Before you launch your website, have you determined how to monitor website traffic?
Having the right analytics is like having a focus group telling you exactly what people like, dislike, or need from your website and where adjustments can be made.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of different web analytic options are out there. So, how do you the best one? Start with asking some basic questions about your business needs.
1. What information needs to be tracked? Are there specific Key Performance Indicators to measure?
2. Is it necessary to have metrics in real time? Will real-time statistics result in real-time strategic updates for your site?
3. Is there a budget of more than $0? If not, there are many great tools available for free.
4. Is it necessary to track metrics down to a user level? Even though this may feel creepy, it’s a valuable measurement to determine how far along a user is in the sales cycle.
5. Do the analytics need to integrate with a customer relationship management or content management system?
6. Is it important to have all the analytics on one dashboard? If not, money can be saved by using multiple tools.
Now that you’ve assessed your business needs, find a web analytic tool that works best for you. Here are 10 of the most popular web analytic tools on the market today (in no particular order or preference).
1. Google Analytics: (http://www.google.com/analytics/)
Cost: Free-$150,000 annually
Popular features: Traffic flow analysis, conversion metrics, customizable dashboards, and advertising analytics.
2. CrazyEgg (http://www.crazyegg.com/)
Cost: $9-$99 per month
Popular features: Heatmap, Scrollmap, Overlay, and Confetti
3. Visistat (http://www.visistat.com/)
Cost: $49+
Popular features: Salesforce integration, Individual user tracking, and ad campaign tracking including pay per click, email and banner ads
4. Clicky (http://clicky.com/)
Cost: Free-$19.99 per month
Popular features: Visitor engagement reports, Twitter keyword monitoring, email reports, and activity alerts
5. Woopra (http://www.woopra.com)
Cost: Free-$499 per month
Popular features: CRM integrations, live monitoring (real-time usage charts), user- level lifecycle monitoring, and custom notifications
6. StatCounter (http://statcounter.com)
Cost: Free-$119 per month
Popular features: Custom rebranding, individual user monitoring, search engine drill down, and public statistics
7. WebTrends Reinvigorate (https://www.reinvigorate.net)
Cost: $10-$100 per month
Popular features: Desktop download tool, visitor name tagging, Heatmaps, and user level tracking
8. Histats (http://www.histats.com)
Cost: Free
Popular features: Geolocation, IP exclusion, unlimited statistic retention, and up to 300 sites per account
9. Clicktale (http://www.clicktale.com)
Cost: Free (premium version available)
Popular features: Visitor playback, form analytics, Heatmap, Click map, and scroll and attention tracking
10. Piwik (http://piwik.org/)
Cost: Free
Popular features: Real time updates, customizable dashboards, e-commerce tracking, page overlay, and campaign tracking
No matter which analytics tool is best for you, you should use the information to support your customer's needs more effectively.
For many of our clients, Google Analytics meets most if not all of their needs. On their behalf, Proximity Marketing roots through all the analytics and data to drill down the specific information and incites that are most important to determine a smessaging strategy and site optimizations.
The work on a website should never be complete. It’s always a work in progress. Focusing on the right analytics ensures the users are happy and the return on investment is maximized.