Web statistics, Web metrics, web analytics, web stats and site stats.
What are all these site metrics, and why measure them?
Web metrics refers to measurement, the science of measuring websites. Specifically, measuring website events, defining goals and extracting trends.
Analytics is the act of distinguishing categories within recorded stats, and analyzing for any patterns and trends. The process of analytics means, literally, taking apart the whole of something in order to study its component parts.
Statistics are a scientific application. The goal is to form actions and initiatives based on the data recorded.
What should your website stats tell you? The number of (returning) visitors to your site, how visitors interact with your pages. Information about the content of your site and how visitors use it. Your traffic statistics are an indicator of website performance.
There are many different web analytics solutions available, there are both free analytic tools such as Analog, AWStats, Webalizer and Google analytics and more advanced and in-depth paid / subscription tools like Omnitu re.
Google analytics (previously Urchin) provides a high quality free service, with a quick, clean user interface and clearly displayed default and customized reporting.
Free Website Stat Packages
- Hitslink A very effective web tracking solution and easy to implement, simply paste a small tracking script on your site’s pages and start viewing reports within seconds. There are two versions available, HitsLink Enterprise and Professional.
- Statcounter – Free web tracker. Detailed stats are provided for the last 100 pageloads only.
- Addfreestats – provide free website statistics
- GoStats: Provides real-time web statistics and analytics which can give you immediate insights into your website’s performance. Started in 1999, GoStats provides a wealth of data which most free stats systems cannot provide.
- Google Analytics: Google rolled out this analytics platform out in 2005. Google Analytics is one of the most powerful free web stat tools currently available and definitely worth a look.
- ClickTracks: Known as one of the higher end web analytics solutions, great for search marketers and search engine optimizers alike. Click tracks gives the user a deep insight in to campaigns, site navigation patterns, PPC, SEO and ROI stats instantly.
- HiStats – Free, real time updated web stats service
- WebTrends: The high end corporate web site statistics / web analytics package. WebTrends have been around for some time now and demand a great deal of respect in the analytics market. A very powerful solution demanding a high price.
- Webalizer: Webalizer needs to be installed on a host that is able to access the server logs. When it processes these logs, you get a view of the types of visitors that have come to the site and what they were specifically seeking.
Server and Site Data
Ping Test – Check the presence of an active connection
Reverse IP/Look-up – Resolve a host to an IP address
Server Status – Check if your website is online or offline
Website Speed Test – Find out how fast your website loads
What Is My IP Address – shows your ip address
IP to City – determine the Country, City, Latitude and Longitude of an IP Address
Website to Country – determine the Country in which the specified website is Hosted