![]() ![]() Page Views – page views are a request for a particular type of file.A hit is generated for the display of a page, then another for each graphic image that appears on the page, and so forth, so it is likely that this number is as much an indicator of over-loaded pages as it is of how your site is being viewed by viewers. Hits – this number tracks how many requests were sent to the web server within the given timeframe.Although most people may talk about “hits” to their site being a measurement of popularity, the unique visitor count is one of the best indicators of the volume of traffic coming to your site. This is the true answer to how many people come to your site in a day or month. Unique Visitor – this number indicates how many unique TCP/IP address have sent a request to your site within the defined time period.I’m also including some that provide traps-statistics that are currently cited but that don’t provide as much real value as it might seem. The names and figures that appear in your stats are dependent upon the package you use however, there are some basic numbers that give you the most important information, so we’ll focus on those. If you manage your own site, you can check with your hosting company to find out if a statistics package is installed and, if so, how to gain access. If none of these apply, ask your webmaster or designer for the location of your web statistics. You may also have a link on your web site that provides access to your statistics. Sometimes your web stats are available only through the control panel or administrator utility of your web site. Frequently, stats can be available at or /webstats. ![]() If the most popular packages have been used, your statistics will be password protected and available through a particular directory on your site. The location of your web stats is dependent upon the statistics package used, your hosting package, and selections made by your designer/webmaster. If you get sucked into a “my site gets more hits than your site” conversation, focus on what your site does well and ask, “But what is your bounce rate?” Over-inflation can occur when time periods are too short or hits are counted that should be omitted (such as your own hits or those of robots or spiders). Over-inflating these numbers does nothing to help you. With statistical configuration, accuracy should be the most important factor. This is especially true when it comes to time frames and what is a legitimate page requester. Web statistics are configurable and the configuration can have a major impact on the final numbers. Other packages use a combination of reading log files and tagging. One of the best tagging utilities available today is Google Analytics. Log files are typically generated using Common Logfile Format (with a Linux-based Apache web server) and, once enabled, can be analyzed by a variety of statistics packages like AWStats or Webalizer. Statistics packages should provide a simple-to-read interpretation and display of log files generated based upon traffic or by tags embedded in the pages of your site. Web statistics are simply an analysis of internet-based requests to your web site, or traffic. This month’s column will be dedicated to responding to these issues. The two biggest problems I find in discussing site statistics with many business owners are these: 1) the site owner doesn’t know how to get to their statistics and 2) the site owner doesn’t understand how to translate the numbers into information they can use. But for the purposes of this discussion, information about site viewing data will be called statistics. In short, analytics are where the rubber meets the road. Analytics are statistics in a way that speaks to the average person rather than to the classic statistician. And just to confuse things, the term analytics comes along to see if you’re paying attention. Today, it seems that the statistics being provided are bigger and better-and quite overwhelming for most site owners. In the past, most web site owners were just happy to see that cheesy hit counter increasing…you know, the one that looked like a digital readout. If you’re a long-time Getting Informed reader, you will remember multiple previous references to the importance of web statistics, or stats, in understanding the effectiveness of your web site. ![]()
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