Two Free Stats Trackers - by Brad on 20:10 29 Jul 2002
A lot of content websites use Extreme Tracking free stats trackers on their index page. Extreme is excellent with very nicely done reports. The free version puts a graphic on your page and you cannot password protect your stats. That is par for the course. But the other catch is that you can only monitor one page. With search engines such as Google and Teoma visitors could be entering your site from any page.
What to do?
I have been trying out Nedstat Basic. Another free tracker. It is not quite as nice in it's reports as Extreme is but it has a major advantage: you can make many trackers all on one account signup. You have to make a new tracker for each individual page but this is fairly fast. So if you have a 20 page site you would generate a new tracker for each page.
Again you can't password protect your stats but if you have a non commercial site, or don't care it won't matter. If you have a real high traffic volume it might be too much for Nedstat Basic because it only tracks the last 10 visitors. Not reeally enough for an Index page, but not bad for interior pages. And we are talking free here.
Since Extreme handles the last 25 visitors my advice is put the Exteme tracker on your index page. As a backup also put a Nedstat Basic Tracker on your Index page. Then put a new Nedstat tracker on each interior page and cover your whole site. Check them regularly to see what pages are hot and who is referring visitors to you.
Both of these trackers are good if you do not mind having your stats available to visitors.
A lot of content websites use Extreme Tracking free stats trackers on their index page. Extreme is excellent with very nicely done reports. The free version puts a graphic on your page and you cannot password protect your stats. That is par for the course. But the other catch is that you can only monitor one page. With search engines such as Google and Teoma visitors could be entering your site from any page.
What to do?
I have been trying out Nedstat Basic. Another free tracker. It is not quite as nice in it's reports as Extreme is but it has a major advantage: you can make many trackers all on one account signup. You have to make a new tracker for each individual page but this is fairly fast. So if you have a 20 page site you would generate a new tracker for each page.
Again you can't password protect your stats but if you have a non commercial site, or don't care it won't matter. If you have a real high traffic volume it might be too much for Nedstat Basic because it only tracks the last 10 visitors. Not reeally enough for an Index page, but not bad for interior pages. And we are talking free here.
Since Extreme handles the last 25 visitors my advice is put the Exteme tracker on your index page. As a backup also put a Nedstat Basic Tracker on your Index page. Then put a new Nedstat tracker on each interior page and cover your whole site. Check them regularly to see what pages are hot and who is referring visitors to you.
Both of these trackers are good if you do not mind having your stats available to visitors.
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Arislyn on 18:54 30 Oct 2002
You know, I used Extreme Tracker for about 6 years and loved it. I had absolutely no problems up until the beginning of this year...and then I discovered that these people do not respond at all to polite requests for help.
My tracker just stopped tracking one day. I waited and waited to see if perhaps it was a glitch in their system that they would fix. Months passed and nothing changed. So, I wrote them to ask what the problem may be. Never heard back. Wrote again after a few weeks had passed. Never heard back. So, I said, "Oh, well..." and created a new account with a new tracker which I put on my site. Well, for some reason, this one wouldn't track correctly. Oh, it tracked....it just told me that everyone was coming to my page from the page where I got my tracker code. Now, I know that is not right. So, I make sure that I haven't screwed something up on my end by comparing the code on my site and the code that I was supposed to copy. No difference. So, I write asking for help and get no anwer after a couple months. I write again and get no answer.
So, I've deleted it and am going to try something called AdFree Tracker. We'll see how it goes.
But, for now, consider yourself warned. If it works for you, it's a great tracker but if you ever have problems, you'll never hear back from them.
You know, I used Extreme Tracker for about 6 years and loved it. I had absolutely no problems up until the beginning of this year...and then I discovered that these people do not respond at all to polite requests for help.
My tracker just stopped tracking one day. I waited and waited to see if perhaps it was a glitch in their system that they would fix. Months passed and nothing changed. So, I wrote them to ask what the problem may be. Never heard back. Wrote again after a few weeks had passed. Never heard back. So, I said, "Oh, well..." and created a new account with a new tracker which I put on my site. Well, for some reason, this one wouldn't track correctly. Oh, it tracked....it just told me that everyone was coming to my page from the page where I got my tracker code. Now, I know that is not right. So, I make sure that I haven't screwed something up on my end by comparing the code on my site and the code that I was supposed to copy. No difference. So, I write asking for help and get no anwer after a couple months. I write again and get no answer.
