You have created the most spectacular web site on the Internet that downloads in less than 2.3 seconds on a 9600 baud modem (yes there are probably still a few of them out there). You have set up your Meta Tags and registered all your web pages with over 2000 search engines and indexes. You must now have the most popular site on the Internet!
How popular is your site? How do you know how many people are visiting it and just who are your visitors? How effective are your marketing efforts? Which ads are working and which are expensive flops? Has someone added a link to your site that generates almost half your visitors? Why does it work so well for you and what would happen if they removed the link?
Promoting your site means marketing and half of marketing is knowledge of who, what, where and why. The most basic requirement when promoting your web site is access to a good Web Site visitor analysis program. Without one you are whistling in the dark. There would simply be no way to know how well your site and your site promotion efforts are doing.
Just about everyone has access to site analysis software. If you are running a commercial site on a Windows NT or Unix host or have your own server, you may find that your system already includes access to a site analysis program. The two most popular that I am aware of are Web Trends and Analogue. The former is a commercial product that includes excellent Visual Feedback. The latter is a freeware program with access to most of the same information although you may have to do a little of your own analysis to understand the data.
If you are using a free site, a site hosted by your access provider or a commercial site that does not include a daily log file (why not?) then you can use one of several excellent free site statistic programs. One that I am familiar with is Site Meter available at http://www.sitemeter.com/ . There are more. These free analyzers work by including code (usually Javascript) on your web page and sending hit statistics to a database that you can view at any time. They do not provide the detail of a commercial program like Web Trends and are not completely private but they are much better than no feedback at all. The information you can gather with your analysis program is extensive and can be invaluable in your promotion effort. It will list the number of Hits, User Sessions, Page Views, Referring Sites, Referring URL's, Most Accessed Page, Least Accessed Page, Top Referring Search Engine, Search Keywords, Search Phrases and much more. With a little knowledge you can add codes to your links to get even more feedback about your promotion efforts.
So just what do these stats tell you? The information can be quite extensive. Probably the most overused and least useful information is the number of Hits. A Hit is actually a request for a file. If you have a web page that includes 4 pictures your log will report 5 hits when a visitor views the page. If the user selects the Refresh button, you will suddenly have 10 hits. Another site with no pictures will report only 1 hit as a user visits. Reporting hits of 10 to 1 is consequently quite uninformative.
If you advertise on your site, most advertisers (as should you) will want to know how many people visit your site. Where do they enter and leave? Where do they go? What do they look at? How long do they stay? Where did they come from? Who referred them? And as much additional information about your visitors and advertising campaigns as possible.
Think of your site as a department store and think about what your visitors are doing. Knowing this will help you design your store and advertising to accommodate them and hopefully improve your sales or visitor satisfaction depending upon your purpose. Understanding your stats will tell you all this and more. If you think of your site as a department store, User Sessions will tell you how many people actually visited the store. Page Views will tell you how many web pages (or departments) where visited. By dividing the number of User Session with the number of Page Views (which most good stats programs will do for you), you will know how many pages or departments a visitor went to before leaving. If most visitors leave after viewing one page you will know that your site does not have much holding power. This may be fine but it may also be an indication that your pages are not very appealing to your visitors.
Which is the main entry page to your site? You may think that it is your home page but maybe it is not. It may not be uncommon for people to enter your site through a backdoor page. This could be because it is better listed in a search engine or because another site has a link to it. A department store may have a Grand Entrance on Main Street but get most of its visitors from the subway station connected to the basement. In either case this may be the best place to post a list of your daily specials. Which is the most common exit page? Is it a good place to post a reminder to come again or mention a page with some exciting experience that they may have missed? Most stats programs will tell you both with the Entry Page and Exit Page lists. The Least Requested Page "stat" may tell you which page is least appealing to your visitors. It may also tell you that your navigation method is too complex for people to find it. If it is your Purchase Page you definitely want to know. Maybe you just forgot to add the link or you orphaned the link when you deleted or changed another page.
Most stats will tell you the URL of your visitor. What? You thought you were completely anonymous? Maybe somewhat but not completely. You can find out the country, city, URL and referral for your visitors. This last is especially useful since it will identify the source of many of your visitors. If it is another site with a link, you should show your appreciation. You may also wish to find other similar sites to see if you can get a referral from them as well.
Did you just pay $1000 for a Banner Add that referred two visitors in the last month. Maybe you have two Adds on two similar sites but one performs significantly better than the other. Why is one working and not the other?
Here are a few Commercial and Free Analysis Programs that I am aware of. Check with your Hosting Company. They may already provide free access to one.
FastStats $99.00 http://www.mach5.com/
WebTrends $399.00 http://www.webtrends.com/
WebSuccess $288.00 http://www.websuccess.de/english/whats_new.html/
FlashStats $99.00 http://www.maximized.com/products/flashstats/
Analog freeware http://www.statslab.cam.ac.uk/~sret1/analog/
Site Counters and Analysis Site Meter free http://www.sitemeter.com/
Hitometer $4.99 month http://websitegarage.netscape.com/
(Note from the publisher: the prices above are here as a reference only, actual prices might differ. Also the author of this article has no affiliation with any of the referenced companies)
Steve G. White is the lead software designer at Virtual Mechanics which develops HTML and Dynamic HTML applications. Steve also publishes IMS Web Tips, a weekly newsletter of tips and tricks on web site design and promotion. Newsletter: http://www.IMSWebTips.htm Home Page: http://www.VirtualMechanics.com