Google Analytics vs Statcounter

[gotabiz]

I'm not sure if the IT forum can answer my question but it seemed this was the most appropriate forum thus I'm posting it here. I've got Google Analytics (GA), Statcounter and Feedburner installed on my site. For some reason they report different traffic stats. Granted GA provides the most detailed information but when it comes to unique and return visitors, the numbers it reports is much different than statcounter. For that matter GA even differs from Feedburner and I know that both of them are owned by Google. I know that statcounter provides real time data but even if I'm comparing a total day for GA, Feedburner and statcounter, the results are different. Why do these tracking services provide such different numbers?

[Doc]

That's strange! I've got GA and Statcounter on three different sites, and I haven't noticed any difference in reporting. As you say, GA is more detailed, but I'm going to have to pay closer attention, to see if there's a difference in reporting that I haven't noticed.

[innominds]

6 months back, I too tried with both the analytics.
statcounter gave better results when compared to GA in reporting.
So, presently using the services of Statcounter alone.

[dburdon]

Gotabiz,

I combine Statcounter and Google analytics on some sites. This is particularly for B2B sites where the real time and individual search data is valuable.
I've never noticed any corruption of the data except I placed the two bits of tracking code too close.

[gotabiz]

Originally Posted by dburdon

Gotabiz,

I combine Statcounter and Google analytics on some sites. This is particularly for B2B sites where the real time and individual search data is valuable.
I've never noticed any corruption of the data except I placed the two bits of tracking code too close.

I'm using a number of different tracking services and I've noticed that two of them -GA and topsitesfitness report similar stats; statcounter and Feedburner provide similar reports then there is Quantcast which often diverges from all of them. I've always relied most on GA for reporting on unique and regular visitors but yesterday I took a closer look at statcounter and compared it with that of a competitor who allows visitors to view that site's statistics and it got me to thinking about something. I think that Statcounter provides a better report on visitor traffic but Google Analytics provides better data for conversion rates, etc.

You mentioned that placing the tracking code too close together maybe corrupting your results. Interesting, I haven't noticed this. Would you mind elaborating if it isn't too much trouble?

[gotabiz]

Originally Posted by innominds

6 months back, I too tried with both the analytics.
statcounter gave better results when compared to GA in reporting.
So, presently using the services of Statcounter alone.

I think both have their strengths and weakness.

Doc,

If you notice a difference in your results, I'd be interested to know about it.

[Ace]

I have noticed the difference between statcounter and Google Analytics long ago and this is due to different tracking technology and Statcounter gives you option of setting the Maximum Visit Length - Used to calculate your unique and returning visitors from a cookie. If this amount of time or more has elapsed since a visitor last visited a page on your website, then that visitor is considered unique. We recommend setting it between 1 and 6 hours. We don't recommend setting it to 24 hours and above. And by default it is set to 30 min. It might be one of the reasons. And according to me Not all trackers tracks correctly as Server logs are very different from statcounter and GA.

[tdave]

Originally Posted by Ace

I have noticed the difference between statcounter and Google Analytics long ago and this is due to different tracking technology and Statcounter gives you option of setting the Maximum Visit Length - Used to calculate your unique and returning visitors from a cookie. If this amount of time or more has elapsed since a visitor last visited a page on your website, then that visitor is considered unique. We recommend setting it between 1 and 6 hours. We don't recommend setting it to 24 hours and above. And by default it is set to 30 min. It might be one of the reasons. And according to me Not all trackers tracks correctly as Server logs are very different from statcounter and GA.

That answer for the question,i agree with that.And i don't think putting two scripts too close will have any effect for the stat result.Does anyone have any others clue ?

[The Leader]

I love statcounter because its easier to drill down to the details of each visitor. I don't find much difference between the overall stats though!

[innominds]

Though statcounter is of limited version (GA is FREE without any limitations), most of the webmasters use it to track their visitors.

[freezea]

Functionality comparison of Google Anayatics & Statcounter
In a direct comparison of the range of statistics features available, I’d say Google Analytics appears the most powerful tool. It’s certainly the one I’ve used most to delve into the detail of who’s visiting my site. However this power comes with a price: it’s much more complex to learn to use than Statcounter or Feedburner.
If you’re interested in measuring your site’s conversion performance or tracking different web marketing campaigns, Google Analytics offers a range of bespoke features that allow you to set up and track conversion goals.
For most bloggers though Google Analytics is probably overkill – if you’re like me you probably won’t have the time or inclination to regularly check the detailed reports.
Feedburner presents site statistics very simply, and if you use Feedburner to manage your RSS feeds then you’ll already be familiar with the layout and interface. Feedburner now presents site statistics alongside RSS statistics, which means that if you’re checking your RSS numbers regularly, you can get a quick update on your site visitors in the same place.
However I do find Feedburner’s analysis a bit too simplistic – I like to be able to dig a bit deeper, cut information different ways or compare trends over time. While Feedburner does some of these things, Statcounter does them all.
The beauty of Statcounter is that it’s really quick to check your basic visitor numbers, but it’s equally straightforward to get into the detailed stuff too.
One thing to note: Google Analytics and Statcounter update in real time and allow you to set your timezone – so figures for a particular day are correct for your geographical location. Feedburner doesn’t seem to allow you to localise for your timezone, meaning that days reported aren’t exactly aligned with days in your timezone.

[MrGamm]

They are two different types of stats counters. One is JavaScript (Google) and the other is Server Side.

There will always be instances where things are slightly different. For instance... If I block Google Analytics... it won't record anything even though I stil get the page... I block it because it's a personal choice I am not sure why other people firewall it...

Google Analytics sits on the page. So it can be blocked. Server Side statistics record at a much deeper level (at the server instead of at the clients browser), you can't serve a page to a user without recording the stats.

In other words... Don't forget that Google Analytics sits at the bottom of a page as well... so if people bounce really early or something happens somewhere between your server and the end users browser Google won't always see it but your server will.... if you look at the bottom corner of your browser... sometimes you will notice that the page is still requesting information from the google anayltics servers... if it hangs... that could be another indication that a page load is not being recorded...

and that sometimes Google analytics is just installed broken... or some pages are just incredibly bloated with too much stuff and take forever to load...

Other things might include crawlers... I do remember years ago that I noticed that Google won't record it's own network activity in your Analytic stats. If someone from the Google network visits your site they won't record it (you would have to test this yourself for anything more than just a crawler). I am sure there are many other things which could cause the problem as well...

Sorry... my mistake... apparently StatCounter is Javascript as well... So not everything I have said is relevant... my apologies...

[expertqtp]

Google Analytics is the best one i suppose

[oveedee]

Hello, I don't know why exactly different web stats counters give different number, maybe they get data from differrent sources, I am sure that google analytics gets its data from gooogle and so on.. The one thing you should know is that the numbers should be close one to each other, even if they are noit an exact match. If the differences are big, then you need to check the code and how they were implemented.

Regards,
Ovi

[rizwan007]

both are equally good and give almost same details

[Doc]

Originally Posted by rizwan007

both are equally good and give almost same details

I use both, and I get some value from each, but I disagree that the details are almost the same. I sometimes see a lot of difference, which is precisely why I use both.

[rizwan007]

what kind of details are different?? means any example??

[henry21r]

well you thought it correct... i am hearing it for the first time... please post some details how it works so that we can understand...