SUMMARY: Many web site owners, often you
may rely on "outside sources" to track the efficiency and
effectiveness of your web site's performance. Putting more
stock in other people's programs and tracking, often people
become discouraged that their web site advertising and/or
internet marketing is not "paying off."
A Tricky Tracky Thing - Your Web Site
Stats
by Theresa Cahill
Copyright 2007 - All rights reserved
An interesting, and important, bit of research came to my
attention today. It is not that I have been totally unaware of
this, but today was the first time in a long time that I have
had the 'leisure' to truly investigate. Having conducted my
albeit quick investigation, and after gathering web site
statistics from several sources, I would like to present my
findings.
But first, if you are like many web site owners, often you may
rely on "outside sources" to track the efficiency and
effectiveness of your web site's performance. Putting more
stock in other people's programs and tracking, often people
become discouraged that their web site advertising and/or
internet marketing is not "paying off." They tend to believe
that the big name behind a program must mean they are right and
you are wrong. That their tracking is better and more accurate
than one's own.
Strangely enough, the truth is often times not the whole truth
and nothing but. Take a quick peek at several areas online I
use for one of my own domains. Frankly, I use most of them for
fun - and I do mean fun - because you are about to discover how
very "off" those 'tried and true' sources can be:
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11/14/2007 at 12:49 p.m.
An Analytics Program - 2 visitors
An SEO Program - 51 visitors
A Keyword Tracking Program - 45 visitors
Compared to:
Domain Cpanel Stats - 384
(and the day is only half over)
=====================
All of these programs/services are designed to give the
website owner additional insight into their traffic and
more.
So which am I most likely to believe? You are right, that is a
no brainer question. One's cpanel stats are the most, and
frankly only, reliable source of information about one's
website. Third party systems help give different perspectives
on your web advertising and internet marketing, but obviously
have limited capabilities. Only your own domain's cpanel (or
whatever yours may be called) have the real skinny on how your
web site is performing.
Learn to read your own web site's information. It is there for
the asking, taking, reading, and analyzing. Then take the
information you gather and use it to your best advantage.
Discover where your visitors are arriving from, and what page
they tend to land on. Figure out how many of those visitors
remain on your web site or uncover the points at which they
scurry away. Plug the holes and keep them on your web site by
playing up your web site's best features. Rearrange your
presentation - eliminate "bad pages" if need be. Highlight what
others are truly coming to your web site to find and give them
a reason to stay.
Stop trusting blindly in "the other guy." Your own domain stats
are your only reliable method to analyze and increase your
online web site presence. Make your web site advertising and
internet marketing even more effective by discovering what
draws visitors to your site or what turns them away.
And, here is yet another valid reason why doing business online
really means shouldering the responsibility of creating your
own virtual real estate; without your own cpanel you may be
just second guessing yourself and wasting time and money.
How will you know how well - or poorly - your web site is doing
if your tracking is not up to snuff?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Theresa Cahill, owner of My
Wizard Ads encourages you to arm yourself with the right
money making web site advertising, internet
marketing information, and tools. Visit today.
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