Home
Web Site Design
Keywords
Hosting
Traffic
Marketing
SE Ranking
Monetization
SiteSell
Google AdWords
Google AdSense
Overture
Pay Per Clicks
Directories
Paid SE s
Joint Ventures
Tracking
Affiliates
Page Submission
Contact Us
Resources
New Traffic
 		  

 

Tracking


Tracking refers to the process of gathering data on the dynamics of your website and using that information to improve its effectiveness and ROI.

Without a practical tracking system, you will not be able to see how your pages are working. And then, your chances of improving them drop radically. You also need to track visibility with the search engines, and PPC bidding success.

Here are  Top 10 statistics you need to be tracking, along with some recommended resources to help you.

1.  Average daily uniques.

This refers to the average number of new visitors who find one or more of your web pages each day. Tracking this number is important because it shows you how successful your Internet marketing campaign is, and, by comparing this data week to week, and month to month, you can see if things are improving.

2.  Total page views.

This number works like ADU's above, expect that it also shows you how much interest people have once they land on your site. Lots of page views relative to ADU's is a good sign.

3.  Search engine referral sources.

This data is critical to your local Internet marketing campaign, as it shows you clearly which search engines are driving traffic to your site.

4.  Keyword success.

A good traffic analysis package will show you which keywords are working for you, by gross numbers and as a percentage of total visitor hits.

5.  Click-thrus from your affiliates.

If the primary way you monetize (see websitemonetization) your website is through affiliate partnerships, you will need to track these.

6.  Website position with the search engines.

This is a must because the search engines change their ranking systems regularly, and you need to track your position for the major engines and your most important keywords.

7.  PPC bid placement.

If you are using pay-per-click services to drive traffic to your website, you will need to have a system to track your placements and success. You also need to track your ROI and opportunity costs.

8.  E-mail subscribers.

If you use e-mail as part of your local Internet marketing campaign, you will need to know how many subscribers you have, and whether they are continuing to subscribe or are dropping off.

9.  Conversion rate.

This refers to how successful your website is in converting a visitor to a buyer. If you are a service provider, this amounts to the number of calls (appointments) that you get per hundred monthly uniques. If you get 3000 monthly uniques, and can convert 2%, you will have 60 new customers (clients, patients...) each month.

10.  Overall bottom-line profit.

In all the tracking, analyzing and interpretation, this statistic is often overlooked. It simply means, how much your website campaign is making you in real, at-the-bank, dollars each month. Don't forget to keep track of this - it can be an eye-opener!

Resources

The following are by no means the only resources you can use to assist yourself in website tracking. These companies rank will at alexa , and have very comprehensive programs.

  • Hitslink   by Net Applications

    • This service offers website statistics, tracking and analysis to help understand visitor behavior. It includes average daily uniques, search engine source, keyword analysis, and page frequency data.

    It can even tell you what country the visitor comes from, what kind of browser they use, and what operating system they run.

  • Indextools

    • These guys offer a whole bunch of tools to help you monitor your traffic, track online behavior, measure conversion ratios and profile visitors.

    They can also help you analyze PPC marketing campaigns, and view visitor paths in real time.

  • ClickTracks

    • This website has a unique twist on the visitor tracking job. Everything they do is in real time!

    With Clicktracks, visitor behavior is displayed directly on the pages of your website. That way, you can see your visitor site navigation and ROI instantly.

  • ConversionRuler

    • This website offers a subscription based performance tracking solution for optimizing your website presence. Their tracking method is different, and very effective.

  • PositionPro

    • PositionPro is all about tracking search engine position. With their software, you get a picture of how your website appears to a search engine spider. Then, they give you tools and techniques to improve it for better ranking and traffic