Data in an of itself doesn’t seem very interesting, but for
bloggers it’s the lifeblood that fuels their success. The tools that we use for
gathering this data are analytics, and there are a lot of them. Figuring out
which one is right for your blog and what data you need to track can be a
daunting task.
Join us as we look at seven tools that are excellent options
for bloggers who want to better understand, measure, and act on their website’s
performance.
7 Analytics Tools For Bloggers Who Want an Edge:
The things that you decide to track will be your Key
Performance Indicators, or KPI’s. These can be anything from sheer traffic, to
visitors from specific sources, time spent on the page, bounce rates, etc.
Using these tools you can measure these things and use that
data to better inform the decisions you make on your blog.
Let’s take a look:
1. OpenWebAnalytics:
Open Web Analytics, or OWA, is a free and open source
software that you can download and install on your host’s web servers. It has a
lot of positive features, like the ability to track an unlimited number of
websites without traffic limits. It also has tools for conversion goals,
eCommerce sites, heatmaps, and mouse movement tracking.
The only real downside here, is that it requires some
technical knowledge to install and configure the software. Beginners may have
trouble getting everything to work properly. Worse, if you don’t know what
you’re doing, it could slow down your site. So, while this a powerful tool, you
should only use it if you have the technical know-how to configure it properly.
Google Analytics is the platform that everybody hears about,
and for good reason. It’s a great option for bloggers of all kinds. No
installation is required here. You simply need to sign up and then you’ll
receive a tracking code you can place in the header of your pages.
With the Yoast SEO plugin, you can also quickly implement
the code into your pages. Since this comes from Google, it also has plenty of
support and ongoing updates. The only downside, is that it can be confusing for
beginners. There are custom courses online you can take to better understand
the tool. The best way to get actionable data, is to use custom reports that
target specific KPIs, so you get the data you need.
3. KYA:
KYA is an analytics platform that allows you to measure
engagement. It gives you an idea of what people are doing on your site and
what’s motivating them or turning them away. If you’re a WordPress user, you’ll
be pleased to know that there’s a plugin you can download once you’ve made an
account on the website.
KYA is great about giving you actionable data that you can
transform into action. Tools like Engagement Tracking give your pages a
specific score that is calculated based on traffic, behavior, and social
shares. It also gives you the ability to compare posts.
The only downsides, are that you have to use their
proprietary comment and “like” systems to get the most detailed engagement
data. If you don’t use them, you get less to work with.
4. SumoMe Content Analytics:
SumoMe is a fairly well-known suite of tools, but the one
we’re looking at is the Content Analytics option. You can get it by signing up
for SumoMe’s toolset and they will give you a plugin to install on WordPress.
It allows you to look at what how many people are reading
your posts and where they are stopping if they didn’t make it to the end. You
can use this data to find out where your content is losing them, and where to
put your CTA buttons.
5. Heat Map:
HeatMap is one of several different tools of its kind that
represent amazing insight into how people are interacting with your blog. Using
colored heat signals, you can see specifically where and how much people are
interacting with elements on your site.
It gives you a visual look at how your engagement is
working. If people aren’t interacting with your CTA, you’ll be able to see that
reflected in the data and act accordingly. What’s even more exciting, is the
fact that you can review this data in real-time.
6. KISSMetrics:
KISSMetrics is both an analytics and conversion optimization
platform. This platform has the ability to show you specifically which visitors
are doing what on your website. Using this data, you can create funnels that
allow you to reach out to customers who didn’t convert or left the funnel
early.
You can actually pick a specific visitor and see how they
navigated your site and follow their journey. The KISSmetrics plugin for
WordPress also makes this one easy to integrate. It’s a great platform for
identifying people but it doesn’t have the same level of details that other
platforms offer.
7. JetPack:
WordPress has its own proprietary analytics platform, and
it’s great for anyone who wants to get started on the ground floor with some
basic analytics. You can simply download the JetPack plugin for WordPress and
start tracking statistics that are easy to understand.
While it’s a great start, JetPack doesn’t offer as many
analytics or features as other platforms. Even so, it’s a great starting point
for new users.
Final Thoughts:
Analytics are a powerful set of data for bloggers and
something that every website owner needs to truly understand and harness their
website’s performance. Which analytics do you utilize for your site? Let us
know in the comments!
Author: Eric Wall is a blogger and
analytics guru who loves collecting and acting on data for website success.
1 comments:
Nice post thanks
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