Website traffic analysis is a must if you plan on being a force in the Internet marketing arena. If you do not know how to interpret the statistics, you may be overlooking valuable data affecting the bottom line of your business.
Most web hosting companies provide you with basic web traffic information and you have to interpret this data and make appropriate changes to your website to correct any deficiencies revealed in the data. However, the data you receive from your host company can be overwhelming.
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. However, by merely looking at the numbers of visitors to your site, and thinking that's all there is to it. Wrong! You must also look at the what your visitors do once they come to your website to accurately gauge the effectiveness of your site.
There seem to be confusion over the term "hits". Hits simply means the number of information requests received by the server. If you thinkabout the fact that a hit can simply equate to the number of graphics your page has. When one visitor visits your page, each graphic gets a "hit". Do you have 10 graphics on your page? As you can see,hits are not useful in analyzing your website traffic.
The greater the traffic is to your website, the more precise your analysis will be of trending visitor behavior. Fewer visitors yield a more deviant analysis.
The purpose of web traffic statistics analysis is to figure out if your site isuser friendly, working for your visitors. The average length of time a visitor spends on your site is pertinent information. Briefer periods of time indicate an underlying problem, and it is up to you to determine that issue.
Maybe keywords are directing the wrong type of visitor to your website, or that your website is too busy, jammed with banners, graphics, flashing this or that.This may be intimidating to them and they exit quick before the sirens start blaring. Use your knowledge of how much time a visitor is spending on your site to pinpoint specific problems. When you fix those problems, continue to monitor the effectivness of your changes.
Websites generally have strong and weak aspects. Your statistical analysis may reveal these aspects of your site. If you believe a page on your site is important, and you see visitors are exiting it rapidly, that page needs attention.
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 enhance the ease of accessing the information on that page.
If you notice that visitors are spending a lot of time on certain 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, visitor habits and motivation. This is essential information to any successful Internet marketing campaign.
Your website should have exit pages, such as a final order or contact form. This is a page you can expect your visitor to exit rapidly when your visitor finds what he or she is looking for. In addition, statistics may show you a number of different exit pages. This is normal until you notice an exit trend on a page that is not intended as an exit page. In a case where a significant percentage of visitors are exiting your website on a page not designed for that purpose, examine that particular page to identify the problem. Once you pinpoint potential weaknesses on that page, minor modifications in content or graphics may have a significant improvement in keeping visitors moving through your site instead of exiting prematurely.
After analyzing your visitor statistics, turn to your keywords and phrases. Are your keywords directing specific types of visitors to your site? The more targeted the visitor - the more valuable that keyword is.
However, if you find a large number of visitors are being directed, better yet, misdirected to your site by a particular keyword or phrase, that keyword demands an adjustment. Keywords are vital to bringing targeted, quality visitors to your site ready to buy. Close keyword analysis will reveal the keywords your visitors are using to find your site which will give you a vital understanding of your visitor's needs and motivations.
If you notice that users are finding your website by typing in your domain/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!
Karen Shelton, CEO of Success4All! is an affiliate and network marketer who has six successfully proven methods of home based business opportunities for both new and seasoned marketers. Her expertise is in helping others gain financial freedom and self improvement.
http://www.Financial-Freedom-4-all.com