Website reporting and analysis can be a complicated task for businesses that do not have the tools or the human resources in place. There are a variety of web metrics tools available; however, businesses should determine their needs first before implementing a particular tool.
Kaushik outlines three questions a business should ask itself before seeking a vendor or metrics tool for their website:
- Do I want reporting or analysis?
- Do I have IT strength, business strength, or both?
- Am I solving just for Clickstream or for Web Analytics 2.0?
Reports give business leaders data they can process whereas analytics gives leaders what action to take. A company that has IT strength may be able to develop web applications in-house, but a company with only business strength may need the assistance of an external consultant or organization to analyze data. Finally, determining whether clickstreams are important to the company will also help in the search for a web metrics tool. “Clickstream tracking is ideal for e-commerce websites and websites that depend on ad clicks.” Clickstream tracking is also important for businesses that plan to use the data with A/B or multivariate testing.
Once a company has identified what they want to do with their web metrics, they will be better prepared to review and select a tool that will meet their business needs. The available tools range from custom pricing which can be upwards of $150,000 or more per year or free software tools which also offer premium versions for a price.
Two web metrics tools in particular are Google Analytics and Clicky. Both other a free and premium version. “If your site generates 10 million or fewer hits per month, then Google Analytics is free." The premium Google Analytics version comes with a flat rate of $150,000 per year. The free version of Clicky is available for websites that have total daily page views of 3,000 or less. Additional versions of Clicky include Pro, Pro Plus, Pro Platinum, and Custom. The monthly pricing starts at $9.99 per month and can cost up to $159.99 per year excluding the custom version, where prices may vary based on the company’s needs.
In comparing standard features of Google Analytics and Clicky, a few standout similarities exist. Both free versions offer a customizable dashboard and the ability to analyze search terms, traffic sources and referrers, bounce rate, geographic location, device type, basic segmentation, and real-time reporting. In addition, both free tools allow reports to be exported, downloaded, or saved as a PDF. Unfortunately, that is the extent of the similarities in the free versions.
Where Clicky lacks in standard benefits, Google Analytics makes up by a large proportion. Many of the Clicky’s premium, advanced features are standard in the free version of Google Analytics. Therefore, in addition to the basic similarities, the free version of Google Analytics also offers in-page analytics (or map overlay), goals and event tracking, comparison reports, filtered data, traffic flow visualization, ability to track downloads and outbound links, custom reports, social media reports, custom URL tracking codes, and e-commerce tracking. It also allows businesses to track multiple websites at no additional charge, and the data history is unlimited. The free version of Clicky only keeps track of 30 days worth of visitor history and data.
Google Analytics does not, however, offer technical support to businesses using the free version of the tool. Users are directed to the online discussion forum or encouraged to take the Google Analytics certification course to learn more about the product. Clicky also has an online discussion forum, but customers may also email a support request directly to the company.
Clicky has other positive features that are unique to its platform. In Google Analytics, a filter must be set up in order to separate internal traffic sources and data on a company’s website, but with Clicky, internal traffic is ignored by default. This is useful for reporting information such as the links and searches.
Clicky’s links report shows not only the third-party websites referring traffic but also “the actual page on the third party site where [the company’s] link is located, rather than just the domain.” Just like with Google Analytics, the search report in Clicky shows the referring keyword traffic from search engines. Clicky takes this report one step further by also providing a general percentage of how well that particular company ranks among others in a Google keyword search.
Finally, Clicky offers companies the ability to “see every visitor and every action they take on [the website]” which allows for individual analysis of each visitor and their visiting history on the site.
Other differences between Google Analytics and Clicky are in the way each tool calculates certain metrics. Google Analytics allows companies to track unique visitors over a period of time. Currently, Clicky calculates unique visitors on a daily basis only, so any analysis of unique visitors over a period of time may be inaccurate. Also, most web analytics tools, including Google Analytics, considers a one-page visit to be a bounce. According to Clicky, if a visitor spends more than 30 seconds on a page, they will not be considered a bounce because the assumption is that the visitor must have been at least mildly engaged. This is an interesting way to measure bounces and could be beneficial to companies who manage website pages that provide content without trackable actions. It may also be useful “for blog-style sites where the goal is not necessarily to get every visitor deeper into a sales-funnel".
In a basic Internet search, there are more articles, case studies, and in-depth analysis about Google Analytics over Clicky. However, both tools offer benefits and unique approaches to capturing data. For any business interested in understanding their website visitors, the best way to find the right tool is to first determine the purpose for tracking and analyzing data. Google Analytics is free, and Clicky offers a free trial of their top premium tool; therefore, if time permits, companies may want to try out both products for a few weeks to see which tool works best for their needs before committing to either one.
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