One of the first questions I hear when discussing websites, is “How can I see the hit count for my site?” Remember back when there was a little counter on the home page of some sites? Although it was all the rage at the time, this is not very useful for gathering information about the success of the site in terms of numbers of visitors and what they are seeking when they’re online.
Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of confusion about website statistics – or analytics, as they’re sometimes called. Although you can still see those small counters on some websites, they really aren’t giving site owners much useful information. With more in-depth statistics programs, we can see not only the number of “hits” received by websites, but we can see where those visitors live, how long they spend on each page and the path by which they found your site.
First, let’s clear up the mistaken notion of hits. While we use the term often and quite loosely, number of “hits” on a website doesn’t tell us the popularity of the site. Technically, the term “hit” refers to the number of files a visitor views while cruising the site. Since there can be dozens files on each of the site’s pages, this is not a valid way to check popularity. Visitor count gives us a much more accurate measure of site performance.
The value of website visitor statistics lies in what we learn about visitors. For example, if you place a radio ad with a station that covers a specific geographical area, you can watch your visitor count to see the effect of the ad. (Of course, you always include your web address in any advertising you do, right?) The idea is to lead visitors to your website where you have nearly unlimited space to educate visitors about your product. The more educated they are about your product, the more likely they are to buy from you.
The goal is not to rack up hits, but to offer valuable and current information to people interested in your service, your product – and your expertise. So, it’s worth your time to keep track of your visitor statistics to find out what’s working on your website.
We are committed to helping you thrive!
~ Barb Emerson, BeeLine Design - www.BeeLineDesign.com
If you're a BeeLine customer, you can view this and much more on The Hive. Lost your link? Contact us.
