Web Traffic Measurement and Analysis

Once a Web site has been launched and efforts to promote it are ongoing, we here at Find 8, and more importantly, the owners of the site, will want to know whether it is providing them with the opportunities they seek.  The process of tracking a Web site’s performance is called Web Measurement or Web Analytics.

So, how does Web Measurement work?

There are online services and software packages that allow Web-site managers to track visitor behavior on company Web sites:

• How did the visitor arrive at the site? Through a search engine like Yahoo? By directly typing in the address? From a link on another company’s Web site?
• If the visitor used a search engine to find the Web site, which words or phrase did he/she type into the search box?
• How many pages did the visitor go to?
• Which ones? 
• If the site is an online retail store, which items did the visitor view?
• Did the visitor purchase anything?
• How much time did the visitor spend on the site?
• Was this a first-time visit or had the visitor been there before?

Answers to these and many other behavioral questions help Web managers and marketers determine if the site is designed well, if the content is useful, and whether improvements could be made to increase traffic and interest.

The intent of every Web manager/marketer is to achieve as many “conversions” on the site as possible. “Conversion” means that a visitor completed the action or process for which the site is designed. On a retail site, for example, a successful conversion is a purchase. Other organiza-tions define a conversion differently. A non-profit, for example, might want visitors to sign up as volunteers or for a newsletter.

Whatever goals an enterprise has in mind for its Web site, the analytical tools in the Find 8 Web Measurement toolbox will be instrumental in achieving them.