Web stats are the user or visitor data of a website stored according to certain rules. This data can enable the owner of the website to manipulate the pages in order to maximize the hits and conversion rates for his website. Generally, many of the webstats software are based on server log file analysis. This file contains the information about every action or request the server has received and acknowledged. By reading this file and analyzing the HTTP requests from different IP’s, a program can determine the number of views and unique visitors the website received. However, this is a very basic method and the latest advancements in web stats tools use much complex methods like Java-script and page tags to determine the number of page views and clicks and store them in a MySQL database.
These latest tools can determine even the geographical location of the visitor by analysis of the IP address. However, these methods have their own limitations due to the use of proxy servers and large networks with a single internet gateway. The latest technology uses cookies to accurately track the user and therefore deliver better analytics result. This method is heavily criticized due to the privacy concerns and identity protection issues involved.
Despite these controversies, this method is still being used as one of the primary means of collecting web stats. This information can be used to deploy certain tools like A/B Testing and Goal tracking more accurately and therefore obtain better results. AB testing is one of the advanced methods which splits the traffic to two different versions of the same webpage and determines the one which fetches more traffic. A/B testing is a great tool to improve the conversion rate significantly for online ventures.
These latest tools can determine even the geographical location of the visitor by analysis of the IP address. However, these methods have their own limitations due to the use of proxy servers and large networks with a single internet gateway. The latest technology uses cookies to accurately track the user and therefore deliver better analytics result. This method is heavily criticized due to the privacy concerns and identity protection issues involved.
How does the cookies method work?
This method uses small Java-script and PHP programs which load simultaneously with your webpage. These programs record your activity on the website and store information like the number of clicks, page views, time spent on a particular page and other activity in small files called cookies. These cookies then transmit the information stored to its base server by various methods while the user is busy in browsing the website. Some tools like Google Web Analytics even link this information to the Google accounts and store user specific data. This method can deliver much better results than standard log file based software and is widely used in many of the major analytics tools.Controversies related to the use of this method:
One of the major reasons for opposing this method is the use of the cookies information to deliver targeted advertisements to users and therefore lure them in to buying something they do not need. Major players like Google whose main source of income comes from advertisement revenues have exploited this method to collect user information and use it to target specific advertisements depending on their browsing habits to maximize the conversion rate. Other controversies related to this method are collection of personal or sensitive information which might compromise the individual’s safety.Despite these controversies, this method is still being used as one of the primary means of collecting web stats. This information can be used to deploy certain tools like A/B Testing and Goal tracking more accurately and therefore obtain better results. AB testing is one of the advanced methods which splits the traffic to two different versions of the same webpage and determines the one which fetches more traffic. A/B testing is a great tool to improve the conversion rate significantly for online ventures.
