Web Analytics

[obuwebco]

am working a proposal for a site with the realistic hit numbers in the millions.

Beside webtrends, what other traffic analytics are there.

Are they successful, what would you rate as the weaknesses and stengths of each package.

Is there a robost php solution?

I need a web analytics software platform that really goes deep.. not just basic numbers.

please share any and all commn=ent son this topic.

Thanks.

[Stevel]

ICEtracks (ICEtracks.com) is a new product that may suit your needs, particularly as it goes beyond the standard visitor, page, referring page counting.

It is the only application that I know of, that incorporates advanced web intelligence to the point of visitor identification, visitor grouping, recency and frequency of visit tracking, page selection reporting, click path assessment, both internal web page and referring URL colour coding etc. ICEtracks also has built in link tracking functionality for use in email communications as well as the website.

The product is due to be launched at the end of the month so this post might be premature, however I was involved in a test case study where the client needed to understand web interaction based on different groups, such as by product ownership, value of customer, location and view this information indepentant of search engine driven and email driven communications traffic etc. The insight provided and extended tracking history (24 months) allowed for effective decision making.

The wait might be worth it.

[Stevel]

The vast majority of analytical web tools available focus on providing aggregated information about traffic to the website. Each visitor, visit, page impression and click generated is treated equally in the intelligence gathering process, when in reality they are far from being equal based on varying customer value, the stage of the sales cycle, their response to a campaign and if they are a first time visitor or returning visitor etc.

The inability to differentiate between visitors and understand their value or motivation to interact with the website is a fundamental online business development stumbling block.

I would appreciate views and opinions on the above, as well as the value of web analytics as it currently stands. Your input has been requested as I believe web analytics has to move to the point whereby web interaction from defined visitor groups such as customers, has to become identifiable and traceable over extended periods of time. How else do we extract meaningful value from web analytics that go beyond simple visitor and page impression counting?

[sijpie]

Agree. When I started analysing web traffic, I was astounded at how little really usefull information the standard log analysing tools generate. Mind you some hosting companies only record a subset of the available information in the log files, making it even worse to make any sense of the data.

[clicktracks]

You might want to give ClickTracks a quick try. (disclaimer: I'm a founder of the company). I strongly agree with your observations of the way web analytics aggregates data. That was one of my frustrations and lead me to starting the company in the first place, so I could design a good tool from first principles that could do good comparative analysis.

There's a free evaluation download, works off logfiles so a 10 minute trial run will prove if it's useful in your situation or not.

Sales pitch over.

[thusmann]

ClickTracks is definately the best I have found. The information packed graphical stats provide the information you need to make informed advertising decisions. You can track your PPC ROI, visitor behaviors, clickstream, and much much more. You have to take a look at their solution before you look anywhere else... http://www.clicktracks.com

[ferrar]

Our Sawmill product provides highly detailed analysis of almost 500 log formats (not just web logs). Sawmill is database-driven, and provides *far* more than just a summary of statistics. Unlike many log analysis tools, which provide a set of "canned" reports, Sawmill lets you dynamically browse your web statistics, using arbitrary filters; so for instance you can zoom in on a particular user and see exactly what that single user did on the site. See http://www.sawmill.net/ for more details.

[flashfast]

Pet peeve - I need analytics but the above two 'recommended' software solutions really get my goat. I hate sites where one cannot find pricing. I'd never shop in a store where nothing was priced, or the prices were hidden in the fridge at the back of the store. Okay, one site gives up front pricing (well done), but the other is a nightmare to find out - payment page just gives me the options of payment but NO PRICE!!! I'm gone from there.

Also why can't I found out if the software is mac or windows compatible? I use both, but prefer to use my mac - at least it would be nice to know this information rather than trying to wade through pages of FAQ etc etc., none of which address these important questions.

[steve0]

If you really want to have some fun with visualizing your traffic.. check out

Apache2Dot Click Here for info


Is GPL and can probably be installed under OSX.

[mlillig]

I work for real-time web analytics company called IndexTools. We provide different packages based on your needs. If you just need basic analytics, we have our Premium package. If you need analytics to track your online revenue and conversions (for sales, sign ups, request forms, etc.), we have our eBusiness Package. If you want all of that plus the ability to pull live data from your online campaigns (Google AdWords, Overture, etc.) to generate your online ROI, we have our Live Cost add on package.

The prices can be found by going to the web site and selecting the 'Products' link at the top of the page. The service is month to month, the prices are extremely competitive, and the support service is free which is always an added bonus. Not to mention, you can test it out for 15 days with no obligation to buy.

Since we are a web based service where you add a small piece of java script to each page, most of our users are windows users. That's mainly because IE is no longer in development for macs. MS dropped them when Apple started developing Safari.

Hopes this helps!

[flashfast]

Thanks - sorry if my post sounded a bit mean but it came after quite a frustrating search when my own analytics suddenly ceased to operate (without notice). I decided to try out Open Tracker for a free month's trial. Thanks again.