Every minute of every day, Web servers tirelessly write logs detailing
all the requests that they have processed. These log files are so huge
and user-unfriendly that special programs have been created to allow you
to decipher and make sense of the recorded information. The generic name
for such a program is a ''statistics package''. If you have a website and
you are not using a stats package to examine this information, you may
want to read on.
Measure the success of your site
Your website is a marketing tool and, just like any other marketing initiative,
you will want to measure its success and maximise the return on your outlay.
Let's assume that right now you are measuring the success of your website
by noting how many people subscribe to your mailing list or fill in a
feedback form. If you have e-commerce capabilities, perhaps an order form
or a shopping cart, you could even be tallying up your sales at the end
of the month.
All of these measures are worthwhile and they will accurately report
on the activity on your site. But what they won't tell you are things
like, how many people backed out of sending you a feedback form or completing
an order. Or how long they stayed on your site and when they lost interest.
Did they click on a link only to get an error page?
Use statistics packages for useability surveys
Statistics programs will give you this information and much more. In effect
these programs are conducting continuous usability surveys with added
features including visitor demographics and progress reports on marketing
and search engine initiatives.
Because this information is so up to date and so easy to measure you
can make small changes to your site and immediately see the effects. For
example, earlier this year we noticed that there were lots of people looking
at the prices on our website and making the first step in the purchasing
process but then backing out. We looked carefully at our forms and those
of our competitors. It didn''t take us long to decide to change the order
of the forms and sales increased immediately.
Maintain your website to avoid dead links
Updating and maintaining your website regularly is important to keep your
customers coming back. But unless you manage your updates carefully you
could be creating dead links. These dead links will produce a 404 error
- ''page not found''. They can create a negative impression of your organisation
and should be eliminated where possible. Keeping an eye on your stats
will help you to maintain your links.
Limitations to statistical packages
Like everything, stats packages have their limitations and there are a
few things you need to watch out for. Firstly, because of the sheer volume
of information being processed, you will probably only get information
on the 10 or 20 most popular pages, or the 10 or 20 most popular referring
websites. If the stats were to do otherwise they would be as useful as
the raw log files! And although a stats program can tell you generally
where your customers live, it cannot tell you their exact address, nor
can it tell you their email addresses.
Market leaders in stats packages
Web Trends and Live Stats are the two market leaders in the field. Your
Web hosting company will probably be able to offer you one of these packages.
Ideally you will be able to have summaries of the stats emailed to you
once a day, week or month. If not, ask to have your log files sent to
you. You can then run your preferred stats package over the logs yourself.
Tailor your site to the needs of the target market
In the course of my work I see thousands of websites. I know that some
are hugely successful and I see others flounder. The defining difference
is the time spent on actively marketing and honing the site to the needs
of the target market. A good way to do that is to watch over someone's
shoulder while they surf your site.
One more thing - contrary to popular belief, Internet success can take
some time so don't set unrealistic expectations. A little often, is better
than a lot once.
Linda Hamilton is the general manager of Hotspace Technologies.
She has more than 10 years experience in the IT industry, with the last
four and a half years being directly involved in Internet services. Hotspace
is a dedicated Web hosting company that provides robust and high quality
business Web services. You can contact Linda on 1800 810 885 or by email:
linda@hotspace.com.au or see
www.hotspace.com.au.
