We often tell people they need a purpose , or a goal for their website. It definitely helps to clarify just what you want your website to accomplish. At Pleth, we use Google Analytics , one of the most commonly used tracking tools, that is provided free of charge by Google.
Several years ago, websites would install a "hit counter" to measure traffic. It made sense at that time because web pages were essentially one file—a web page. Now, with the use of multiple files from images, to CSS, javascript and other types of code integrated into websites, measuring "hits" for a website is obsolete.
A web "hit" was a ping, or the measurement of a file downloading from the server on a website. Now, a single page can create a dozen pings or more. Analytics from tracking code, such as Google Analytics, are much more sophisticated and measure multiple types of analytics.
With Google Analytics, you will know how many times a page was viewed, how many visitors you had, how often they came back, how long they stayed on your website, what actions they took and much more.
Terms you may run across in Google Analytics include:
●Sessions
●Page Views
●Visitors
●Users
●Bounce Rate
●Pages/Session
●Unique Page Views
●Average Time on Page
●Entrances
Google Analytics provides valuable data about your website and can form the basis for changes, updates, redesigns or any other way to make your site more efficient.
For instance, if your visitors "bounce," or leave after landing on only one page, you know that you need to improve your content or that you have the wrong type of visitors coming to your website. Other important decisions regarding navigation and design may be made according to the number of page views for certain content or the type of device from which the site tends to be accessed, i.e. desktop, tablet or smartphone.
If you are a Pleth customer, we have already installed Google Analytics on your website and create reports for you.
Want to know more about Google Analytics for your website? Let us know. www.pleth.com/contact
Sources:
http://www.google.com/analytics/
http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2243996/a-beginners-guide-to-analytics