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Understand the True Meaning of Website StatisticsTyler Banfield, 07-02-2007 |
In order to completely understand what the web site statistics you receive mean, it is important to know the definitions of common terms for web site statistics. Here are five definitions that can help you expand your understanding of web site statistics:
Hits: Of all the terms related to web site statistics, the one that creates the most confusion is hits. Contrary to a common misconception, a hit is not necessarily a visitor. In reality, a hit is any form of HTTP request made to your server. Because images and other files create hits in addition to web pages, a single visitor that visits many of your image dense web pages can actually generate hundreds of hits on their own.
Unique Visitors: When inexperienced internet marketers or webmasters talk about "hits" to their web site, they are usually actually talking about unique visitors. When you are trying to determine how much traffic your web site receives, unique visitors are what you should be paying attention to. As Wikipedia explains, a unique visitor is "is a statistic describing a unit of traffic to a Web site, counting each visitor only once in the time frame of the report."
Bounce Rate: The bounce rate can be used to determine whether the majority of your visitors are sticking around or leaving immediately. Although bounce rates up to fifty percent are probably nothing to worry about, if you notice that your bounce rate is much higher, chances are you are sending potential customers away due to a slow-loading web site.
Average Time & Page Views Per Visit: While the definition of these terms are pretty straight forward, the importance of these numbers are often overlooked. For example, if you are using your web site to sell a product and your visitors are spending more time on pages other than your presell page, it's time to figure out how to send them where you want them to be (alternatively, if people are immediately leaving your presell page, it's time to work on your copy).
Entry Page Statistics: Entry page statistics give you the ability to find out where people are entering your site at. You may be surprised to find that fifty percent or more of your web site traffic comes through pages other than your homepage. If there is a specific page that receives a lot of entry traffic, you may want to modify it so that the people visiting it get sent to where you want them to go.
Hits: Of all the terms related to web site statistics, the one that creates the most confusion is hits. Contrary to a common misconception, a hit is not necessarily a visitor. In reality, a hit is any form of HTTP request made to your server. Because images and other files create hits in addition to web pages, a single visitor that visits many of your image dense web pages can actually generate hundreds of hits on their own.
Unique Visitors: When inexperienced internet marketers or webmasters talk about "hits" to their web site, they are usually actually talking about unique visitors. When you are trying to determine how much traffic your web site receives, unique visitors are what you should be paying attention to. As Wikipedia explains, a unique visitor is "is a statistic describing a unit of traffic to a Web site, counting each visitor only once in the time frame of the report."
Bounce Rate: The bounce rate can be used to determine whether the majority of your visitors are sticking around or leaving immediately. Although bounce rates up to fifty percent are probably nothing to worry about, if you notice that your bounce rate is much higher, chances are you are sending potential customers away due to a slow-loading web site.
Average Time & Page Views Per Visit: While the definition of these terms are pretty straight forward, the importance of these numbers are often overlooked. For example, if you are using your web site to sell a product and your visitors are spending more time on pages other than your presell page, it's time to figure out how to send them where you want them to be (alternatively, if people are immediately leaving your presell page, it's time to work on your copy).
Entry Page Statistics: Entry page statistics give you the ability to find out where people are entering your site at. You may be surprised to find that fifty percent or more of your web site traffic comes through pages other than your homepage. If there is a specific page that receives a lot of entry traffic, you may want to modify it so that the people visiting it get sent to where you want them to go.
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