In the realm of website development and e-commerce, tracking visitor activity is a fundamental practice. We all utilize hit counters to gauge the daily traffic on our sites. Some of us even meticulously record the times and chart responses to promotions. However, as the digital landscape evolves, so must our tracking methods.
A new generation of free counters and trackers is making waves, and for good reason. These tools offer a broader range of tracking and counting features that may not be available in older versions. For instance, we use Aaddzz.com for our tracking needs on our homepage. Aaddzz, among many others, provides comprehensive counting and tracking statistics, all for free. These features include hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly counting, browser identification, time zone statistics, geographical identification, and more. Other companies like Webstat.com and Hitbox.com offer similar free services.
Another effective way to monitor your visitors is through your advertising efforts. We always advocate for targeted advertising, as certain types allow you to track who is visiting your site and, more importantly, why. For instance, GoTo.com sells keywords to websites, a practice known as keyword sponsorship. With your GoTo account management center, you can see exactly which keywords are attracting the most visitors and, conversely, which aren't. This information is not only useful for choosing your keywords at GoTo but also provides valuable insights into what really draws people to your site. This can help you focus on enhancing what's working and improving or eliminating what isn't.
An often overlooked method of tracking is visitor communication. There are several ways to achieve this. One effective method is by installing visitor-feedback scripts on your site. You can find a variety of free resources for this (The Javascript Source is a good starting point). Remember, visitor feedback is crucial not only when people browse your page but also when they use it. For instance, if you sell a product, a simple feedback form at the end of the checkout process can provide insights into the effectiveness of your checkout system.
Lastly, the good old-fashioned email can be a great tracking tool. When someone corresponds with you through your site or business, take the time to ask them a quick question. For example, when we welcome a new subscriber to our e-zine, we often write a personal thank you back, and just ask them how they found out about us. Sometimes we'll even ask what feature about our e-zine was of interest to them. Of course, you can't abuse this practice as you could end up annoying visitors/clients. But if you are brief and genuine with people, they are usually more than willing to help and often even like getting involved.
Tracking is more than just numbers and geography. It's about understanding your current user-base and using those facts and figures to grow and expand that base. As competition in webspace and e-commerce intensifies, in-depth tracking is another handy tool you may want to consider to keep yourself ahead of the pack.