So, I've deleted it and am going to try something called AdFree Tracker. We'll see how it goes.
But, for now, consider yourself warned. If it works for you, it's a great tracker but if you ever have problems, you'll never hear back from them.Two Free Stats Trackers - by Haruchai on 19:03 30 Oct 2002
Ok, please forgive me if I step on any toes here, but I have a few questions.
What is so important about tracking your visitors? I see several of the folks around here (nice folks, all), talking about different webrings and search engines and such. What's the deal with that? Is it just that you're wanting to run sites that help people and that people find useful? Do you enjoy what, to me, seems like a lot of work for little return?
Believe me, I love this place, and would probably burst a blood vessel if I didn't have a place to write. It has truly become a second home in many ways. I just don't get it. What does everyone get out of all this work?
Haru
Ok, please forgive me if I step on any toes here, but I have a few questions.
What is so important about tracking your visitors? I see several of the folks around here (nice folks, all), talking about different webrings and search engines and such. What's the deal with that? Is it just that you're wanting to run sites that help people and that people find useful? Do you enjoy what, to me, seems like a lot of work for little return?
Believe me, I love this place, and would probably burst a blood vessel if I didn't have a place to write. It has truly become a second home in many ways. I just don't get it. What does everyone get out of all this work?
Haru
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Arislyn on 19:40 30 Oct 2002
Well, for people like me who are just running a site as a hobby, it doesn't really matter. I just like seeing where my visitors are coming from and being able to say, "Yeah! Look! People really are visiting my site!"
1. It's good to track what browsers they are using so you can make sure that your site looks okay. If most of the people visiting are using IE version X, then you should probably make sure that everything looks okay in that.
2. It's nice to see how people are getting referred to your site. It gives you an idea of how popular you are in the search engines (did most of your traffic come from Lycos, Yahoo, Excite, etc.) or are they coming from individuals linking to your page. And, if it is from an individual link, you can often get a bit of feedback about your site if you follow the link back to their site. Often, they will put a comment with the link.
3. They also give you an idea of how long people are staying at your site and what pages they are visiting within your site. So, you get an idea of what the people are most interested in. For instance, if most of my visitors are going to my spells section, I know that I probably need to create more spells to keep people interested.
4. You can get an idea of how many hits are unique and how many are returns. So, you can kind of tell whether you have loyal visitors who come in and look around or just a bunch of people who click on your index page and are gone within a few seconds.
5. Many trackers also tell what keywords are being used to find your site. This is always useful when setting up your meta-tags.
6. I find it interesting to see what countries the people are coming from. It's just kind of neat to be able to see that I got a visitor from the Ukraine or Spain or wherever.
I'm sure the other webmasters here will think of more, but this is what I can think of right off the top of my head.
Well, for people like me who are just running a site as a hobby, it doesn't really matter. I just like seeing where my visitors are coming from and being able to say, "Yeah! Look! People really are visiting my site!"
1. It's good to track what browsers they are using so you can make sure that your site looks okay. If most of the people visiting are using IE version X, then you should probably make sure that everything looks okay in that.
2. It's nice to see how people are getting referred to your site. It gives you an idea of how popular you are in the search engines (did most of your traffic come from Lycos, Yahoo, Excite, etc.) or are they coming from individuals linking to your page. And, if it is from an individual link, you can often get a bit of feedback about your site if you follow the link back to their site. Often, they will put a comment with the link.
3. They also give you an idea of how long people are staying at your site and what pages they are visiting within your site. So, you get an idea of what the people are most interested in. For instance, if most of my visitors are going to my spells section, I know that I probably need to create more spells to keep people interested.
4. You can get an idea of how many hits are unique and how many are returns. So, you can kind of tell whether you have loyal visitors who come in and look around or just a bunch of people who click on your index page and are gone within a few seconds.
5. Many trackers also tell what keywords are being used to find your site. This is always useful when setting up your meta-tags.
6. I find it interesting to see what countries the people are coming from. It's just kind of neat to be able to see that I got a visitor from the Ukraine or Spain or wherever.
I'm sure the other webmasters here will think of more, but this is what I can think of right off the top of my head.
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Arislyn on 08:11 31 Oct 2002
You know, I just realized that I answered the tracking question but didn't answer the other: Why do you do this?
