But what does it all mean? Understanding Web Statistics
Do you hear people bragging about how many “hits” their website gets? Are you impressed by the number? This article will help you understand what web statistics really mean, and which numbers you should be really interested in.
Hits
A web site “hit” is created every time someone requests a page on your website. But not only does it include the page, a hit is counted for every element contained on that page. A web page is made up of numerous files, including html files, photos, background images, logos, and other graphics. Each graphic element can be sliced into tiny pieces, and each of these pieces is also counted in the “hit” total for the page. So, when someone visits your web page once, they call up many files and therefore create many hits. So ask yourself… How important is it to measure “hits” on your website? Obviously, once you understand what hits are, you can see that measuring them is completely useless, and can be very misleading.
Page Views
The “page views” statistics give a clearer indication of site traffic. “Page view” measures the entire page, and tells you how many times people have visited that particular page. By understanding “page views”, and knowing which pages are being looked at, you can determine the overall popularity of a site, and which pages within it are being viewed most often.
Visits
“Visits” are one of the more useful measurements of web statistics. A visit includes all the pages viewed by a visitor to your site. The measurement of “Visits” begins when a person enters your site and ends when that same visitor leaves the site or remains idle for a period of time (usually 30 minutes). Usually, one person visiting your site 15 times is counted the same as 15 people visiting one time each, so you can see, that while useful, the measurement is not perfect.
Unique Visitors
This is a more precise way to measure visitors to your site, as each person is counted only once, regardless of how many times they visit during a fixed time frame, typically 30 days. They are measured according to their unique IP address which is a number allocated by internet service providers.
Referrals
A referral URL is the links users follow to enter your site. Some referral URLs will be from search engines, others will be from web sites that have chosen to link to you. Referral URL links give you a good idea of what links are working for you, and what links you should review.
Search Strings
Not all web statistics packages provide results on “Search Strings” but if yours does, then really pay attention to that part of your report. A search string is the exact wording visitors used to find your site in a search engine. Just as important as what the search string report shows, is what is MISSING from the report. For example, if your keywords are not showing up in your web stats, then this should raise some concerns for you, and prompt you to quickly investigate why not.
Understanding your statistics takes time and effort, but it is certainly worth the energy. As you understand more about what these statistics mean, you can begin to fine tune your website. By understanding what your customers want from you, you can tailor your website to truly meet their needs.
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