Website Analytics: Measuring Your Success

When I was growing up, my dad would mark my height on the wall each year as I grew taller.  He’d mark my sister’s height as well, and pretty soon it turned into a competition to see who could grow fastest!

I wish I could tell you that I won that contest, but I can’t.  What I did gain, though, is a great gauge of my progress.

Website analytics will do the same for your online business.  Though they won’t necessarily help you win against your competition, they’ll give you the tools you need to see and accelerate your growth.  Today, we’re going to look at where to find analytics programs and how to use their results.

Get Started with a Free Analytics Toolkit

There are quite a number of free website analytics toolkits available for you.  You can install open source packages on your server (like Piwik) or use search engine packages (Google Analytics, Yahoo! Analytics).

There are literally dozens of analytics packages available.  Spend some time reading reviews and find one that’s both detailed and easy for you to use.

Some Statistics to Monitor

Once you have installed a website analytics program, start monitoring the information it gives you.  There are several statistics that are particularly useful for increasing your conversion rate.

• The bounce rate shows you pages that people leave quickly.  This is useful for identifying obstacles on the conversion path.
• The keywords stats show you what search engine phrases and words are leading people to your site.  As much as you can, make sure that your product descriptions match these keywords closely.
• Your visitor statistics lets you know what computers and browsers visit your site, allowing you to make sure your design and programming display correctly on the browsers that matter.
• The content stats tell you what pages are most popular on your site.  If you’re selling products, this can help you decide what items to feature on your home page.

There are many other statistics that you can use to monitor your website and to improve it.  You can get started with a website analytics package for free.  Within weeks you’ll be able to see useful trends in the data and begin making adjustments to give your visitors what they’re looking for.  Start marking the wall today; see your site’s growth in detail.

Related Articles:

PIWIK – Open Source Web Analytics

Five Best Free Web Analytics Tools

Choosing an Effective Web Analytics Package