about who is being attracted, what they are doing on your website, and where they are coming from. As website owners we need to make decisions based on what these statistics are showing.
Common Examples of Decisions based on Stats
Here are some examples of common “stats-based-decisions” that we as website strategists run into on a regular basis.
- Only 10% of total traffic is coming from Search Engines = Optimize your website to increase rank
- Your home page has a bounce rate of 80% = Consider redesigning your home page or implementing call to actions
- Your website receives 5% traffic from referral sites = Start building off site links
Two Major Types of Statistical Systems
There are two primary classifications for statistical systems on the internet, make sure you understand the limitations and differences between the two.
Client Side Stats
A client side statistical system means that the tracking device is loaded when the website page is loaded. Client side systems are typically powered by Javascript and are the most common applications for tracking analytics. The most commonly known client side program is Google Analytics, learn more about Google Analytics training.
The nice thing about client side stats is they are easy to install, web based so you don't have to host it, and typically have easy to use dashboards. Unfortunately, they do have a down side – accuracy. Because these systems are typically Javascript and loaded simultaneously with the page they can be blocked by users, or load improperly causing inaccurate reporting. We recommend client side stats as a starting place for clients as they are easier to understand and use. Here are the most commonly used client side applications:
Server Side Stats
The other classification of web stats are tracked directly by the server and do not depend on pages loading properly. Servers record text logs of actions/calls performed on the machine. Basically any time a web browser, application, or person calls to the server these are recorded into a text file that can then be analyzed by a statistical system.
The primary benefit of server side stats is that they do not require scripts to load in order to function, this eliminates any inaccuracies that client side stats could have. The down side is the system has to be installed on the server (typically requires a professional), manually maintained, and are much more complicated in terms of displaying information. We recommend server side stats to clients who are familiar with web statistics and want to take the next step in analyzing their web traffic. Here a list of typical server side stat systems:
Does your website track statistics?
Give us a call or request a call today for a FREE update on what kind of statistical program your website is using.
