There's a nice post on SEJ on alternatives to Google Analytics.
They also provide some good reasons on why NOT to use Google Analytics (no, it's not just because Google knows too much already)
There's a nice post on SEJ on alternatives to Google Analytics.
They also provide some good reasons on why NOT to use Google Analytics (no, it's not just because Google knows too much already
Chabrenas (February 12th, 2012)
I used Webtrends in the past (5 or 6 years ago), and it was quite nice at the time. I'm sure it has only gotten better.
When I used it they had a solution that parsed log files and well as a hosted solution similar to GA.
It was a little pricey if I remember correctly.
I use Clicky myself and love it. Like the OP I am very wary about handing Google my website data, but lately I've been thinking about it a different way. If my site is good and I install Analytics on it, I don't mind them having that data since it sends signals that my site is of quality.
Just some food for thought.
I'd suggest Clicky though. I love it. The interface is beautiful, quick, comprehensive, and the people behind it are really awesome. It depends on how many sites you have though. Their package for 30 domains is only $150/year, which really isn't too bad.
Hi affiliate, and welcome to experienced-people.net; sorry, I didn't get a chance to say welcome earlier.
Google has stated that they don't use GA data to decide SERPs. If their main advantage in having your data is to enrich themselves at your expense would you still be happy to let them have your data? That's especially a vulnerability if you're using other Google programs such as Adsense.
of course notOriginally Posted by Clinton
but can you really trust that Google is telling the truth? I'm sure if they had data that your site sends signals of quality, they'd use it.
Disclaimer: I do not use Google analytics and probably never will
Last edited by Clinton; February 6th, 2012 at 06:17 AM. Reason: To merge posts
Google is aware of the "conflict of interest" perception and does some things to combat this perception. For instance, if you're a big PPC spender with them (somewhere north of $100k/month), they will do a regular audit of your organic serp results. That's because theoretically they could bank more money by removing your high cpc first page organic rankings (and make you spend money to buy a position in paid search instead).
Clinton (February 6th, 2012)
is that new ? we were spending over that approx 18 months / 2 years ago (that business now sold) and now have clients spending over that within our adwords agency account and never been offered an organic search audit. interesting. I will speak to our adwords account rep about it. I would be interested in having one done just for the fun of what they say regarding organic results.
Intrigued to know what others think in terms of why / what they use analytics for...
I realise the obvious - to see what is happening on their website - but the more we look into it the more it seems to make sense to tie in the logic of a website to the analytics...
If you are running a B&M store then you talk to the people walking in through the door - it tells you what / why they are there, and you increase your chance of conversion...
online the website has to do that for you yet many sites are not using their analytics to tell them how to do that - the obvious site that does it extremely well (esp. as they track you personally so much of the time) is Amazon who are very good at using your history to up-sell / cross-sell / just sell more to you!
So, if that is the case then one of the priorities for any analytics should be a decent API / access to the data yourself so that you can use rules based logic on it to deliver the website - continually refining it... we are playing with this in our CMS at present and it looks as though it could transform what the system can do - so ultimately we are producing our own statistics / analysis...
Alasdair
I have to second affiliate's recommendation for Clicky - I track most of my sites with Clicky, and it's fantastic. Can get some quick, real-time updates on what's happening with all of my sites, and easy to compare to previous dates. The best part is the "spy" feature, which let's me track how specific users land on the site, where they go and for how long.
Like affiliate said, the people behind it are great and are always aiming to improve the quality of the product. If you have a wordpress site, there's a Clicky plugin you can download to add the "secret key" that Clicky gives you when you add a new site - tracks in a snap.
The URL is GetClicky.com. (not an affiliate link, that really is their URL).
To quote Akirk:
Intrigued to know what others think in terms of why / what they use analytics for...
I use analytics for a lot of reasons - I mean the obvious, like you said, to see what's happening on the site, but for me it's more for what can be improved.
For example, I check the keywords a LOT. Whether I'm on Google Analytics of Clicky, I check to see how much certain keywords are driving traffic, and if I notice keywords that came out of no where that seem to be driving traffic, I explore those keywords, check their search volume (using keyword tools like Google Adwords Keyword Tool or Market Samuari or Others), and if they are significant then I'll target them with a backlinking campaign to try and get to the #1 spot, or close.
I also check to see how many keywords I'm getting search traffic for, which is a good indicator or "long-tail keyword health". I always say the more you write the more you will be found just from long-tail keywords that you just happen to write in a post or article. The number of keywords that you get hits for every month should always be growing, and this happens, again, naturally when you just write more content.
With Clicky, I always check the progress of how people land on the site, all the way to where they exit. GA has a great funnel feature that they just recently installed that shows this in an illustration, and Clicky is getting there, I believe, but they have that info if you know how to read it. If a page, for example, is getting bounced on a lot, or is always becoming the exit point, I know to fix that page or at least analyze it for something fishy that's turning people off. Sometimes, it's just a matter that there's nothing else to do on that page, I've found, which is why they eventually exit. At that point, I know to add more material on the site or links to keep the person on longer.
Things like that - like one would do in a B&M store - track how and when a person comes in, see what they're there for, and if they leave - you want to know why.
Hope this helps a little!
Chabrenas (February 14th, 2012), Clinton (February 14th, 2012), KenW3 (February 14th, 2012), sitemaster (February 14th, 2012)
Does anyone use multiple tracking - say GetClicky AND Google Analytics - on the same page for any reason? Would they give vastly different results based on what traffic each one eliminates as being non-human?
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