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An Introduction to Comparing Website Analytics
What are Analytics Tracking Tools?
Let’s start off this article by addressing website analytics. Analytics is a big topic , and you may be wondering what it means. Web analytics is the measurement of website traffic, specifically how users interact with your website and where they come from. There are different types of website analytics tools that help measure website statistics such as traffic sources, time spent on website, and actions taken on website (such as leaving a website without purchasing). There are many different website analytics tools out there that analyse this type of data.
Finding the right website analytics tool for your website is important as analytics tools are not one size fits all. Each website analytics tool has different website functions and website owners should consider what functions are needed.
What Can Website Analytics Tell you?
Analytics can track how users interact with your website by gathering information such as:
How often your website is visited,
Where website visitors are located (city, state, country),
What website search terms brought visitors,
How long website visitors stay on the website before leaving.
The first step into getting started with website analytics is deciding which website tracking tool you want to use. There are several different types of website analytics tools out there and some are better than others.
Website analytics can be divided into two main types: On-site and Off-site website metrics. Generally, website analytic tools provide website statistics by analysing website data and giving this information back to website owners/managers in an easy to understand format.
On-site website metrics measure website traffic such as: number of website visitors, the average time people spend on the website, what websites customers came from and how they reached your website (such as Facebook, Twitter or an affiliate link).
Off-site website metrics measure website traffic by analysing website data to identify website visitors. Identifying website visitors can be done using cookies, IP addresses, browser fingerprints, and referral URLs.
What are 3 Ways of Collecting Web Analytics?
On-site website analytics are typically gathered immediately when a website is opened or viewed by users. There are also other ways that website analytics can be gathered, such as website usability testing.
Click Stream Analytics
This involves tracking website visitors so you can see what pages they look at and how long they stay on the site. Click stream is typically used to get website metrics data which looks at the number of website visitors, the average time people spend on the website, what website search terms brought visitors, and website keywords.
Website Usability Testing
Website usability testing is website analytics that aims to improve website functionality by finding users’ problems that occur with the website (such as slow page load times or difficulty completing certain tasks). It can also help you determine how easy it is for users to find certain information (such as company address or the contact page).
Heatmaps
A heatmap is a website analytics tool that allows website owners to gather website statistics by creating infographics of visitors’ movements and actions taken on their website. The different colours within the website heatmap shows where users clicked and what they hovered over.
What are the Advantages of Analysing Website Statistics?
Websites that use website analytics have many advantages. The number one advantage being website owners/managers can learn from statistics and therefore improve their website. This information can also be used to target website visitors through website advertisements. Websites with analytics can also highlight website problems so they can fix issues quickly before the website becomes too expensive to maintain.
For website owners who need website tracking and website statistics, website analytics tools such as CANDDi can give website managers deeper insight into their website visitors.
How to Compare Website Analytics?
Website traffic generates website behaviour through data. It’s really important to use website analytics to understand website traffic because sometimes website behaviours can tell you more about visitors than website visits themselves.
Comparing website analytics can be a difficult process because website statistics are usually gathered by website tracking tools and these tools analyse website data in different ways. For example, website heatmaps can show users’ movements on the website but it doesn’t give website managers any total website traffic or how long visitors spent on the website. In this instance website owners would need to use two website analytics tools in order to compare website statistics.
How Does Comparing Website Analytics Benefit a Business?
Comparing website analytics can benefit website managers by providing website owners with traffic numbers and website statistics. It also allows website owners to be aware of what their website visitors are looking at so they can decide whether or not certain parts of the website need to be improved. Comparing website analytics also allows website owners to identify website problems and fix them quickly before they become too expensive.
Conclusion
As we’ve outlined, there are many website analytics which can provide an in-depth look into how your business is performing. The key to using these different metrics effectively is understanding what each one means and why it matters for your business. CANDDi has the tools and expertise you need to make sense of this data so that you can get a clear picture of where improvements could be made on your site. Get in touch with us today if any of this sounds like something you might want help with!
