Have you looked at the stats for your web site lately? If you haven’t you should. There are two sets of statistics I recommend looking at. One is the stats from your web logs – we like to use AWSTATS as they provide a nice overview of stats but also allows you to drill down to specifics very quickly.
The other set of stats is Google Analytics. By using both GA and AWSTATS, you can get two different looks but also keep in mind that they should be fairly similar. Why two instead of one? Mainly to “keep them honest” in making sure they are indeed close to the same. But also because sometimes one look will give you an insight that you may not notice with the other look.
Some of the stats to look at include:
Unique Visitors – how many unique visitors do you have coming to your site on a monthly basis? The goal is always to keep that number climbing and is the goal of Seach Engine Optimization campaigns.
Pages Viewed – which pages on your site were viewed. If your goal is to get people to complete checkouts, for example, you’ll be happy if the checkout page is getting viewed a lot and if it isn’t that can give you some insight on which pages you need to check on.
Browsers – this stat is increasingly important as the variety of mobile browsers continues to explode. If you see lots of Android or ios views, you’ll want to pay extra attention to how your site looks and performs on mobile platforms
Traffic Sources – this stat helps you see how people get to your site. If you’re running an SEO campaign, you’ll expect to see lots of organic search traffic. If you’re running a paid search campaign like Google AdWords, you’ll be looking to see lots of Google paid visits. And the list goes on through Facebook, and a variety of social media sites as well as direct visits – folks who already know you and your brand.
Search Keywords or Key phrases – this stat shows what your search traffic was actually searching for when they arrived at your site. It is not a bad thing to see lots of search hits for your business name – that means you have built your brand. But it is much better to see more generic key words about your industry or products. That means that people who don’t know you specifically are finding your site as they search for your what you offer.
In 2003 Microsoft OWNED the browser market. They had driven Netscape into the ground and had, according to 
Fast forward to the spring of 2011 and an amazing thing happened. Chrome zoomed past IE, grabbing 25.6% of the market to IE’s steadily dwindling 24.3%. And shortly after that Chrome began biting into Firefox’s dominance to the point where, as of the end of August 2012, Chrome has 43.7%, Firefox 32.8% and IE a measly 16.2%.
Today I’ll use a bridge analogy. This bridge on the right gets me where I’m going. It is very functional. One side of the bridge looks much like the other side. Many web firms can give you a web site. But most of those firms will give you a site that looks both like most of the rest of their web sites and like most of the sites that are out there on the internet.
And just like every bridge has many of the same parts but a good bridge fits in and enhances its surroundings, that is what our websites do. Some firms ask you what template you like best. We never start with a template, instead we spend time listening to you to determine what you need. Then we bring our expertise to bear to build a custom look that not only carries your brand forward but also draws the visitor in.
Most business owners understand the value of having a Unique Selling Proposition, that special something that sets them apart from the rest of the competition and makes folks choose their company when there are lots of choices.
st and foremost, the sales funnel – are you guiding visitors down the best path for them to do business with you? Are calls to action clear and prominent?