Track Site Usage
Most Internet Service Providers (ISP's) will provide you with
site-tracking tools or you can purchase site-tracking software programs
for your own server. You may feel like you have "too much data and not
enough information" as you look at the results of these tools and
programs.
Review the list of trends that help compile data from tracking your
site activities. Add any thoughts or ideas that come to mind as you
think about each one.
- Where are people coming from to get to your site?
For example, is one search engine providing 80% of your traffic? Or, is
there an especially good link for your site that you may not have known
about?
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- Where do visitors go once they are on your site?
Look for patterns of use within the site. This analysis may show that
some parts of the site get very heavy traffic while others get very
little, suggesting that you consider making a content change or change
the layout of the site to streamline navigation.
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- What are visitors looking for on your site?
If you have search feature on your site, you can see what topics get
the most inquiries - you can also insert polls or mini-surveys on the
site and learn about visitor preferences that way. One advantage of
collecting search information within your site is that you learn the
words that you want your external search engines to key on as they
match traffic to your site.
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- Who are the people coming to your site?
Collect demographic information- purchaser statistics may tell you some
key things about where your customers live, when they buy, what
products they buy in combination, etc. Always respect the privacy of
your visitors by avoiding invasive cookies or other disreputable means
of identifying users.
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