Common sources of confusion in web analytics
Web analytics is a collection of, an analysis of and the reporting of internet data. The purpose is to understand and optimise the use of a web site. There are two categories. One is off-site web analytics and the other is on-site analytics. If you incorporate them into your initial web design, it makes things easier, but analytics code can be added at a later date if necessary to an existing website.
Off-site refers to measuring and analysing irrespective of whether or not you own or maintain a website. It includes the measurement of a potential audience as well as visibility and the comments about what is happening on the internet as a whole.
On-site analytics measure the journey a visitor takes once they are actually on a website. This includes conversions and an understanding of which landing pages encourage them to make a purchase. On-site analytics measures performance in a commercial, or financial context. This data is compared to is key performance indicators which are helpful for improving the response an audience has to a web sites internet marketing campaign.
A common misconception is that the sum of new visitors and repeat visitors should equal the total number of visitors. Failure to understand this and find a solution to the problem can cause a large number of complaints which points the finger at the analytics software, but it is really a failure to understand the metrics.
Analytics can just seem to be a whole lot of data and no sense, but if you bring in a good internet marketing agency, they can not only read and interpret the analytics data into a form which makes perfect sense, they can also make suggestions about how to improve your overall campaign as a result. The analytics information is only useful if you know how to apply it to your website for maximum benefit.
