Joined: 21 Feb 2004 Posts: 47 Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 9:54 am Post subject: Not sure if this is the correct topic! -website statistics-
Hi there
Moderators - pls move to correct topic if this is 'off-topic'
I'm looking to find out which SE's my site visitors are coming from, what they are searching for, I think that's called "website statistics tracking software" isn't it?
Anyway, if there are any experts on it, please could you let me know your recommendations? -it isn't for ads- it's for the traffic coming from the SE's! _________________ Thanks
Matthew, welcome to the world of posting on AP Haven't seen you post before so wanted to say hi!
Stats programs come in a variety of styles and the features you want, as well as your hosting configuration, will play a part in which one you choose.
A lot of hosts offer a generic type of stats program that shows some of the basics. Webalyzer is popular for this.
You can get free tracking scripts and install if your host permits it, or purchase a comprehensive stats package like WebTrends. There is also software that will read your log files. Traffic log files are usually created by the host automatically. Some hosts require you to download the log file and run it through an independent program to analyze it.
There are also choices which are remotely hosted scripts. This means the provider hosts the scripts, you input a bit of html code into each page you want tracked, and then access the reports through the remote host.
Most times I've seen or used Webalyzer but I wasn't happy with the basic stats ... some of the features I find important in a stats package, that Webalyzer didn't include, were visitor paths, browser and computer details. I had particular interest in seeing how one visitor, who found me by a search term would travel through my site. This would help me to see what their focus was and where my site was falling down in their quest.
Live stats is another feature of traffic analyzers, and not one to be dismissed lightly. This means you can actually view your visitors live while they travel your site. While I don't feel live stats in themselves are a must have, the ability to actually see the paths in action, and all the rest of the stats for that visitor segregated, offers great insight into your visitors mindset.
I've been using Visitorville, which is a remotely hosted solution that offers a phenomenal amount of information via aggregated reports, but especially the ability to view live. While I don't use the view live feature, I do use a built-in feature called VCR which allows me to view a full day's visitors in about a half hour. This VCR mode also provides detailed reports for site, pages, visitors, SE's, etc. as well as information specific to each visitor including the search term used, paths taken, time spent by page and visit, etc. The graphics on this solution are also phenomenal, and can be quite addicting They offer a 12 day free trial if you would like to check it out.
Decide on which features of a stats package are important to you ... what reports and details you really need to see as not all stats packages are the same.
Hope this helps,
Debs _________________ Learn how to turn keyphrases into quality, well-targeted articles your visitors and SE's will love with Gary Antosh's new ebook "Web Content Made Easy!"
Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 1734 Location: Bangor, Maine
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 12:24 pm Post subject:
If you can install it on your server, AWStats from http://awstats.sourceforge.net/ is one of the better stats packages out there. It is a log analyzer. And it is free.
You have to have Perl and CRON support, but that comes with most decent hosting packages. I have been using AwStats for about 3 months now. If you look at the demo, they offer all that you asked for, and more. _________________ Eric D. Burdo
Joined: 21 Feb 2004 Posts: 47 Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:43 pm Post subject: Thanks!
Thank you for such an in-depth and rapid reply Debs and thanks EdBurdo too I will check them both out (Visitorville's test drive is 9MB to download -wow!)
I realised today, after months of using webalizer, that I should be getting a much 'better' stats pkg, (that and the fact that anyone/competitors can take a look at the stats too... Duh!)
-On another note are there any php experts out there? (I have a phpbb2 forum setup on another site that's not working properly).
Joined: 13 Feb 2004 Posts: 111 Location: Eastbourne, UK
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2004 1:05 pm Post subject:
If you have access to your log files but don't have the oppurtunity to run log analysers with your web hosting, you might want to take a look at Funnel Web from Quest http://www.quest.com/funnel_web/analyzer/ which is now freeware.
It seems to work great but watch out if you are processing extremely large logfiles as it can run into memory problems - I've only noticed this when trying to process a months worth of logs for a site that gets around about 8000 visits a day.
Kev _________________ http://www.bn23.com - Directory, Webmail and Search - Now with express inclusion & direct links
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They offer a 12 day free trial if you would like to check it out.
