I wrote a post a while ago about my experience with Clicky. I wanted to update that and write a little more about WHY you should be using an analytics program.
There are 3 major reasons to use analytics on your blog.
- To know how many readers you have.
The number is actually less important than the trend. You want to know if you are getting traction or if you are losing it. Are you getting more readers, or are the getting bored and heading for the exits? Along with this you should know about reader behavior. Are they sticking around for an hour, or are they bouncing out after 5 seconds? Again, this is all about traction and effectiveness...
- To know WHERE your readers are coming from.
Are you drawing readers to your outside blog from A|R? Are they coming from Google? Are they direct? Is it the power of your backlinking strategy? If you don't know where your readers are coming from, you don't know what is effective at pulling readers. This goes beyond good information if you are running any advertising or PPC... you HAVE to know if the campaign is effective and worth the money. But even for free stuff, there is a time component.
- To know WHAT draws readers.
What content is effective? Is it writing about luxury homes in Lilburn, GA? Is it foreclosures? Is it local information, like Parkview Football scores? There are a couple of sub points here...
- Is the material you want showcased drawing readers, or is it fluff?
If you are writing about how many foreclosures are in your area, but you don't want to deal with foreclosures, you know that you either need to change your business or you need to change your writing
- Do you need to write more about a particular subject?
If you are writing about communities and they are getting lots of hits, maybe you need to write more about communities. If it is about investing... maybe you need a deeper series.
The point is that there is a LOT of information that can help you blog more effectively.
As you dive into the analytics more, you get to find out cool stuff about your readers...
Where they are from
What OS they are using
Screen size
How they leave your site
All of this is excellent information to tweak your site to be more effective. It can also tell you a lot about them... If you have a lot of large screens that are hitting you at 4:00am, you might figure out that successful insomniacs are enjoying your site. I have actually drilled down and name some of the visitors to my site (I can see IP level activity with the Pro account - $60/yr). I know how often they come back, and what they look at. I also know if they hit several of my sites, and what their behavior is. I don't know WHO they are (unless they tell me), but I can build an accurate representation of them based on activity.
(note) The picture above is an affiliate link. If you join at the pro level, I can get paid a little bit... but that isn't why I am posting it. as I said, there is a free level, and until I got to the point of having 6 different sites (three is the limit for the free one), I was quite happy with the free level. I think it is a easier to use product than Google Analytics... which I also use.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
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