Here are some of the things I like to know:
- Who has linked to my website
- Why they have linked to my website
- What search terms web visitors are
using to reach my website - How many people have reached my
website via a specific search term - How many people visited my website
last month
Here are some of the tools I like to
use to analyze my website traffic:
- Google Analytics
- Webalizer
- AWStats
I like each of these tools for different
reasons. I like Google Analytics because
the information is so complete and clearly
laid out.
I like Webalizer because it is so detailed.
I find it easy to customize Webalizer with
a configuration file such that it will give me
any level of detail that I desire. Also, since
Webalizer is written in C Language, it tends
to process a lot of information in an efficient
way. C Language is an efficiency language and
Webalizer prides itself on being able to
process lots of information efficiently.
I like AWStats because it is conservative.
AWStats does its best to filter out noise
such as web robots visiting your site. Whereas
Webalizer tries to be complete, AWStats tries
to be meaningful. I find both approaches
helpful.
It is by using all 3 tools that I get a more
complete picture of my website traffic. For
example, Google Analytics does a very good job
of doing a page-by-page analysis. Each one of
these tools has its strengths that I rely on.
There's one big lesson I've learned from analyzing
website traffic and that is that people are very
target specific. Usually people are looking for
something specific when they do a search on the
web.
If I were limited to just two words of advice
to those who wish to successfully serve others
with their website, I'd say be specific!.
Being too general will get you nothing, or next
to nothing. People need you to be specific because
the web itself is too general. You can search
for hours and hours looking for some piece
of information and not find it.
People who know how to be specific are a
God-send. I've often benefited from reading things
written by people who are willing to be specific.
This may sound like it has nothing to do with
website traffic but it has everything to do
with website traffic. Most websites fail to
attract traffic because they are not specific
enough.
Also, this sounds like it has nothing to do
with website traffic statistics. However, the
big lesson of website traffic analysis is that
a busy website will attract website visitors
for a thousand different reasons. It's not at
all unusual for a website to have been reached
by a thousand different search terms, sometimes more.
Of course, some of these search terms will be
more popular than others. Let's say, for example,
you write about skin care. This is a popular
term with strong commercial implications. Here are
some of the search terms that might bring website
visitors to your site:
- skin care
- basic skin care
- natural skin care
- acne skin care
- anti-aging skin care
Believe me: If you write many many articles
about skin care on your website, you can
easily have a thousand different search terms
that people use to find you. Of course, this
assumes that you are a good and authoritative
writer. It also assumes that you do not bore
people too much.
It also assumes that your website is mostly
about skin care or exclusively about skin
care. Being specific applies to websites
as well as to articles posted on a website.
In general, the more target specific the website,
and the more target specific the articles that
appear on that website, the better.
In many ways, the difference between an expert
and someone who has no idea what they are talking
about is that the expert is not afraid to be
specific. Yes, being specific can get you into
trouble. However, if you really know what you are
talking about, you will defend yourself with grace
and ease.
On the other hand, if you write about a topic
as a non-expert, let your readers know you are
a non-expert. Everyone benefits when you do this.
You benefit because you do not claim things that
later turn out to be untrue. Others benefit because
they understand exactly where you are coming from.
The lesson? You benefit most by being who you really
and truly are.
The second lesson? Others benefit when you let your
light shine. Be specific and let your light shine.
That's how you can benefit others with your website.
Ed Abbott
