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Web analytics tools and real time web site tracking
solutions have now made it possible for web masters as well as for those
companies for whom a robust Internet presence is critical to success, to use
this form of dynamic data to review performance, correct pitfalls and plan
highly successful online marketing strategy.
Let us begin by first exploring site tracking and
analysis terminology. Like every knowledge domain, site analytics has its own
buzz words. It is important to understand these terms if you are looking at ways
of increasing web site traffic to your piece of Internet property.
Improving Visitor Counts through Page Views
You have probably noticed this phrase in online marketing brochures where web
sites proudly proclaim the large quantum of visitor traffic they have
experienced on their sites. A Page View refers to the total views of every page
on your web site. A Unique Page View is a page view by a unique person within a
twenty-four hour period. Where as page view counts are site
specific, unique page views are visitor specific. Both communicate important
information about visitor behavior patterns and provide valuable insights into
your search engine ranking-- parameters that are critical to increasing
web site
traffic.
Gauging Site Popularity through Hits
The reason why there is some confusion about this term is because it emanates
from server technology and not from the art and science of visitor tracking and
web analytics. A Hit merely refers to the number of information requests
received by a hosting server. The number of hits is determined by the number of
objects on a page. For example, if your home page has twenty-one objects, your
site hosting server will record the page access as twenty-one hits. A word to
the wise... It is best to use this statistic cautiously for what it is worth and
not to be misled by inflated hit counts when implementing your online marketing
plan designed at increasing web site traffic to your site.
Referrer or Visitor Source
A Referrer or Referring Link also known as the Visitor Source is a page which
links to your web site. By looking at your referrers, it is possible to
accurately identify the pages from where your site visitors are arriving.
Visitors usually arrive from one of these three sources:
* From another web site that has linked to your site
* A search engine results page
* Directly from a browser launch
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Referral data is a gold mine of information to increase web site traffic
because it clearly pinpoints the keywords or key phrases being used by
searchers to arrive at your web site and the search engines that are sending
you the traffic. You can use this data to conduct more targeted and
meaningful keyword analysis, refine existing keywords and submit your site
to search engines and directories where you are not listed. This data can
also be used to further optimize the content of your web pages for improved
search engine rankings (SERs).
If you are listed on a search engine such as MSN and begin to notice that
you are receiving little or no traffic from that search engine, you can
re-examine your web site to see if all the submission requirements are being
fulfilled, make the changes and then re-submit to MSN. This method can go a
long way towards increasing web site traffic from search engines with low
traffic origins. |
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User Agent and Site Traffic Stats
A User Agent is the software that is used by site visitors to access your web
site. A User Agent could be a:
* Browser such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari
* PHP script pasted on a web page that points to your site
* Search engine spider programmed to index your site
This valuable data can be leveraged to precisely identify the last time a search
bot visited your web site to index it. You can also view the cache of your web
site on search engine results to see how recently your site was indexed by that
search engine. You can also use this data to map traffic trends, spot site abuse
and trigger corrective action.
Geographical Location and Mission-Critical Statistics
Many web analytics packages and hosted services provide this information using
IP look-up technology. They compile data about the geographical location of site
visitors as well as the time of the day during which they visit your web site.
You can deploy this data to fine-tune your marketing strategy specially in those
regions of the world from where site traffic is below
average. You may also wish to consider using a mash-up by overlaying this data
on Google Earth for a more fulfilling experience with an enhanced visual
orientation.
There are still other types of traffic intelligence web analytics systems can
provide. They include:
* The length of time a site visitor stayed on your web site
* The URL of the page on which site visitors land and exit your web site
* The operating system (Windows XP, Vista etc.) and browser resolution settings
on the
monitors of site visitors
Web Analytics and Improved Customer Service
Increasing web site traffic, in and of itself, does not lead to increased
conversions. The manner in which you use web analytics data depends largely on
your site's functionality and its purpose. For instance, if your site has a
customer service orientation and provides live chat support for your customers,
web analytics data is critical since it enables you to further tweak the type
and nature of your customer service. This key aspect of the overall customer
service delivery process is of paramount importance because customer surveys
continue to reveal the general level of dissatisfaction among customers
regarding the quality of service on Internet e-transaction sites.
According to a Harris Interactive survey conducted in August 2007, nine out of
ten customers were unhappy with the type of customer service they received when
shopping online. The Harris survey polled 2,430 US consumers aged 18 and older
and concluded that most online shopping customers were experiencing significant
problems when trying to interact with customer service personnel-- a problem
that a live chat solution can augment and effortlessly remedy.
About the
Author
Naveen Kapur
is the CEO of
Caba Innovatives, a New Delhi-based
multimedia and internet consulting firm and an
Multimedia Animation Internet Institute in India
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