Analysing 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 analysing 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 analysed 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.
