Analyzing visitors on your own website

The most important data for website owners are information about the visitors to their own website. Only when you know how many users your website has and how they behave can you actually further optimise your web presence. What options are there to find out more information about visitors to your own website and what should be considered?

Many website owners pay too little attention to tracking and web analytics. But that's a mistake! Because if you can't track how many visitors or what type of visitors are visiting your website, then no successful optimization work can be done on your website. It's like stumbling in the dark, and working on the website becomes a gamble.

Especially for those operating a website in the commercial sector, whether it's the website of a self-employed freelancer, a company website, an online magazine, or an online shop, extensive data about the visitors to your own website is essential. After all, you want to know which content resonates the most and who can be gained as a potential customer for your services or products. Or a blogger who regularly publishes new posts surely wants to know which topics interest the audience the most. This is the only way to find out where it's really worth investing your efforts.

Using Web Analytics Tools to Collect Data

With the help of modern web analytics tools, a variety of interesting data about users on your own website can be collected. Long gone are the days when you counted the users on your website with a simple visitor counter. Nowadays, web analytics software not only counts the number of visitors, but also provides numerous deeper insights: Where do the visitors to your website come from and how do they behave on your web presence?

Traffic Sources of Your Website

Information about the traffic sources of your website provides insights into where the visitor came from to your website. This is particularly important for commercial websites, as paid visitors are often purchased here and these investments should eventually pay off.

• Organic Traffic

Visitors who become aware of their own website through search engines like Google and come to their website by clicking on the search results are referred to as organic traffic. No direct payment is required for these visitors, as simply placing their own website on the front pages of search results can direct users to their website. For many websites, this source accounts for the majority of traffic.

• Referral Traffic

Visitors who come to their own website through links from other websites are referred to as referral traffic. When a friendly webmaster from another website links to their own web presence, it acts as a recommendation. Visitors follow the recommendation and thus arrive at their own website.

• Direct Traffic

Visitors who come to their own website by directly entering the website name (URL) in the browser are referred to as direct traffic. These are usually loyal fans who already know their website and want to visit it intentionally.

• Social Traffic

Visitors who come to their own website through links on social networks are referred to as social traffic. Countless websites are linked in social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest every day. Similar to referral traffic, interested parties follow the recommendations and thus arrive at their own web presence.

• Email Traffic

Visitors who come to their own website through links in emails are referred to as email traffic. Large companies, online shops, or magazines typically offer potential visitors an email newsletter. This newsletter goes directly to the private mailbox of potential visitors and encourages them to visit their website. The advantages of email traffic are the trust already built and the independence from external platforms such as search engines or social networks.

• Ad Traffic

Visitors who come to their own website through online advertisements are referred to as ad traffic (advertising traffic). Advertising costs are incurred for these visitors. Advertisements can be placed in search engines, social networks, or on other websites.

User Behaviour Metrics

User behaviour metrics provide information on how users behave on their website. Based on this data, one can understand which content works best and whether visitors can be converted into customers.

• Number of Visitors

The number of visitors provides a general overview of the users of the website. Here you can see how many users have visited your own web presence on which date and which specific subpages were accessed. It is important to pay attention to the difference between sessions (visits) and page views. A session counts as the visit of a single user, who can also view multiple pages. A page view counts as the loading process of each individual page, which can also be caused by the same user.

• Dwell Time

The dwell time provides information on how long a visitor stays on a specific subpage of the web presence. A high dwell time indicates that the visitor finds the provided content interesting and engages with it thoroughly. A high dwell time is therefore also an important factor for a good ranking in search engines.

• Bounce Rate

The bounce rate provides information on how many visitors leave the website after viewing a single subpage. A low value is aimed for here, as one naturally wants to keep the visitor on their own website for as long as possible. A high bounce rate can therefore indicate potential for improvement in the content.

What web analytics tools are available?

There are a variety of web analytics tools on the market. In addition to paid solutions for large companies, website operators also have access to free software. The two most well-known applications are Google Analytics and Piwik, which we would like to introduce to you in more detail here.

Google Analytics

The standard application in the field of web analytics is Google Analytics. This is a proprietary software from Google that offers an extremely wide range of functions and provides the user with numerous options for collecting user data. However, beginners can quickly become overwhelmed. Additionally, the analysis software is often criticized for data protection concerns. After all, the recorded data is transmitted directly to Google and evaluated on their servers. Nevertheless, Google Analytics is used by most website operators.

Piwik

A popular alternative to Google Analytics is Piwik. The open-source software is particularly transparent, allowing all visitor data to be stored and processed directly on your own server. This can significantly reduce privacy concerns. Although Piwik has a smaller range of features compared to Google Analytics, it still provides essential data, making it less overwhelming for beginners. Additionally, numerous functions can be added via plugins if needed.

Every webmaster should consider using web analytics tools to collect data about visitors to their website. Whether you host your website on a web hosting package or on a Dedicated Server, modern web analytics tools can easily be integrated into your website. However, it is crucial to also pay attention to data protection regulations when using the software.