subject: Statistics?! Yup, you Need to Read This [print this page] Statistics?! Yup, you Need to Read This Statistics?! Yup, you Need to Read This
People don't think it's entirely necessary to look at statistics for a free website, because they have to deal with numbers of and percentages. The main reason for getting scared is because they don't know what the numbers mean.
Spending a little bit of time on it though, will bring you to a point where you will start building a picture on what is actually happening with your site. You will also feel more comfortable when you create your free website, especially if you can identify problem areas from areas that are doing well. Knowing which pages keep your visitors there, and which do not, will help determine what you need to start doing on your site to keep them there for longer.
A good place to find your web statistics would be direct from your hosting provider. The host usually has a backend that you can access to get that kind of information. You should speak to your hosting provider if you want to find out more. Alternatively, you can make use of Google analytics. It's quick to register with them and once you are in, you can upload the site details and it will give you all the information you need to improve on your site.
So with that in mind here are a couple of the regular stats that you can start looking at to get the required understanding of your site that will help you get the edge over your competitors.
The number of unique visitors
Unique visitors indicate one primary thing, and that is how many new customers you are getting. The idea here is to see exactly how well your search engine optimization has been done. Essentially, that is how well your site ranks to get natural traffic sent to your website without having to pay for the advertising. The higher your hit rate is, the more likely you are to obtain sales from those visitors.
Statistics and search engine referrals
Once a person visits a search engine link it will show up on the websites vital statistics, as well as how many pages were visited. The most influential and the largest search engines are MSN, Google and Yahoo. The vital statistics website is important as you ar able to pin point which search engine refer the most traffic to your website. You also need ensure that your ranking does not diminish on that specific search engine.
Referrals from other websites
If you are not involved in affiliate programs or campaigns such as pay-per-click then statistic may not be relevant. However, statistics will define how many sites are spammed and will also define legitimate sites as well as client referrals. Should you be paying for advertising make sure you pay attention to the numbers, if the numbers are low you are then wasting your money on marketing.
Entry and Exit from visitors
You will be able to see where your visitors entered as well as where they left. The information relayed to you will show you if the visitors found what they were searching for, or if your visitors left your website shortly after entering. Your website needs to look professional and inviting to visitors at all times. Your contact page is the key because it tells you that your visitors want more information.
Importance of Keyword phrases and keywords
The vital statistics will indicate what your visitors were searching for when they were directed to your website. Your may want to change some of the content on your website once you obtain some keywords or keyword phrases that entice a high ranking. You can also incorporate popular key phrases and keywords in the Meta tags used for your descriptions and titles.
Visitor entering and leaving immediately
If you create a homepage and the statistics are showing you that visitors are leaving shortly after entering then you need to either check your we content as well as were your keywords are ranked in the search engines. You can also use tactics such as linking a page that has a high entrance rate and in turn will have a better site performance and encourage sales.
