Hello everyone! Lately, I’ve seen multiple arguments about the best analytical tools for gathering web stats and other useful information. It seemed like many users were pretty well-informed about a certain piece of software or several popular tools, but there was still not enough sober judgment around to end this argument. That’s why today I decided to bring some clarity to the table and made a short overview of the most widely-used tools for web analytics. To tell the truth, I can’t claim to be an expert in this field, but I did some research and I hope that you will find my list to be comprehensive and well-thought.
Why Do We Need Web Analytics Tools After All?
For those who barely understand what we are talking about, I’ll make a short intro to the topic. So, web analytic tools can be either pre-installed or standalone. If you are ordering a website on some service or platform, you may automatically get access to some of the tools. However, if you’re creating a website from scratch, you will have to choose what tools to choose.
Analytical web tools are applications that are used to collect such essential data as the number of visitors, countries from where the visits were made, the statistics on different pages, dynamics of visits during the day, financial data, customer behavior, etc. Those tools are essential for developing and implementing marketing campaigns, implementing innovations, evaluating the market, and establishing a marketing strategy for the future. Nowadays it is practically impossible to reach any prominent results in digital marketing without some reliable data about your user’s visits, their preferences, and their actions.
So I decided to do a little research and analyzed several dozen most popular web analytic systems in order to get a better understanding of the global market. To be fair, In most cases I use either Google Analytics or Wix, which are probably one of the most comprehensive pieces of software of this category. However, my list will also feature some of the least famous applications as well.
Finest Web Analytic Software
Wix Analytics
The great thing about Wix analytics is that this piece of software was developed for both beginners and, at the same time, allows to collect some advanced statistics as well. With the help of Wix analytics, you can gather information about your visitors, their location and time of visit, analyze profiles of top customers, identify the most active ones, etc. Also, you can receive data on particular events and metrics – the practical back office allows you to experiment with stats.
Wix Analytics is very easy to integrate with your website, and it features a practical Wix dashboard that helps to manage stats fast and easy. The other great advantage of Wix as an app for beginners is that it also offers a one-of-a-kind Wix website builder which is packed with multiple design features and ready-made templates. Why is that good news for people who are only entering the e-commerce sphere? Wix offers all needed tools for launching your website from scratch, so you can choose it as your hosting platform and analytical tool at the same time. The paid version that allows gathering some complex statistics costs $345 a month.
Google Analytics
This tool probably needs no introduction because it is one of the most popular ones. I bet that many of you worked with Google Analytics at least once, and some are working with it on a daily basis. Probably the greatest thing about Google Analytics is that it was developed by a giant international company, and it is known as the one that generates the most comprehensive and accurate data. For small businesses, this may be not so important, but for big international companies, it is pivotal to get only the most accurate statistics. The other great thing about Google Analytics is the possibility to integrate it with other outstanding Google products like AdWords or AdSense. You can get a free version that features the most powerful functions or you can contact a Google company representative to discuss a paid subscription.
Open Web Analytics
Open Web Analytics is a great tool for those users who already have some experience in working with web stats. It is a little bit more complex when it comes to the user interface and some advanced functions. On the other hand, Open Web Analytics is completely free, and if you feel that you need to save your budgets for something else, it may be a great idea to use this app as an analytical tool. Open Web Analytics can easily analyze such metrics as live site traffic, heatmap of a website, range the visitors by parameters, etc.
