|
How can I track visitors to my Web page?I don't have a blog, I don't have a fancy Web site and I don't have a profile on MySpace or Facebook, but I do get people coming to my simple little four-page Web site and I'd like to learn more about them. My sister says I want to run some "analytics" program, but I'm clueless. I can edit HTML, but what do I add? You are right to be thinking of this stuff. Without some sort of decent analytics it's just about impossible to know who is coming to your site and what they do once they get there. Add one of a number of different free packages, however, and you can extract a surprising amount of information by just poking around when you have the time. Since you're comfortable with basic HTML, you also have a bit of a proverbial leg up on most folk because you can easily copy and paste the necessary Javascript into the correct spot on your pages without freaking out or breaking things. :-) So there are a lot of different analytic programs on the market, but what I like is Google Analytics. It's free, it's powerful and it's fast enough loading that there's no performance penalty for your visitors (a big issue in my book). You can sign up for free, but you probably already have a Google account so it's even easier. Find out, go to Google Analytics and sign in / sign up. Here's what it looks like when you "create new profile": ![]() Once that's done, you'll be given a couple of lines of HTML to add to your pages: ![]() Literally, that's all you have to do. Copy what's in that box on your own Google Analytics page and then paste it between the </body> and </html> tags at the very bottom of your Web pages that you want tracked (basically all of them). Now wait until there's some traffic and you can go back to Google Analytics and see reports like these (these are for my film blog Dave On Film.com, btw): ![]() and, more interestingly, detailed stats about what pages are popular: ![]() As you can see, lots worth checking out and a great way to learn quite a bit more about your site traffic. Hope that helps you out!
Categorized:
Building Web Site Traffic
,
CGI Scripts and Web Site Programming
(Article 9352,
Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: analytics, google analytics, site traffic, traffic analysis Previous: Three Important Factors for Great Photographs Next: How do I send a friend request in Facebook? (updated) Subscribe!
Hi Dave, I have a blog www.thelifeisbeautiful.blogspot.com but I tried to install Google Analytics but it says installed, but do not work, do not gathering data. Could you help me? Posted by: Isa at March 15, 2011 2:57 PMDue to it privacy policy, Google Analytics does not provide IP, which becomes its only weakness. Therefore, I make an application program to monitor the visitors IP, combined with Google Analytics. I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!
|
Recommended
Recent Entries
Search
I Need Help!
Apple iPad Help
Articles and Reviews Auctions and Online Shopping Blogs and RSS Feeds Building Web Site Traffic Business and Management CGI Scripts and Web Site Programming Computer and Internet Basics d) None of the Above Facebook Help Google Plus Help HTML and CSS Industry News and Trade Shows iPhone and Cell Phone Help iPod, Sony PSP and MP3 Player Help Mac OS X Help Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Shell Script Programming Tech Support Video Help The Writing Business Twitter, LinkedIn and Social Network Help Unix and Linux Help Video Game Tips and Help Windows PC Help WordPress Help |