Like I said before, my website is just my hobby. I know that some of the others here do it as business, so they have much more riding on making sure that their sites are pleasing than I do. But, as for why I do it....I just enjoy it. Regardless, I'm going to write. I'm going to create stuff. Some of it will be well thought out and useful, some of it will be silly, some of it will make people wonder about my sanity. I just want to be able to share it. What's the point in making something if no one ever knows what you've done? Yes, I could enjoy what I've made, but it's so much more fun to hand it off to others and let them run with it. Heck, a lot of times, people take what I've started and come back with something even better. *smiles* For example, a few weeks ago, I got an email from someone designing a computer RPG asking for my permission to use some of my adventure ideas for side quests. How cool is that?
That is my reward. Just knowing that someone else read what I created, liked it and used it.
You know, I just realized that I answered the tracking question but didn't answer the other: Why do you do this?
Like I said before, my website is just my hobby. I know that some of the others here do it as business, so they have much more riding on making sure that their sites are pleasing than I do. But, as for why I do it....I just enjoy it. Regardless, I'm going to write. I'm going to create stuff. Some of it will be well thought out and useful, some of it will be silly, some of it will make people wonder about my sanity. I just want to be able to share it. What's the point in making something if no one ever knows what you've done? Yes, I could enjoy what I've made, but it's so much more fun to hand it off to others and let them run with it. Heck, a lot of times, people take what I've started and come back with something even better. *smiles* For example, a few weeks ago, I got an email from someone designing a computer RPG asking for my permission to use some of my adventure ideas for side quests. How cool is that?
That is my reward. Just knowing that someone else read what I created, liked it and used it.
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Brad on 08:15 31 Oct 2002
There is another tracker that seems very nice Hitslink.com although the image they put on your page is a bit large. It gives you a lot of stats for free that you have to pay for on others AND you can password protect the stats.
Ari, I will be interested in how you like that new tracker.
Haru,
The best analogy I can come up with is that putting up a website is like show business. It is a lot more satifying to present your production to an audience, and particularly a packed house, as opposed to a empty auditorium. Or to put it another way, if you just had your book published you would want to know how well it was selling.
Ari covered the reasons for trackers pretty completely.
Part of what we do is try to find ways to get people free traffic for their sites. Most people are doing this as a hobby and don't have a budget for buying traffic. And the truth is that the web is becoming more commercialized. For a small hobby site to compete for traffic is getting both harder and more expensive. It goes back to: what good is a website if nobody knows it exists?
When I created my first site I knew absolutely nothing about either building a website or getting people too it. I had nobody to ask either. I scratched along trying things and reading up and trying to comprehend what I was reading -- but I found I enjoyed it. So part of what I hope to do here and eventually on Shadowdark.org is use some of what we had to learn the hard way to make it easier for others to start their own genre hobby site. These are the sites that make the web fun.
Yeah I enjoy the challenge of planning, experimenting and developing a successful site. I like helping others make their sites successful.
Most webmasters do not get much feedback from their visitors. The ability to measure traffic helps them to see that somebody is seeing their hard work and that they are actually staying to look at more. More websites die because the webmasters get discouraged than for any other reason. This is one of the reasons I tell people in my newsletter to be sure to sign peoples guestbooks and tell them when you enjoyed the site. For some webmasters that is what keeps them going.
There is another tracker that seems very nice Hitslink.com although the image they put on your page is a bit large. It gives you a lot of stats for free that you have to pay for on others AND you can password protect the stats.
Ari, I will be interested in how you like that new tracker.
Haru,
The best analogy I can come up with is that putting up a website is like show business. It is a lot more satifying to present your production to an audience, and particularly a packed house, as opposed to a empty auditorium. Or to put it another way, if you just had your book published you would want to know how well it was selling.
Ari covered the reasons for trackers pretty completely.
| Quote |
| I see several of the folks around here (nice folks, all), talking about different webrings and search engines and such. What's the deal with that? |
Part of what we do is try to find ways to get people free traffic for their sites. Most people are doing this as a hobby and don't have a budget for buying traffic. And the truth is that the web is becoming more commercialized. For a small hobby site to compete for traffic is getting both harder and more expensive. It goes back to: what good is a website if nobody knows it exists?
