February 22, 2012

Tracking Website Traffic

Image representing Crazy Egg as depicted in Cr...
Image via CrunchBase

Why track your website’s traffic?

Tracking your website’s traffic is an invaluable way to find out who is visiting your website. Not only that, but by tracking your site’s traffic, you can get a better idea of what sites they are coming from, the demographics of your visitors, and what it is about your website that interests them.  Once you know these basics about the visitors to your website, you can get a clearer picture of where to market and to whom.

How to track your website’s traffic.

Tracking your site’s traffic is as simple as downloading software or implementing services found on the Internet. Very basic trackers can tell you things like where your audience is coming from based on their IP address, whereas more advanced trackers can provide reports and analysis based on more advanced data. More detailed reports like these usually come from programs you have to purchase. Survey software is one of the tools which helps in tracking the response of the visitors.

Some of the more popular programs and tools for tracking your site’s traffic include:

  • StatCounter. This tool is free and offers a number of features, including detailed statistics about the visitors to your site, which you can access in real time. It’s also invisible, allowing you to track discreetly.
  • Google Analytics. Also free to anyone who owns or publishes websites, this popular tracking tool analyzes what users are doing once they come to your site, making it easier to market your services.
  • Crazy Egg. This program is designed for those who want detailed reports and statistics on their website traffic. It shows site patterns as well as information on what and where people clicked to reach your site, and is ideal for those who want to improve their revenue from advertising.

Any organization or individual who wants to improve advertising and marketing, or just learn more about who is visiting their site and why, should consider a program for tracking traffic.