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With so many web analytics options out there, it’s easy to get lost. Here, we list some solutions you should know about, and point you in the right direction for more information.
Google Analytics
Google’s free offering offers a plethora of web analytics information for small businesses. We recommend it as a starting point for any do-it-yourselfer looking for a quick and inexpensiveway to understand the goings-on within their site.
- Go to Google Analytics
- Read more about it on Clickz.com: “Google Analytics: Rising Tide or Tsunami?”
- Read a May, 2006 review on e-Commerce Guide
- Read an Aug, 2006 review by Manoj Jasra comparing Google Analytics and VisiStats
WebTrends
WebTrends is one of the best-known names in web analytics, offering comprehensive tools that can be deployed as client-side (they call this “on-demand”) or server-side (they call this “software”) options. WebTrends is known for being high-end (ie, expensive) but has a variety of packages available.
- Go to the WebTrends website
- Read a 2004 review on PC Magazine
- Read WebTrends Small Business Reviewed on Atlas-Tuesday IT blog
- Read an infoworld review.
- Read Aug, 2005 info about various Web Stats Packages on webmasterworld forum.
Omniture
One of the biggest names in web analytics, Omniture offers a variety of comprehensive web analytics packages.
- Go to the Omniture website
- Read a product review on Infoworld
- Read a 2004 review on Phil Windley’s Technometria
- Look at all of their industry awards
Read a white paper comparing HBX and Omniture’s SIteCatalyst
Visual Sciences, Previously WebSideStory – Now Owned by Omniture
WebSideStory become Visual Sciences and was acquired by Omniture, however, many people are still using their legacy analytics systems.
- Read a white paper comparing HBX and Omniture’s SIteCatalyst
- Read an IT World Canada Review of HBX Web Analytics 2.5
- Read a June 2003 review of Hitbox Enterprise
- Look at all of their industry awards
ClickTracks
ClickTracks is known for offering a reasonably priced solution with many of the same features as the bigger names, in a more visually appealing format. They have a faithful following of satisfied customers. They offer both client-side and server-side options. ClickTracks offers a free version of their product.
- Go to the ClickTracks website
- Read a 2005 review on Mike’s Marketing Site
- Read a 2005 review on SearchEngineGuide.com
- Read about the free version of the product in a 2006 Searchday article
- Read Aug, 2005 info about various Web Stats Packages including ClickTracks on webmasterworld forum.
Coremetrics
Coremetrics offers only the hosted (client-side) web metrics solution, which can simplify the choices your organization must consider. They offer a special version of their system for each of these vertical markets: retail, financial, and travel services.
- Go to theCoremetricswebsite
- Read a product review on Infoworld
- Read a case study and interview on a biz that chose Coremetrics.
Unica, formerly NetTracker
Unica NetTracker offers client-side (they call it on-demand) and server-side (they call it software) solutions.
- Go to the Unica website
- Read “12 Cool Things You Can Do With Unica’s Netracker Insight”
- Read a customer review of a biz that chose NetTracker
- Read Aug, 2005 info about various Web Stats Packages including NetTracker on webmasterworld forum.
Performancing Metrics
Originally developed for bloggers, Performancing Metrics also offers a free version of their product.
- Go to the Performancing Metrics website
Measure Map
Another free web analytics tool designed specifically for blogs. (not signing up new customers as of 10/9/2006, but you can sign up to be informed when they begin offering accounts again)
- Go to the Measure Map website
AWStats
AWStats is a free logfile analyzer. If you pay a monthly hosting fee, it’s very possible that the statistics program that comes with your hosting is AWStats. This program requires a great deal of technical expertise to set up; it is not for the average website owner!
- Go to the AWStats website
- Read a review at Pay-Per-Click Universe
- Read a 2003 review which includes some technical details
Additional Resources
- For a comparison of several tracking solutions, see this 2005 article: Web Analytics Products
- A report that compares 73 web analytics services (prices $399/$549 as of 9/2006): www.idealobserver.com
- The Web Analytics Buyers Guide 2006 is $179 at http://www.e-consultancy.com
- Costly report by Forrester covers all the biggies. $995 at http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,36675,00.html
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
That was a very helpful post and I can turn that over to my seo team with confidence.
Thanks John
That is a very nice list, but why do you have to always list only those that are either extremely expensive and cannot be afforded by SME’s or those that are open and free source and lack 80% of the features of the paid ones… Why cant we look at analytics tools like SiteAnalytix offered by Found Mojo or IsacGlobal. This also promises 80% of the features of all the tools given above at 20% of the price… My team has been using this tool, the best part is, you can always go back to the Isacglobal team and demand the kind of reports you require, they put it up specially for you ina very short time
You forgot to mention one of the new names (well, I guess it is too new) Personyze. Offers plenty of implicit (automatic) content personalization tools and behavioral targeting concept tool. that together with real-time web stats, actions and optimizer for checking actions for their effectiveness on specific segment, I haven’t found anything that I can do with it.. oh, maybe mobile application statistics:
http://personyze.com
We’ve used ClickTracks, Coremetrics, and Google Analytics. ClickTracks was good (but buggy) when it came out and there were no alternatives. Once Google Analytics arrived, we dropped ClickTracks for Analytics and we were very happy with that switch.
We were then sold Coremetrics based on promised features that turned out to be lies. The biggest one was that Coremetrics would tie into our SFDC data (key for us) and after we signed the contract and spent 2 months getting our site instrumented for Coremetrics, we then found out that they don’t connect to SFDC.
As Google Analytics does 95% of what Coremetrics does, without the requirement of instrumenting every link on every page, we’re back to Google Analytics. We’re still paying Coremetrics because we signed a contract, but we’re not using it as, even for free, it’s inferior to Google Analytics.