Web analytics is essential for website development and refinement. On-site tools like visitor counters and off-site techniques are used to measure a site’s popularity. Website owners use this data to improve their sites, while advertisers use it to determine where to spend their marketing budget. Smaller websites can start with free data from hosting services and search engine tools, while larger ones may hire specialists to improve popularity.
The growth of the Internet and related technologies has made web analytics an important tool for developing and refining websites. A variety of methods are used when analyzing websites, including on-site tools such as visitor counters and off-site techniques that attempt to measure a site’s popularity based on external data. These methods are used by website owners to improve their sites and make them more user-friendly. Advertisers also use this data to help them determine where to best spend their marketing budget.
Visitor counters were one of the earliest methods of analyzing websites and remain an important tool in 2011 for website owners interested in user traffic. This type of data can usually be tracked on a statistics page generated by a web hosting service. Many web hosting services will also discriminate between returning users and the number of unique visitors. In many cases, this data will also indicate how much time a user has spent browsing a website and record the pages they have viewed during their visit. Website owners can use these statistics to track the popularity of particular pages and see what types of changes help improve traffic flow to the site.
Another onsite method used to analyze websites is user survey. Many website owners use surveys to gain valuable demographics and general feedback from users. This type of data can be very useful when approaching advertisers, particularly if the website serves a profitable demographic. These surveys can also help website owners get user input on design changes and what users would like to see on the site in the future. Surveys should be used sparingly, as they can annoy users who are constantly bombarded with requests.
Off-site analytics typically require more research and may be less reliable than other statistics. Analyzing websites with these techniques usually involves measuring the potential audience for a site and tracking referrals to it across social networks, blogs, and other types of sites. Some of this data can be tabulated through some search engine tools and by the social networks themselves. Larger websites can pay for this data and hire extra employees to monitor the site’s popularity.
Smaller websites should start by using the free data available to them from their hosting service and free search engine tools. As the website grows, it may hire employees to perform this service or contract with an outside company that specializes in website analysis. These types of specialists can help improve the popularity of a site and make it more attractive to the public. advertising.
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