Most web hosting companies will provide you with
basic web traffic information that you then have to interpret
and make pertinent use of. However, the data you receive from
your host company can be overwhelming if you don't understand
how to apply it to your particular business and website. Let's
start by examining the most basic data - the average visitors to
your site on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
These figures are the most accurate measure of
your website's activity. It would appear on the surface that the
more traffic you see recorded, the better you can assume your
website is doing, but this is an inaccurate perception. You must
also look at the behavior of your visitors once they come to
your website to accurately gauge the effectiveness of your site.
There is often a great misconception about what
is commonly known as "hits" and what is really
effective, quality traffic to your site. Hits simply means the
number of information requests received by the server. If you
think about the fact that a hit can simply equate to the number
of graphics per page, you will get an idea of how overblown the
concept of hits can be. For example, if your homepage has 15
graphics on it, the server records this as 15 hits, when in
reality we are talking about a single visitor checking out a
single page on your site. As you can see, hits are not useful in
analyzing your website traffic.
The more visitors that come to your website, the
more accurate your interpretation will become. The greater the
traffic is to your website, the more precise your analysis will
be of overall trends in visitor behavior. The smaller the number
of visitors, the more a few anomalous visitors can distort the
analysis.
The aim is to use the web traffic statistics to
figure out how well or how poorly your site is working for your
visitors. One way to determine this is to find out how long on
average your visitors spend on your site. If the time spent is
relatively brief, it usually indicates an underlying problem.
Then the challenge is to figure out what that problem is.
It could be that your keywords are directing the
wrong type of visitors to your website, or that your graphics
are confusing or intimidating, causing the visitor to exit
rapidly. Use the knowledge of how much time visitors are
spending on your site to pinpoint specific problems, and after
you fix those problems, continue to use time spent as a gauge of
how effective your fix has been.
Additionally, web traffic stats can help you
determine effective and ineffective areas of your website. If
you have a page that you believe is important, but visitors are
exiting it rapidly, that page needs attention. You could, for
example, consider improving the link to this page by making the
link more noticeable and enticing, or you could improve the look
of the page or the ease that your visitors can access the
necessary information on that page.
If, on the other hand, you notice that visitors
are spending a lot of time on pages that you think are less
important, you might consider moving some of your sales copy and
marketing focus to that particular page.
As you can see, these statistics will reveal
vital information about the effectiveness of individual pages,
and visitor habits and motivation. This is essential information
to any successful Internet marketing campaign.
Your website undoubtedly has exit pages, such as
a final order or contact form. This is a page you can expect
your visitor to exit rapidly. However, not every visitor to your
site is going to find exactly what he or she is looking for, so
statistics may show you a number of different exit pages. This
is normal unless you notice a exit trend on a particular page
that is not intended as an exit page. In the case that a
significant percentage of visitors are exiting your website on a
page not designed for that purpose, you must closely examine
that particular page to discern what the problem is. Once you
pinpoint potential weaknesses on that page, minor modifications
in content or graphic may have a significant impact on the
keeping visitors moving through your site instead of exiting at
the wrong page.
After you have analyzed your visitor statistics,
it's time to turn to your keywords and phrases. Notice if
particular keywords are directing a specific type of visitor to
your site. The more targeted the visitor - meaning that they
find what they are looking for on your site, and even better,
fill out your contact form or make a purchase - the more
valuable that keyword is.
However, if you find a large number of visitors
are being directed - or should I say misdirected - to your site
by a particular keyword or phrase, that keyword demands
adjustment. Keywords are vital to bringing quality visitors to
your site who are ready to do business with you. Close analysis
of the keywords your visitors are using to find your site will
give you a vital understanding of your visitor's needs and
motivations.
Finally, if you notice that users are finding
your website by typing in your company name, break open the
champagne! It means you have achieved a significant level of
brand recognition, and this is a sure sign of burgeoning
success.
Michael Rasmussen is a successful Internet Marketing Consultant
and author of many top-selling eBooks. Michael has been
marketing online since the early days and he knows what it takes
to make money and succeed online. Stop by his Web site and
subscribe to his Fr*e monthly newsletter full strategies and
techniques for successful web site promotions that can help YOU!
Go to http://www.search-engines-revealed.com