When I created my first site I knew absolutely nothing about either building a website or getting people too it. I had nobody to ask either. I scratched along trying things and reading up and trying to comprehend what I was reading -- but I found I enjoyed it. So part of what I hope to do here and eventually on Shadowdark.org is use some of what we had to learn the hard way to make it easier for others to start their own genre hobby site. These are the sites that make the web fun.
| Quote |
| Do you enjoy what, to me, seems like a lot of work for little return? |
Yeah I enjoy the challenge of planning, experimenting and developing a successful site. I like helping others make their sites successful.
Most webmasters do not get much feedback from their visitors. The ability to measure traffic helps them to see that somebody is seeing their hard work and that they are actually staying to look at more. More websites die because the webmasters get discouraged than for any other reason. This is one of the reasons I tell people in my newsletter to be sure to sign peoples guestbooks and tell them when you enjoyed the site. For some webmasters that is what keeps them going.
Two Free Stats Trackers - by CorellianRogue on 01:16 03 Nov 2002
I guess I'm the guilty one with the webrings No, I don't think you're stepping on anyone's toes, Haru.
The rings themselves are my hobby; I build them, design them, promote them, ect, because they are fun little communities to be a part of. Also, I love visiting personal sites for the art, writing, and general musings of ordinary people, and webrings are one of the ways a novice webmaster can promote himself.
It comes down to the "everyone has a story" cliche, and the internet is a way to get that story out. But what good is a story nobody ever hears? It's good therapy, yes, but fun?
All of my sites come out of a personal interest; if I'm not passionate about what I put between the <body> tags, I'm going to delete it. And I want to share that with other people, and help other webmasters do that.
Brad put it more eloquently than I, so 'nuff said.
I guess I'm the guilty one with the webrings
No, I don't think you're stepping on anyone's toes, Haru.The rings themselves are my hobby; I build them, design them, promote them, ect, because they are fun little communities to be a part of. Also, I love visiting personal sites for the art, writing, and general musings of ordinary people, and webrings are one of the ways a novice webmaster can promote himself.
It comes down to the "everyone has a story" cliche, and the internet is a way to get that story out. But what good is a story nobody ever hears? It's good therapy, yes, but fun?
All of my sites come out of a personal interest; if I'm not passionate about what I put between the <body> tags, I'm going to delete it. And I want to share that with other people, and help other webmasters do that.
Brad put it more eloquently than I, so 'nuff said.
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Arislyn on 10:07 18 Nov 2002
I figured I'd give you a little update on how I'm liking AddFree Tracking.
It's pretty darned good! It's giving me all the same information that I got through Extreme Tracking and it allows you to password protect your stats. In fact, you get a little extra with this system. It will actually do "site evolution", showing you a positive or negative percentage to show whether or not you are gaining or loosing visitors by figuring out your average based on the visitors you have already have and projecting what you should be getting in the future. Also, it does a referrer vs. search engine figure, so you can see percentage-wise where your visitors are coming from. The graphic they use is small and relatively unobtrusive.
http://top.addfreestats.com/index.html
I figured I'd give you a little update on how I'm liking AddFree Tracking.
It's pretty darned good! It's giving me all the same information that I got through Extreme Tracking and it allows you to password protect your stats. In fact, you get a little extra with this system. It will actually do "site evolution", showing you a positive or negative percentage to show whether or not you are gaining or loosing visitors by figuring out your average based on the visitors you have already have and projecting what you should be getting in the future. Also, it does a referrer vs. search engine figure, so you can see percentage-wise where your visitors are coming from. The graphic they use is small and relatively unobtrusive.
http://top.addfreestats.com/index.html
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Brad on 10:12 18 Nov 2002
Thanks for that update! I may try this on my next project.
Thanks for that update! I may try this on my next project.
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Arislyn on 14:01 28 Mar 2003
*grins* I stumbled across this counter/tracking site today while randomly surfing. This looks like a great site to get a nifty, unique looking counter for your page.
You can sign up for free or paid services but I'm not sure what the perks for the paid services may be. I haven't delved that deeply into it, yet. However, if you look at their counter skins, you'll see that they have about 50 pages worth of graphics to choose from. They have everything from small and understated to glaringly big and bright. You shouldn't have a hard time finding something here that would complement your web design. (They do have a tendency to lean towards an anime theme, too, if you like that.)
http://okcounter.com/index_en.html
*grins* I stumbled across this counter/tracking site today while randomly surfing. This looks like a great site to get a nifty, unique looking counter for your page.
