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LEARN
FROM THE EXPERTS
UNDERSTANDING
WEB TRAFFIC
THROUGH LOG FILES
by Jerry West
If you have a web
site, you should (we hope) have traffic.
Are you tracking
how those visitors are coming to your
site? If not, your site is not as successful
as it can be.
Traffic analysis
is one of the most difficult skills
to learn for any Web publisher or e-merchant.
Fortunately, there are tools to make
the job easier. We will give you our
recommendation at the end of this article.
In regards to your
website traffic, you must know where
your visitors are coming from, what
paths your visitors are taking and which
pages are the main exit points of your
site. Also, you need to track which
keywords users type in the search engines
to get to your site.
By having this information,
you will be able to tailor your site
to the needs of your visitors.
-
Referring
URL This information will tell you
where your visitors came from, such
as a link on another site or a search
engine. If the visitor came from a search
engine, the statistics should also tell
you which search term was used - which
is vital information. An analysis of
these search terms can be very valuable
when creating or registering your pages.
-
Top
Entry Pages Although the main entry
page will be your Home Page, by reviewing
this information, you will know if a
sub page that you did not intend for
your visitor to see first is, in fact,
one of the main entry points to your
site. By knowing which pages most people
enter through, you can optimize those
pages for an even better search engine
ranking. You can also review the content
and improve the page copy which can
enhance your visitor's experience and
your profits.
-
Top
Exit Pages By knowing which pages
most traffic leaves through, you can
decide how to enhance those pages or
eliminate them entirely.
-
Paths
and Average Time Per Page By reviewing
your logs you notice that your top keyword
phrase is bringing you 8% of your traffic,
but the visitors are generally only
viewing the one page and leaving in
less than ten seconds. You have a problem.
Or, visitors are viewing 4-6 pages each,
going to your product order page, then
backing out. By viewing how visitors
go through your site and the time they
spend on each page will alert you to
potential problems quickly, or alert
you that you are doing just fine and
not to mess with success.
-
Most
Or Least Visited Pages It is important
to know what brings people to your site
initially or keeps them there once they
have arrived. These statistics can help
you determine that.
-
Activity
Level By The Hour of Day All sites
require maintenance or updating of pages
to remain viable. These activities are
best accomplished when your site traffic
is the lowest.
-
Which
Browser Your Visitors
Use Although most
web page features are
compatible with later
versions of Netscape or
Internet Explorer, you
may find your traffic
is stronger in one or
the other. This fact will
help you optimize design
features for that browser.
In viewing the above, we highly recommend,
and use ourselves, Web
Stat. For just $10.00 per month, you can have a
strong handle of your website.
------
© 2000 - 2003, WebMarketingNow.com
Jerry West is the Director of Internet Marketing for
WebMarketingNow. He has been consulting on the web since
1996 and has assisted hundreds of companies gain an
upper-hand over their competition. Visit Web
Marketing Now for the latest in marketing tips that
are tested and proven.
The above article can be reproduced
on your site or e-zine as long as the signature file.
Article Search Phrases: web traffic
analysis, web hits, web visitors
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