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Collecting Web Site Visitor Information
Part One: Tracking Site Visitors
Q:
I’d love to know who visits my Web site because I could contact them afterwards to try to make a sale. How can I tell who has visited my site?
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A. That’s a question everyone asks! And the answer is a good news-bad news scenario.
The good news is that there are efficient means to collect information about our Web site visitors, and effective methods to subsequently put that data to good use.
The bad news is that, with one exception, we can’t pinpoint exactly who a visitor is because that kind of information doesn’t get collected.
But then, that’s good news too, if you think about it this way: When you visit someone else’s Web site, do you want them to know you have visited? Maybe you’re thinking about buying a new car so you access the dealership’s Web site. Do you want them to call you later to sell you a new car? Of course not! Nor do you want your competitors to know you’ve visited their sites. No doubt there are plenty of sites that your visit would be of no consequence. But the good news is, in general, we can peruse the Web in private without fear of being identified.
However, despite the fact that sites can’t identify exactly who you are, there is a great deal of information about you they can collect -- the same kind of information you can gather about your visitors, too. There are two ways to do so. You can ask visitors to provide information (a subject we will deal with next month.) Or, you can look behind the scenes at data captured by tracking software.
Visitor Statistics
Tracking software collects myriad statistics: how many visitors accessed your site, which pages they viewed, where their geographical location is, what search engines they used to find you, what other Web sites referred to you, how long visitors studied each page, and more.
There are many ways to benefit from reviewing collected information. When you run a print or radio ad, or a TV commercial, check your tracking to gauge the response – the number of visitors should increase in the immediate aftermath. If you are paying for any links to your site, you will be able to tell which ones were worth the cost. You may find that specific pages are of more interest than others, and if so, you can adjust the content of those pages to cross sell more products. Or you may find that some of the pages aren’t being accessed enough, and need to have their keywords adjusted so search engines will be more likely to find them.
Does your site have tracking software associated with it? Good hosting services provide tracking capabilities as part of your hosting package, and you simply “opt in” to use it. If you aren’t sure if your site has tracking in place, check with your webmaster or your hosting company. They should be able to give you Web access to the tracked data, and common sense will help you translate it into an action plan for improving the success of your Web site.
If your host doesn’t provide a tracking service, or you have trouble gaining access to your hosting server’s tracker, there are a number of free or inexpensive trackers available. Here are some we are familiar with. Others may also be available:
Next month we’ll talk about collecting input from visitors who are willing to share information about themselves, and how to use that input to promote your products or services.
(Link to Part II: Requesting Visitor Input)
Trisha Torrey, owner of IntegriMark Communications and author of http://411, has been helping businesses score on the Web since the mid-1990s. From large corporations, to non-profit organizations, to individual entrepreneurs, her advice, planning and development services have helped raise the Web marketing bar while keeping a keen eye on the bottom line.
Email questions to her at: questions@http-411.com .
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