You can sign up for free or paid services but I'm not sure what the perks for the paid services may be. I haven't delved that deeply into it, yet. However, if you look at their counter skins, you'll see that they have about 50 pages worth of graphics to choose from. They have everything from small and understated to glaringly big and bright. You shouldn't have a hard time finding something here that would complement your web design. (They do have a tendency to lean towards an anime theme, too, if you like that.)
http://okcounter.com/index_en.html
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Lucius on 11:36 03 Apr 2003
I'd just like to say that bravenet.com does a nice little stats thing. Tracks up to five pages and fifty http referrers. And gives the option to enter your own starting number ;-> which is sometimes appreciated.
On one of my sites, the http referrers list revealed something that google was doing, sending visitors regularly for a certain keyword. We expanded on that a little more and ended up with an extra 1,000 visitors a week, regular as clockwork. Neat. And we would have never known if it hadn't been for the http referrer tracking (and really looking at it closely).
L.
I'd just like to say that bravenet.com does a nice little stats thing. Tracks up to five pages and fifty http referrers. And gives the option to enter your own starting number ;-> which is sometimes appreciated.
On one of my sites, the http referrers list revealed something that google was doing, sending visitors regularly for a certain keyword. We expanded on that a little more and ended up with an extra 1,000 visitors a week, regular as clockwork. Neat. And we would have never known if it hadn't been for the http referrer tracking (and really looking at it closely).
L.
Two Free Stats Trackers - by din on 12:07 03 Apr 2003
i used bravenet a little for a site that is gone now .. i would use them again if the need arises since i already have other account stuff set up there .. i think ..
for any type of strong website promotion to the general public http://referrer is a must. many of the free trackers have it in some form .. it is important to see those keywords to know why people are there.
i've taken on my timelines site to studying the actual server logs .. if this option is availible it is a great way to get info about users .. i have daily /weekly /monthly records off and on for several years. it is nice to see who is giving static links and why also. when the spidering robots come to the sites all that.
i noticed that my site much traffic on the term '1920s sports' because i have a nice chart of who won some of the major sporting events during that decade .. that is all it is teams and scores for the world series, rose bowl, indy 500 etc. but i've still not targetted to that overmuch because it is not my personal main interest.
one of the downsides is when you get hits with terms you don't want to focus on, then trying to get them for the terms you do .. that is the trick and can take some time.
i used bravenet a little for a site that is gone now .. i would use them again if the need arises since i already have other account stuff set up there .. i think ..
for any type of strong website promotion to the general public http://referrer is a must. many of the free trackers have it in some form .. it is important to see those keywords to know why people are there.
i've taken on my timelines site to studying the actual server logs .. if this option is availible it is a great way to get info about users .. i have daily /weekly /monthly records off and on for several years. it is nice to see who is giving static links and why also. when the spidering robots come to the sites all that.
i noticed that my site much traffic on the term '1920s sports' because i have a nice chart of who won some of the major sporting events during that decade .. that is all it is teams and scores for the world series, rose bowl, indy 500 etc. but i've still not targetted to that overmuch because it is not my personal main interest.
one of the downsides is when you get hits with terms you don't want to focus on, then trying to get them for the terms you do .. that is the trick and can take some time.
Two Free Stats Trackers - by Brad on 15:06 03 Apr 2003
The bravenet tracker works well and I like the fact that you can password protect it if you so choose.
Lucius you have hit on one of the best reasons for having a tracker on your site: identifying where and how people are finding your site and as a tool for improving those referrals.
| Quote (Lucius @ April 03 2003,08:36) |
| I'd just like to say that bravenet.com does a nice little stats thing. Tracks up to five pages and fifty http referrers. And gives the option to enter your own starting number ;-> which is sometimes appreciated. On one of my sites, the http referrers list revealed something that google was doing, sending visitors regularly for a certain keyword. We expanded on that a little more and ended up with an extra 1,000 visitors a week, regular as clockwork. Neat. And we would have never known if it hadn't been for the http referrer tracking (and really looking at it closely). L. |
The bravenet tracker works well and I like the fact that you can password protect it if you so choose.
Lucius you have hit on one of the best reasons for having a tracker on your site: identifying where and how people are finding your site and as a tool for improving those referrals.