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Analyzing Website Traffic
(C) Michael
Rasmussen
All Rights Reserved
http://www.search-engines-revealed.com
Analyzing your web
traffic statistics can be an invaluable tool for a number of different reasons.
But before you can make full use of this tool, you need to understand how to
interpret the data.
Most web hosting companies will provide you with
basic web traffic information that you then have to interpret and make
pertinent use of. However, the data you receive from your host company can be
overwhelming if you don't understand how to apply it to your particular
business and website. Let's start by examining the most basic data - the
average visitors to your site on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
These figures are the most accurate measure of your website's activity. It
would appear on the surface that the more traffic you see recorded, the better
you can assume your website is doing, but this is an inaccurate perception. You
must also look at the behavior of your visitors once they come to your website
to accurately gauge the effectiveness of your site.
There is often a
great misconception about what is commonly known as "hits" and what is really
effective, quality traffic to your site. Hits simply means the number of
information requests received by the server. If you think about the fact that a
hit can simply equate to the number of graphics per page, you will get an idea
of how overblown the concept of hits can be. For example, if your homepage has
15 graphics on it, the server records this as 15 hits, when in reality we are
talking about a single visitor checking out a single page on your site. As you
can see, hits are not useful in analyzing your website traffic.
The
more visitors that come to your website, the more accurate your interpretation
will become. The greater the traffic is to your website, the more precise your
analysis will be of overall trends in visitor behavior. The smaller the number
of visitors, the more a few anomalous visitors can distort the analysis.
The aim is to use the web traffic statistics to figure out how well or how
poorly your site is working for your visitors. One way to determine this is to
find out how long on average your visitors spend on your site. If the time
spent is relatively brief, it usually indicates an underlying problem. Then the
challenge is to figure out what that problem is.
It could be that
your keywords are directing the wrong type of visitors to your website, or that
your graphics are confusing or intimidating, causing the visitor to exit
rapidly. Use the knowledge of how much time visitors are spending on your site
to pinpoint specific problems, and after you fix those problems, continue to
use time spent as a gauge of how effective your fix has been.
Additionally, web traffic stats can help you determine effective and
ineffective areas of your website. If you have a page that you believe is
important, but visitors are exiting it rapidly, that page needs attention. You
could, for example, consider improving the link to this page by making the link
more noticeable and enticing, or you could improve the look of the page or the
ease that your visitors can access the necessary information on that page.
If, on the other hand, you notice that visitors are spending a lot of time
on pages that you think are less important, you might consider moving some of
your sales copy and marketing focus to that particular page.
As you
can see, these statistics will reveal vital information about the effectiveness
of individual pages, and visitor habits and motivation. This is essential
information to any successful Internet marketing campaign.
Your
website undoubtedly has exit pages, such as a final order or contact form. This
is a page you can expect your visitor to exit rapidly. However, not every
visitor to your site is going to find exactly what he or she is looking for, so
statistics may show you a number of different exit pages. This is normal unless
you notice a exit trend on a particular page that is not intended as an exit
page. In the case that a significant percentage of visitors are exiting your
website on a page not designed for that purpose, you must closely examine that
particular page to discern what the problem is. Once you pinpoint potential
weaknesses on that page, minor modifications in content or graphic may have a
significant impact on the keeping visitors moving through your site instead of
exiting at the wrong page.
After you have analyzed your visitor
statistics, it's time to turn to your keywords and phrases. Notice if
particular keywords are directing a specific type of visitor to your site. The
more targeted the visitor - meaning that they find what they are looking for on
your site, and even better, fill out your contact form or make a purchase - the
more valuable that keyword is.
However, if you find a large number of
visitors are being directed - or should I say misdirected - to your site by a
particular keyword or phrase, that keyword demands adjustment. Keywords are
vital to bringing quality visitors to your site who are ready to do business
with you. Close analysis of the keywords your visitors are using to find your
site will give you a vital understanding of your visitor's needs and
motivations.
Finally, if you notice that users are finding your
website by typing in your company name, break open the champagne! It means you
have achieved a significant level of brand recognition, and this is a sure sign
of burgeoning success.
Michael Rasmussen is a successful
Internet Marketing Consultant and author of many top-selling eBooks. Michael
has been marketing online since the early days and he knows what it takes to
make money and succeed online. Stop by his Web site and subscribe to his Free
monthly newsletter full strategies and techniques for successful web site
promotions that can help YOU!
Go to
http://www.search-engines-revealed.com
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