The Power of Traffic Analysis featured traffic analysis tools >>> Here and gone are the days of "build it, and they will come". The internet is now officially awash in competition, and within that air of capitalistic fervor comes inevitable questions about the ability of one’s business to compete. Achieving visitors is no longer enough. One must endeavor to know their visitor, and to know them well indeed. Visitors come and go. Quickly. They’re in. They’re out. And eating up bandwidth as they go. The web is full of visitors – its simply the nature of the beast. Converting these perpetual window shoppers into satisfied customers is an absolute must, and to do so requires that you revisit your project, through the eyes of the beholder. Effecting a well-rounded visitor perspective is a challenge best suited to a rare combination of human behavioral specialist, and number crunching statistician. For those of us not graced with these gifts at birth, there’s market research, and traffic analysis. In the early days of hit tracking, one would simply install a counter within their projects, and proudly display visitor numbers to all who crossed their virtual doorstep. The information provided via these packages was exceedingly simple, and of little long term value. Today’s traffic analysis offers a vastly improved collection of data – information that can be used to understand your project’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the interests of your customer, and the impacts of various promotional efforts on their buying habits. Common types of information available in today’s market include: unique visitors page impressions individual page visit breakdowns traffic analysis over specified periods traffic analysis for individual search engines traffic analysis by keyword, and/or phrase traffic analysis by country, and/or language analysis of common platforms, IE vs Netscape analysis of individual desktop color & size settings analysis of time spent on site by individual visitors analysis of number of pages by individual visitors analysis of visitor pathways through your property Take the time to research the array of services available in today’s market. Then invest some effort into the careful analysis of the numbers these services deliver, because they are more than mere figures, they are clear indicators of your visitor habits. The more clearly you understand those habits, the better able you are to predict their behaviors. Once this is achieved, you can then carefully tailor your property to their needs, a direction that is guaranteed to ultimately serve your own. Here are some samples of available traffic analysis tools to enable your further research: HitsLogster.com Web-Stat.com HitBox.com WebTrends.com Would you like to use this article on your site, or have it emailed to you? Related Subjects: Add Live Customer Service Search Engine Submission Tips and Tools back to top