subject: Should I Use Paid Or Free Web Analytics? [print this page] Having a product which is free creates a very interesting market dynamic. A great many opinions are formed based simply on the price of one product compared to the price of another, and unfortunately many of them aren't well informed.
The existence of free web log analyzers in the web analytics marketing environment has polarized quite a lot of people. Some will only use free web site analytics for their internet marketing analyses - "Why should I pay for something that I can get for free?". Others will only use paid web analytics applications - "You get what you pay for ... pay nothing, get nothing!". Obviously the truth lies somewhere in between, so today we are looking at when it is appropriate to use free web analytics packages, and when you should go for paid solutions.
When to use free analytics
Adwords advertisers
If the main monetization method for your site is Google Adwords, it's worth considering also using Google's web analytics software. Google Analytics integrates extensively with Adwords, making calculations and testing much less cumbersome than using 3rd party solutions.
Getting started in web analytics
If you're new to the whole concept of web log analysis, it's best to start simple. Get used to the ideas, the methods, and the capability of the discipline. Then you can upgrade to a paid web analytics package like Webtrends when you start to want more detailed capability.
When to use paid web analytics
Social media marketing
The value of social media marketing cannot be ignored, and if your company has invested time and money into the social media space as part of your internet marketing and search engine optimization campaigns, you'll want to be able to measure what is happening.
Some of the largest paid web analytics programs (such as Webtrends) have recently publicized partnerships with Facebook. However, neither Google nor other free web analytics tools still does not provide data about major social networking sites. This may not ever happen - Facebook would no doubt see Google as a competitor, and that is unlikely to change in the future.
Want to know the 'why'
One fantastic feature of Webtrends' new offering is the buzz overlay panel that can be seen atop the metrics data. This extra layer of insight is an effort to give website owners a clearer and more comprehensive view of what is driving people to their site, using data from blogs, news, sales and other sources.
You're a smartphone user
If you're constantly on-the-go and depend on your smartphone for accessing the web, Google Analytics will only frustrate you. It uses Flash for many items, and Apple still refuses to integrate Flash capability on the iPhone. Other free website analytics tools may not use Flash, but they only rarely have mobile-specific versions of the sites. You'll want a flexible, full service paid web analytics tool like Webtrends for accessing your analytics through a smartphone.
You need to capture all your data
Most free and paid web log analyzers sample data, rather than utilizing the full extent. This makes the data more manageable for the program - but means you could be missing out on vital business intelligence. If you have a high volume of data and having a complete picture of what is occurring on your site is important to you, start by looking at the paid web analytics solutions ... but make sure you find out the data collection method that they use. Webtrends is a good example of a paid web analytics solution that offers complete web log analysis, not a selection of data.
